Knowsley SEND Local Area inspection
Friday, 25 September 2026
Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) carried out an area SEND inspection of the Knowsley Local Area Partnership from 29 June to 3 July 2026. This looked at the effectiveness of the joint working between Knowsley Council and NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board when it comes to planning and commissioning services for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in Knowsley.
There are 3 inspection outcomes – Typically positive experiences and outcomes; Inconsistent experiences and outcomes; and Widespread and / or systematic failures. The inspection concluded that the local area partnership’s arrangements lead to inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND.
Areas of good practice, along with areas for improvement, were identified.
The report found that some children and young people with SEND in Knowsley do benefit from dedicated practitioners who make a positive difference to their experiences and outcomes. It said more consistency would ensure that all children get the same positive experience.
It also found that local area leaders are seeking and listening to the views of children and young people, and the feedback received is helping to shape some of the services and support available to them.
And it acknowledged there was a “shared determination to improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND”, but said the partnership has not yet “fully realised” its aspirations and ambitions.
Inspectors noted that changes to leadership and governance since its last inspection has brought stability, and that partners have a clear vision and strong sense of direction for the local area.
It highlighted the need for a reduction in waiting times for neurodevelopmental assessments. It said that partners recognised this need and had already put in place plans to reduce waiting times, which inspectors recommended should be accelerated.
The report called for more consistent partnership working, but also acknowledged that some good practice exists – for example, education providers describe the partnership as “supportive” and value the contribution of services such as educational psychology and autism outreach which help to identify and understand the needs of children and young people with SEND more accurately.
The report made other suggestions for improvements, including to the quality, accuracy and timeliness of Education Health Care plans, the timely and accurate assessment and support for disabled children and to ensure that children and young people with SEND routinely benefit from a timely and effective preparation for adulthood strategy.
It also suggested the short breaks offer should be improved.
Cllr Sean Donnelly, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said the council and its partners would be carefully considering the recommendations and taking steps to address the action points as rapidly as possible.
He said:
“As a partnership, ensuring children and young people with SEND and their families have access to support that is aligned to their needs is a key priority for us.
“We have invested significantly in improving education provision across the borough as well as reviewing our Short Breaks service, responding to feedback we have received from families. We know we have a lot of work to do, but improvements take time and won’t happen overnight, but please be reassured that we are all committed to ensuring our children and young people get the very best support.”
NHS Cheshire and Merseyside’s Executive Clinical Director, Dr Fiona Lemmens, added:
“As health partners, we recognise the benefits that improved integration between teams and across our SEND partnership is already having for many of the children and young people in Knowsley. However, we remain committed to continuing to improve access to early help, as well as reducing the length of time children and young people have to wait to access structured support, assessment and diagnosis – particularly those with mental health and neurodevelopmental needs.”
The next Local Area SEND inspection will take place in three years.