A damning report on services for children with special needs and disabilities in Kent says too many do not get the help they need.

County education and health chiefs have been heavily criticised over the poor quality of services for these children.

Ofsted inspectors and the Care Quality Commission have highlighted significant shortcomings in services provided by Kent County Council and Clinical Commissioning Groups, the NHS bodies which plan health services in local areas.

It follows an inspection carried out earlier this year to assess how well the authorities were performing in implementing reforms to improve care services for problem pupils.

The inspection concluded there were such significant areas of weaknesses that KCC and health groups have been ordered to come up with an action plan to address them.

The report found:

• Too many children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) do not get the support they need;
• Parents and carers who contributed to the inspection were overwhelmingly negative about their dealings with the council and NHS;
• Not enough was done to ensure parents understood the systems in place to enable their children to get the support they need;
• Not all schools and settings were willing to accommodate children and young people with SEND;
• The complex arrangement of health providers were not effective in meeting childrens' needs;
• Children and young people experience unacceptable inequality when accessing services in Kent;
• Educational outcomes for children with SEND are not good enough.

The report highlighted the experience of one parent who told inspectors that eight out of 10 schools she contacted about securing a place told her they would not admit the child.

“Many parents and carers are rightly upset, angry and concerned about the services and provision that their children receive,” the report said.

It said parents had reported that some primary schools used reduced timetables, temporary exclusion and one-to-one support to manage children’s difficulties.

“Frequently, these children struggle to cope in secondary school,” inspectors said.

Some parents were concerned the comparatively high number of selective secondary schools results in limited choices for pupils.

When it came to services provided by health groups, inspectors found children and young people experienced unacceptable delays and unequal access in having their identified health needs assessed, reviewed and met.

The waiting time for mental health services was “excessive” and in some cases, children with ADHD had to wait two years for an appointment.

“The uptake of universal health checks for school-aged children at key points through their school years is low.

"This delays the identification of new and emerging health needs and limits intervening earlier.”

While health groups were aware of inequalities, progress in eliminating then was “woefully slow.”

The report did identify some strengths. It found the number of looked after children going on to education, employment or training had increased over the past four years.

A higher proportion of young people with SEND go on to education, training or employment at the age of 16 than nationally.

KCC and the Clinical Commissioning Groups have been ordered to come up with an action plan setting out how they intend to address the shortcomings.

“We regret the loss of trust by many parents and families expressed in the Ofsted and CQC letter and that too often young people with SEND are not getting the services that they should...” - Roger Gough at Kent County Council and Glenn Douglas from NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups

This includes tackling “the widely held concern of parents that the local area is not able, or in some cases not willing, to meet their children’s needs”.

They have also been told to deal with “the variable quality of provision and commitment to inclusion in schools".

Inspectors said they also expected action on “the lack of willingness of some schools to accommodate children and young people with SEND".

In a joint statement, Kent County Council’s cabinet member for education Roger Gough and NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) accountable officer across Kent, Glenn Douglas, said they "recognise the main findings by Ofsted and the CQC".

They said: "They reflect our experience, and that of most local areas, since the 2014 reforms of struggling to keep pace with an enormous increase in demand for assessments and resources for children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities.

"These vulnerable children and young people typically need support from education, health, and care services.

“We regret the loss of trust by many parents and families expressed in the Ofsted and CQC letter and that too often young people with SEND are not getting the services that they should; this is despite a significant investment of resources in SEND.”

“The letter holds up a mirror to a very fragmented system of support for children and young people with SEND across health and education.

"That is an issue not just in Kent but across the country. This is reflected in 80% of the areas inspected in the last 12 months being required to produce, as we are, a Written Statement of Action.

“As local leaders, we have a duty to put right those things that are within our control.

"We will work tirelessly to do so. We were already bringing forward plans for change before the inspection, including working to achieve greater integration of services across education, health and care, and these are being expanded and accelerated.

“Equally, there is a bigger national picture of rapidly accelerating demand, fragmented and overstretched services and pressure on High Needs Funding that no local area can resolve on its own.”

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