A form with the Hackney logo and the title One Page Profile, with cells with the text to be filled: What you can do to help me, My name is, I am years old, What is important to me, My strengths and talents, My dream is to, What helps me to regulate
Education
Children and families

Ofsted inspectors recognise Hackney’s improvements in supporting children and young people with SEND, but more work to be done to improve consistency

Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission have published their report following the Local Area Partnership inspection they conducted in Hackney in November 2025. 

The joint inspection was organised as part of the Ofsted regular inspection timetable, following the newly reviewed and updated Area SEND Inspection Framework published in June 2025. It assessed the local area education, health and care services supporting children and young people 0-25 with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and those receiving SEN Support.

The inspectors recognised that a lot of progress has been made to improve the experience and the outcomes of Hackney’s children and young people with special educational needs and / or disabilities (SEND), who achieve well and have higher school attendance than average. 

The inspectors praised leaders’ knowledge of Hackney’s needs and its diversity, and the way services are co-produced and commissioned with the local communities in culturally sensitive ways, providing tailored support, building trust and removing barriers. Leaders welcome children and young people’s views, and the Hackney SEND Parent Carer Forum is recognised in its role as a strategic and valued partner.  

The report notes that children with complex needs and health disabilities benefit from seamless pathways, having access to a comprehensive, tailored offer. In early years, children’s potential special educational needs are identified quickly and carefully, and they receive effective support. 

The inspection also noted that while some things are working well, parts of the local area’s work are new, have changed recently or are in the planning stage, which makes it too early to see the sustained impact on children’s day-to-day lives. This includes the new Education Strategic Plan and the SEND and Inclusion Strategy for 2026-2029, both approved in December 2025.

Inspectors offered a series of recommendations on areas of improvement that mirror those already identified in Hackney’s November 2025 SEND self assessment, including extending the current use of dashboards to include key performance indicators, building on the partnership with secondary schools to reduce exclusions and suspensions, improving the local alternative provision offer and the post-16 offer to prevent young people from becoming NEET (not in education, employment or training).

Inspectors noted that the local area partnership needs to further improve the timelines and quality of education health and care plans (EHCPs), with a key focus on having more multi-disciplinary input into the plans. 

Hackney continues to have a large EHC Plan cohort compared to both statistical and England averages. There are currently 3,839 children and young people with an Education, Health and Care Plan in Hackney, double the number from 2019. While the Council has invested in additional posts to help improve the timeliness and quality of the plans, with some positive outcomes already visible, the financial constraints of recent years, doubled by the high demand, mean that there are still barriers in ensuring there are sufficient council officers to coordinate the process of assessing, creating and maintaining EHCPs. Leaders are committed to continue to work to further improve the EHC needs assessment process and ensure this becomes a consistently positive experience for all involved, especially children and their parents.

“We want to thank the inspectors for their positive and fair assessment. While we would have liked to be able to pride ourselves with the best possible inspection outcome, we are glad to see the inspectors recognise our progress so far.

“Our improvement journey does not start, nor does it end here. We already have robust plans in place that will guide us in the months and years ahead, and we will continue to advocate for and on behalf of each and every child and young person with SEND.

“We are looking forward to sharing our progress three years from now, when the next inspection will take place.”

Cllr Antoinnette Bramble, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Children’s Services and Young People, and Cllr Anya Sizer, Deputy Cabinet member for SEND and Early Years

Notes to editors

There are three possible outcomes following an inspection:

  • The local area partnership’s SEND arrangements typically lead to positive experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND. The local area partnership is taking action where improvements are needed.
  • The local area partnership’s arrangements lead to inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND. The local area partnership must work jointly to make improvements.
  • There are widespread and/or systemic failings leading to significant concerns about the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND, which the local area partnership must address urgently.

Hackney’s Local Area Partnership, which includes the London Borough of Hackney and North East London Integrated Care Board (ICB), received the middle outcome. 

According to data published by The Association of Directors of Children’s Services, 74 local authorities received a SEND Local Area Partnership inspection within the last three years. The majority of them (38) received the middle outcome. 

The Council will update its service plans to address the inspectors’ recommendations within the next few weeks.