IMPROVEMENTS have been made to Dudley’s SEND services but more needs to be done, a new Ofsted report reveals.

Inspectors visited Dudley Council between January 31 and February 3 to assess children’s services and what progress had been made within SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) services since the last visit in 2019 when the council and Black Country and West Birmingham CCG had to submit a statement of action.

In the most recent visit, inspectors recognised there had been “sufficient progress” in eight areas, previously identified as areas of weakness.

This included an improvement in embedding strategies, better co-production and engagement with parents and carers, improved understanding about inclusion in Dudley schools and increasing the number of young people with SEND progressing into training and employment opportunities.

Inspectors, however, found more needs to be done to make progress in six areas including the management and sharing of information within EHC plans and improving parent satisfaction.

Neil Bucktin, Dudley managing director for Black Country and West Birmingham CCG, said colleagues in health, education and children’s social care had worked extremely hard to address issues identified by Ofsted and the CQC but he admitted: “There is further work to do as we build on the progress made.”

Claire Powers, co-chair of the Dudley Parent Carer Forum, said the assessment was fair and reflected the work being done to drive changes but she added: “We are a long way from real change being felt on the ground in the experience of each and every disabled child with SEND in Dudley and their families.”

Catherine Driscoll, Dudley Council’s director of children’s services, said: “I can assure parents and carers that we will continue on our journey of improvement and are determined to make significant progress across all 14 areas in the coming months.”