Lancashire SEND priority action plan

The Lancashire SEND Partnership's priority action plan in response to the Ofsted inspection report 2025 and progress made one year on in 2026.

Priority action plan

In 2025 Lancashire SEND Partnership published the Lancashire SEND Partnership priority action plan.

It was approved by the NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) and Lancashire County Council Cabinet on 25 March 2025 and approved by Ofsted on 1 April 2025.

This plan aimed to improve services and support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

It followed the Ofsted Inspection report, published on 12 February 2025 on the Ofsted reports website.

The priority action plan set out the steps needed to address the three priority areas and 2 areas for improvement identified during the inspection. It also detailed the expected impact of action, the key indicators of what success looks like, and the measures we will take to monitor and evidence sufficient progress.

One year on - priority action plan progress

The one year on report from Lancashire SEND Partnership summarises the progress made since the PAP was approved.

This report summarises the actions taken by Lancashire SEND Partnership to address the three priority areas and two areas for improvement identified during the inspection.

It includes the progress made towards completing the milestones set out in the priority action plan. It also summarises the impact of the progress made and ongoing improvements.

Priority areas and areas for improvement

Priority area 1: Leaders from the local authority and ICB should urgently work together to improve their shared strategic governance, oversight, commissioning, support, challenge and planning of services for children and young people with SEND. They should implement and monitor effective strategies to improve the experiences for children and young people with SEND in education, health and social care across Lancashire.

Priority area 2: Leaders from the local authority and ICB should significantly improve the process, timeliness, quality and oversight of EHC plans and annual reviews

Priority area 3: Leaders from the ICB and local authority should continue to work together with urgency to address the delays and gaps in service provision within the current neurodivergent pathway. This is to meet the full range of needs of children and young people with SEND across Lancashire.

Area for improvement 1: Leaders across the partnership should continue to improve their communication strategies at all levels. This includes communicating with children and young people with SEND and their families so that they are kept better informed about the support that they receive, plans in place to improve their outcomes and where to access support and guidance while waiting for assessment.

Area for improvement 2: Leaders across the partnership should continue to work collaboratively to ensure that young people with SEND from across the whole of Lancashire are well prepared for adulthood and transition.