Following a three-week inspection in July 2025, Ofsted and CQC published their report on our Local Area Partnership last week (Tuesday 9th September). The Partnership provides services to children and young people with SEND and those educated in Alternative Provision.
The Inspection team found no areas for priority improvement and overall, we have been given the middle rating (2) of the three possible outcomes for the delivery, planning and commissioning of SEND services.
This means that our next inspection will be in three years’ time. Following any inspection (regardless of the outcome), the Local Area Partnership must revise its strategic plan based on the recommendations in the report, and publish this within 50 days. We have already commenced work on this, and expect it to be published shortly.
This is the first inspection outcome for the Cumberland Local Area Partnership since our formation in January 2024. It marks significant progress since the previous SEND inspection for Cumbria in 2019 and subsequent revisit in 2022. The report acknowledges that the weaknesses that pre-date the existence of Cumberland have presented the partnership with many considerable challenges, and that we have responded with “passion and energy to drive ambitious plans for improvement.” It also identifies that there is clear evidence of improvements being made in several areas.
Councillor Elaine Lynch, Portfolio Holder for Lifelong Learning and Development, said:
“Improving SEND and AP services and provision in Cumberland has been, and will continue to be, a key priority for us. Our commitment is that every child and young person in Cumberland has the opportunity to thrive and fulfil their potential.
“I am delighted that Ofsted and the CQC have recognised the progress we have made as a partnership. The report reflects the passion, dedication, and hard work of so many people over recent years. Importantly, it also provides us with a strong foundation to build on, as we continue working to ensure that children and young people with SEND in Cumberland experience consistently positive outcomes.
“I want to thank all our partnership colleagues for their dedication throughout the inspection, and offer a heartfelt thank you to our families and young people who shared their views and experiences with inspectors. Your voices are central to everything we do. We remain fully committed to driving forward further improvements to SEND services and Alternative Provision in Cumberland, so that every young person receives the support they need to succeed.”
What’s going well:
The report noted several areas of good practice and improvement across Cumberland’s SEND services and provision.
These included:
- Strategic work that is characterised by ambition for children, young people and their families, aspiring for children and young people with SEND to learn and thrive in Cumberland.
- The partnership are realistic and self-aware of the areas of strong practice and what needs to be improved on.
- The partnership is working collaboratively with schools to strengthen a culture of inclusion.
- The partnership draws on a wide range of data and information when deciding to commission services, meaning we can effectively recognise gaps and plan accordingly.
- Social workers act as a strong advocate for the children and young people with SEND that they work with.
The inspectors further identified that many children and young people in Cumberland have their needs identified promptly, that leaders are striving for positive change through listening and engaging with our Unique Voices group, the support and advice offered from SENDAC is very valued, and that children accessing Alternative Provision make strong progress.
Georgina Grant, Chair of SEND Alliance Cumbria (SENDAC), Cumbria’s statutory parent/ carer forum, said:
“We are delighted that the recent Ofsted and CQC report recognised the value of our parent/carer forum, and the support and advice we provide to families. As the statutory parent/carer forum for Cumbria, we are deeply committed to ensuring that our lived experiences – and those of our children and young people – are heard and used to shape the development of services and inform decision-making across the local area.
“We are encouraged to see the progress being made by the Cumberland SEND and AP Partnership, and look forward to continuing to work together to improve outcomes for children and young people.”
Our next steps:
We are encouraged by the findings of the report and recognise that, while improvements have been made, there is still work to be done to ensure that all children with SEND in Cumberland have consistently good outcomes.
We are committed to delivering on these improvements within the SEND system in Cumberland. Families can keep up to date with the work of the Cumberland SEND and AP Partnership through the following Local Offer pages:
Getting Involved (link)
You Said, We’re Listening (link)
Anita Barker, Deputy Delivery Director (North Cumbria), North East North Cumbria Integrated Care Board, said:
“It is excellent to see the dedication and commitment of all partners recognised in this report, and we welcome the acknowledgement of the progress that has been made so far. However, we want to reassure families in Cumberland that we understand there is still more work to do. We are determined to strengthen our multi-agency working as a partnership to ensure children, young people and their families have access to the best provision and support.
“We are committed to building on this foundation of improvement, and to keeping families informed of our progress.”
You can read the read the report here.
The Cumberland SEND and AP Partnership is made up of Cumberland Council, NHS North East and North Cumbria ICB, NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB, and SEND Alliance Cumbria (SENDAC), the statutory parent/ carer forum for Cumbria. The partnership together are responsible for the planning, commissioning, and delivery of SEND services and Alternative Provision in Cumberland.
We would like to extend a final huge thank you to everyone involved in the inspection, including our council colleagues, NHS and health colleagues, education colleagues, our parent/ carer forum for Cumbria, SENDAC, and especially to the families, children and young people who took the time to speak with or provide feedback to inspectors.
Martin Birch, Director of Children and Family Wellbeing for Cumberland Council, said:
“I’m very proud of all of our colleagues across the partnership in Cumberland; they have worked incredibly hard to ensure we are delivering the best services we can for our children and young people with SEND and their families. A huge thank you to them all for the work they do, and for their part in the inspection.
“We recognise there is still work to be done, and the recommendations in the report will form the basis of our plan moving forward. We are committed to working with our partnership colleagues to deliver on these improvements.”