Setting

Area SEND inspection of Enfield Local Area Partnership

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Inspection dates: 29 June 2026 to 03 July 2026 Dates of previous inspection: 20 March 2023 to 24 March 2023

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Inspection outcome

The local area partnership’s special educational needs and/or disability (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.

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Inspection outcome

The next full area SEND inspection will be within approximately 5 years.

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Inspection outcome

Ofsted and CQC ask that the local area partnership updates and publishes its strategic plan based on the recommendations set out in this report.

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Information about the local area partnership

The London Borough of Enfield and NHS West and North London are jointly responsible for the planning and commissioning of services for children and young people with SEND in Enfield.

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Information about the local area partnership

Since the previous inspection, there have been national changes to the way health services are commissioned. On 1 April 2026, North Central London Integrated Care Board (ICB) and NHS North West London joined together to become NHS West and North London. Since then, NHS West and North London has become responsible for the commissioning of health services in Enfield.

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Information about the local area partnership

Enfield commissions a broad range of alternative provision (AP) to meet the varying needs of children and young people with SEND within the local area. This includes support for children and young people whose social, emotional or medical circumstances prevent them from attending school, alongside specialist provision for those who have been permanently excluded or are at risk of permanent exclusion. Area SEND inspection report: Enfield Local Area Partnership 29 June 2026 to 03 July 2026

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educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in this area?

Children and young people with SEND and their families have typically positive experiences in Enfield. This is because leaders and practitioners at all levels work together and share a clear and ambitious vision. For example, children and young people with SEND are valued members of their community and play an active role in shaping the services and support available to them. Leaders and practitioners place a strong emphasis on hearing and responding to their views, ensuring that their experiences inform decision-making across education, health and social care. Through a range of participation opportunities, including the Youth Council and Young Inspectors, children and young people are empowered to influence change and help shape service development. Their contributions have led to improvements in resources, service accessibility and support pathways, benefiting both themselves and their peers.

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educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in this area?

The parent carer forum (PCF) is a valued and effective partner. The PCF represents the views and experiences of families and contributes meaningfully to strategic discussions, service design and improvement activity, for example the development of the local inclusion support offer. Through the PCF’s active involvement in groups and strategic boards, the forum provides both support and challenge to leaders, helping to strengthen accountability and drive improvements that benefit children and young people with SEND.

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educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in this area?

Children and young people with SEND typically have their needs identified effectively by a well-trained workforce. This is supported by a responsive and wide-ranging offer. For example, outreach services and AP work alongside mainstream schools to build staff’s confidence and capacity to meet children’s and young people’s needs. Early help interventions and multi-agency reviews ensure their support remains coordinated, responsive and appropriately time-limited, with partners working together to monitor progress and adapt children’s and young people’s support as required. Many babies, children and young people with SEND also benefit from a comprehensive 0 to 19 offer, with robust links between health visitors, school nurses and therapy services providing streamlined access to support. As a result, children and young people with SEND are more likely to receive the right help at the right time, typically reducing their barriers to

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educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in this area?

learning and preventing their needs from escalating.

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educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in this area?

Children and young people with SEND benefit from support that is characterised by strong professional relationships and a clear understanding of their individual strengths and needs. The partnership works collaboratively as a multi-agency team, drawing on expertise across services to identify solutions that enhance the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND. This is demonstrated through innovative developments such as neuroinclusive custody suites, which help ensure that vulnerable children and young people are better understood, feel safer and receive more appropriate support during what can be highly challenging situations. Leaders have taken action to reduce waiting times for neurodevelopmental assessments by expanding needs- led support and improving pathways, although some wait times are still very long. Some children, particularly those under 6 years old, are being assessed more quickly and can

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educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in this area?

Area SEND inspection report: Enfield Local Area Partnership 29 June 2026 to 03 July 2026 access a broad range of support while they wait. For example, occupational therapists provide support for children and young people with feeding, toileting and sensory needs.

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educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in this area?

Children’s and young people’s education, health and care (EHC) plans typically reflect their views, strengths, needs and aspirations well. EHC plans are generally highly personalised, containing clear objectives and outcomes. Positive, strengths-based language is used, helping to create an accurate and aspirational picture of the child or young person. Many EHC plans are informed by meaningful contributions from health professionals and include detailed information about children’s and young people’s lived experiences and circumstances. However, the quality and contribution of social care advice is more variable, resulting in some EHC plans being clearer and more complete than others.

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What is the area partnership doing that is effective?

◼ Across education, health and social care, leaders demonstrate a shared determination to deliver effective, high-quality services for children and young people with SEND. This ambition is embedded throughout the skilled workforce, with practitioners across the partnership showing the same tenacity for improving experiences and outcomes through their day-to-day practice. ◼ Leaders across the partnership work effectively together to shape strategic priorities and commission services that are informed by analysis of local need and performance data. Governance arrangements are well established, with clear lines of accountability and effective oversight across agencies. This collaborative approach enables leaders to take timely, coordinated action that typically has a positive impact on the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND. ◼ Practitioners across education, health and social care work collaboratively to ensure

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What is the area partnership doing that is effective?

that children and young people with SEND are included and able to participate fully in education. This helps to ensure that children and young people remain engaged in education, supports their needs to be met and enables many to move to ambitious next steps. ◼ Early years advisers work well with nurseries to identify and support children with emerging needs by using the strategies shared by multidisciplinary teams. Consequently, outcomes for children with SEND in the early years are improving. ◼ Parents and carers of young children with SEND benefit from timely and accessible support through the co-location of services within family hubs. Universal therapy teams, including occupational therapy (OT), speech and language therapy and physiotherapy teams, provide regular drop-in clinics where families access screening, advice and practical strategies to support their child's development in everyday routines. When additional needs are identified, clear pathways enable prompt referral

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What is the area partnership doing that is effective?

to specialist therapy services, ensuring children receive the right support at the earliest opportunity. ◼ Most children and young people with SEND have timely access to speech and language therapy, OT and physiotherapy specialist assessments. The most vulnerable children and young people with SEND are prioritised, including those discharged from Area SEND inspection report: Enfield Local Area Partnership 29 June 2026 to 03 July 2026 hospital, those with feeding difficulties, those requiring equipment for school and disabled children in care. Joint clinics are offered when appropriate so that children and young people with SEND and their families do not attend multiple appointments and do not have to repeat their story. ◼ Children and young people with developmental language disorders benefit from specialist and intensive support from the speech and language therapy service. Whole-school approaches are improving the speech, language and communication

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What is the area partnership doing that is effective?

skills of many children and young people with SEND. ◼ Children with complex medical needs benefit from strong person-centred care, particularly those receiving palliative and end-of-life care. This enables them to remain in school and maintain quality of life whenever possible. Families are actively involved in decision-making, and practitioners demonstrate a highly collaborative, compassionate and child-centred approach. ◼ Children and young people with mobility and assistive equipment needs have fast access to assessments and typically receive the equipment they need without delay. As a result, children and young people do not experience unnecessary barriers to accessing education and can take part in daily and social life. ◼ The dynamic support register (DSR) reduces the risk for children and young people with complex mental health needs of admission to a mental health hospital. The DSR has helped to ensure very low levels of hospital admission, indicating effective early

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What is the area partnership doing that is effective?

identification and intervention for these children and young people. ◼ Although waiting times for specialist child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) assessments and treatment remain lengthy, children and young people with SEND can access a broad range of support for their mental health and emotional wellbeing. This includes appropriate support from educational psychologists, mental health support teams in schools, behaviour support services, advisory teams and core CAMHS. These services work well together to provide early help and ongoing support, including during transition to adulthood, helping to prevent needs from escalating. ◼ For children and young people receiving short-break packages, support is well matched to assessed need, appropriately resourced and informed by robust multi- agency assessment and review. Clear oversight through multi-agency decision-making forums, alongside effective quality assurance arrangements, promotes consistency in

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What is the area partnership doing that is effective?

decision-making and helps ensure the appropriate allocation of resources for children, young people and their families. ◼ Children and young people with SEND in out-of-area residential special school placements benefit from strong commissioning arrangements that prioritise quality and oversight. Effective governance and robust due diligence ensure that placements are carefully considered and appropriately matched to children’s and young people’s needs. ◼ Disabled children in care or involved in the youth justice system can access a wide range of support from a dedicated team of specialists, such as speech and language therapy, advisory teachers and CAMHS practitioners. These teams work holistically with these children and young people to identify their needs and put support in place. As a result, disabled children and young people are better able to access education, Area SEND inspection report: Enfield Local Area Partnership

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What is the area partnership doing that is effective?

29 June 2026 to 03 July 2026 engage with services and make progress towards positive outcomes. ◼ The local area partnership has developed a mature and responsive AP strategy. A range of targeted services supports children and young people at risk of disengagement. There is a clear shared understanding across the partnership that AP should complement, rather than replace, a child’s mainstream school. This helps to maintain a sense of belonging and keeps reintegration at the centre of planning and has helped to reduce suspensions and exclusions. ◼ The SEND advisory service, educational psychology team, outreach services and the virtual school provide helpful and research-informed training to most schools. For example, this includes relational behaviour approaches and strategies to support emotionally based school non-attendance. As a result, schools are typically better equipped to understand and respond to children’s and young people’s needs, helping

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What is the area partnership doing that is effective?

to promote inclusion, reduce barriers to learning and improve engagement in education. ◼ Young people with SEND with an EHC plan are supported well to explore the opportunities available to them as they transition into adulthood. This includes receiving impartial advice and guidance on next steps, such as employment, training, community access, health and wellbeing. As a result, typically, young people with an EHC plan remain in education and training or successfully gain employment.

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What does the area partnership need to do better?

◼ Children and young people with SEND experience long waiting times for assessments and specialist interventions from CAMHS, including from the learning disability team, psychiatry and psychology services. For some children and young people with SEND, this has a significant impact on their mental health and wellbeing. ◼ Many children and young people wait too long for autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessments. Generally, those requiring ADHD medication face further delays after diagnosis. Although support and prioritisation are available while they wait, prolonged delays lead to unmet needs, escalating difficulties and ineffective support due to an incomplete understanding of children’s and young people's needs. ◼ Long-term vacancies and capacity pressures in the Community Paediatric Service reduce the frequency of routine health reviews for some children and young people.

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What does the area partnership need to do better?

The impact is minimised for many children and young people with physical disabilities and complex health needs, as they receive regular multidisciplinary oversight from therapists, special school nurses and specialist hospital teams. ◼ Workforce capacity pressures within special school nursing exist, particularly around training and delegation of clinical tasks to support children and young people with complex medical needs in school. Leaders have plans to increase special school nursing capacity, but this is currently an area of vulnerability. ◼ There is variability in the quality of assessment, planning and oversight for disabled children and young people who are known to children's social care. While some disabled children and young people benefit from strong multi-agency planning and Area SEND inspection report: Enfield Local Area Partnership 29 June 2026 to 03 July 2026 well-coordinated support, this is not consistently applied. Assessments of their needs

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What does the area partnership need to do better?

are not always sufficiently analytical, plans (including EHC plans) do not routinely contain clear and time-bound actions, and preparation for adulthood is not robustly articulated. This limits the effectiveness of professionals’ oversight and reduces assurance that support is consistently responsive to disabled children’s and young people's changing needs and aspirations. ◼ Many children and young people with SEND arrive at AP following a history of placement instability and unsuccessful placements across a number of settings. For some children and young people with SEND, this means their needs are not identified or met effectively enough at an early stage to prevent placement breakdown, particularly in primary education. ◼ Children and young people who receive special educational needs support at school do not consistently benefit from sufficiently robust arrangements as they move into post-16 education, employment and/or training. The partnership is not making full

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What does the area partnership need to do better?

use of the data it holds to evaluate the effectiveness of current support, identify gaps in provision and inform strategic planning. As a result, some young people with SEND do not receive the robust, coordinated and holistic support needed to sustain engagement in education or work.

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Areas for improvement

NHS West and North London ICB should accelerate its plans to reduce waiting times for specialist health services including:

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Areas for improvement

▪ CAMHS assessment and treatment pathways ▪ speech and language therapy intervention

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Areas for improvement

▪ neurodevelopmental assessments in the pathway for children and young people over 6 years old ▪ community paediatric pathways for children and young people with complex neurodisabilities ▪ special school nursing The local area partnership should improve the effectiveness and oversight of assessment, planning and review for disabled children and young people who are known to children’s social care. This should include:

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Areas for improvement

▪ ensuring that social care assessments of children’s needs provide a clear analysis of strengths, needs and risks and inform planning and decision-making; ▪ improving the quality and timeliness of social care contributions to children’s and young people’s EHC plans so that their social care needs and outcomes are clearly reflected; ▪ ensuring that plans, including EHC plans, contain clear, measurable actions and are subject to effective oversight and review; and Area SEND inspection report: Enfield Local Area Partnership 29 June 2026 to 03 July 2026 ▪ strengthening preparation for adulthood arrangements so that transitions to adult social care services are well planned and coordinated. Area SEND inspection report: Enfield Local Area Partnership 29 June 2026 to 03 July 2026

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Local authority Integrated care board

London Borough of Enfield NHS West and North London Tony Theodoulou, Executive Director, People Services Katie Fisher, Chief Executive Officer

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Local authority Integrated care board

www.enfield.gov.uk www.nclhealthandcare.org.uk

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Local authority Integrated care board

Civic Centre, Silver Street, Enfield EN1 3XA North Central London Integrated Care System, Laycock PDC, Laycock Street, London N1 1TH

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out at the request of the Secretary of State for Education under section 20(1)(a) of the Children Act 2004.

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Information about this inspection

The inspection was led by one of His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) from Ofsted, with a team of inspectors including: two HMIs and an Ofsted Inspector from education and social care; a lead Children’s Services Inspector from the Care Quality Commission (CQC); and another Children’s Services Inspector from the CQC.

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Ofsted Care Quality Commission

Kieran Bird, Ofsted HMI, Lead inspector Geraldine Bates, CQC Lead inspector

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Ofsted Care Quality Commission

Rebekah Tucker, Ofsted HMI Jess Taylor-Beirne, CQC Inspector Deena Wallworth, Ofsted Inspector Area SEND inspection report: Enfield Local Area Partnership 29 June 2026 to 03 July 2026 excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Ofsted Care Quality Commission

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