Joint inspection finds SEND success in Islington

The report into the specialist provision for young people from birth up to the age of 18 or 24 – jointly examined by a team from Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission – found an “embedded culture of collaboration among professionals across education, health and social care” which meant “many children experience accessible support in their schools, family hubs and early years settings, which helps them receive the right help at the right time in environments familiar to them”.

Cllr Sheila Chapman, Executive Member for Children, Young People and Families, said: “The inspectors’ findings reflect the great ambition we have for all of our children and young people, and the determination of our own teams and colleagues in healthcare to provide the best service we can to those who need extra help or support in their education.

“I’m pleased they found so much positive work going on and recognised the central importance we place on the voices and views of children and young people themselves. Their findings are an endorsement of the hard work and focus of our teams on delivering the right support at the right time, enabling our young people to be the best they can be.

“We’ve taken on board the recommendations for improving our work as a partnership in a number of important areas and look forward to creating an even stronger provision for anyone with special educational needs and disability in future.”

Islington Council jointly plans and commissions services for children and young people with SEND in the borough with the North London Integrated Care Board (ICB).

Jennifer Roye, Chief Nursing Officer at NHS West and North London ICB, said: “We’re pleased that inspectors were able to see and hear for themselves how the health, wellbeing and education of children and young people have been positively impacted by our strong partnership working and the commitment shown by staff.  

“We recognise the ongoing challenges children, young people and their families face across Islington. A key priority for us is to continue work to provide support as early as possible, and to reduce the time spent waiting for specialist services such as neurodevelopmental diagnosis and therapies so that experiences and outcomes continue to improve.” 

The report found:

• Most needs and starting points of children and young people are identified quickly by a service with “high ambition and commitment”, leading to timely education, health and care plans (EHCPs) being “developed to a typically strong standard”. Professionals also have a “clear, updated understanding” of needs thanks to annual reviews, meaning children and young people “benefit from a wide range of effective early help”.
• The voices and views of the children and young people themselves are also valued and “take a clear role” in formulating their EHCPs, all of which helps ensure they typically “achieve well in Islington across all phases of education”, the report notes.
• The pupil referral unit – which educates and supports children and young people who cannot attend a school due to their social, emotional or medical needs – provides “personalised” support through “meaningful consultation with the child and young person and their family”.
• The partnership is putting “robust” measures in place to ensure all secondary schools embed new approaches to improving attendance and reducing suspensions, but inspectors said it is too early to see the full impact of that work.
• The partnership is also implementing plans to improve in other areas identified by inspectors, including communications with families, access to short breaks, assessment of young adults by adult services, antenatal visits and certain specialist assessments and support.

The positive Area SEND inspection report completes a review of every aspect of Islington’s Children’s Services by national inspectorates. It follows the second ‘Outstanding’ judgement in a row for Children’s Services by Ofsted in 2025, and the ‘Outstanding’ judgement of Islington’s Youth Justice Service by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation in 2024.

Notes to editors

Inspectors visited Islington over five days in February 2026. The full Area SEND inspection report of the Islington Local Area Partnership is available here.

Islington’s Children’s Services was recognised as ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted for the second time in a row in 2025.

Islington’s Youth Justice Service was recognised as ‘Outstanding’ by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation in 2024