Efforts to improve services for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in Hertfordshire have been recognised as showing effective progress by inspectors from Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC), a monitoring visit has found. 

The three-week monitoring inspection, carried out by Ofsted and CQC in October, was focused on how well Hertfordshire's SEND partnership — led by Hertfordshire County Council and the NHS Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board — has improved its use of data and strengthened governance and quality assurance arrangements since a full inspection in July 2023. 

Progress acknowledged, more work ahead

Inspectors concluded that the partnership has taken effective action on these priority areas, with particular praise for:

• Better use of data — helping the council and partners identify children's needs more accurately and tailor support.  
• Stronger governance systems — including clearer oversight and quality checks across SEND services.  
• Improved partnership working — with health, education and social care services working more closely together.  

However, inspectors also emphasised that continued efforts are needed to:

• address inequalities in support across different parts of the county;  
• develop aspects of the data dashboard further;  
• reduce long waits for some services that families still experience;  
• ensure that all schools benefit equally from improvements.  

Voices from leaders

Mark Watkin, Hertfordshire County Council's Executive Member for Education, SEND and Inclusion, said the inspection recognised the journey the council has been on, while acknowledging improvements are not yet universally felt by families. 

"Our improvement journey is by no means over," he said.

"We know there is more to be done… We're committed to building upon improvements made so far so that children and young people with SEND in Hertfordshire receive the support and opportunities they deserve." 

Prof Natalie Hammond, Director of Safeguarding and Complex Care at the NHS Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board, echoed the commitment to partnership working and continuing improvements for children and young people with SEND. 

What this means for families

The monitoring letter (available on the Hertfordshire SEND Local Offer website) shows improvements in areas including early help support, more meaningful opportunities for children and young people to contribute to service development, and better use of data to reduce wait times for assessments like speech and language therapy. 

But it also highlights that some families still face long waits and that continued focus is needed to make sure all children and young people with SEND across the county have equitable access to high-quality services. 

Background: a long improvement journey

This monitoring inspection follows a 2023 full inspection that found major challenges across Hertfordshire's SEND services, including delays in Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) and shortages of specialist support. 

Since then, Hertfordshire has been working on a comprehensive improvement plan with partners from health, education and the parent carer forum (HPCI), and this latest inspection shows that effective action is underway — even if there's still progress to be made.