THE INEFFECTIVENESS of the council's disability and special educational needs (SEN) policies have been laid out in a damning report.

At the beginning of July Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission jointly inspected the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council, interviewing disabled children, carers, parents and NHS officers.

They found a raft of disability and SEN reforms outlined in the Children and Families Act 2014, which aimed to provide further protection to vulnerable children and find homes for disabled youngsters, had not been implemented.

Changes in council staff, poor leadership and a lack of accountability slowed the implementation, causing great frustration amongst parents using the service.

Part of a letter sent to the council on August 24 read: "There is too little evidence of leaders’ actions resulting in improvements to the experiences and outcomes of children and young people who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and their families.

"Parents overwhelmingly report dissatisfaction with their experience of, the system and have very little confidence that things will improve.

"Furthermore, a lack of robust accountability measures means that not enough is being done to tackle these inconsistencies and to hold leaders and services to account.

"Leaders have not recognised that the data masks inequalities in the assessment, provision and outcomes for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities across the local area.

"Nor have local area leaders fully understood the depth of concern felt among their parents."

Now, because of such significant areas of weakness, a written statement of action is required to chart the council's plan for improvement.

Councillor Natasha Airey, cabinet member for children’s services, drew attention to some stronger areas outlined in the letter, whilst acknowledging the bad.

“The report highlights some real areas of success," she said.

"Children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities in the borough are safe, achieve highly compared to the national average and many go on to benefit from the life chances afforded by education, employment and training as young adults. Many services are praised for their impact and commitment to the children they see.

“The report highlights however that some parents still have to navigate a complex system of services and young people do not always get the support they need in a timely manner. We are working with schools and health colleagues to agree improvements to the processes for families and will finalise a public action plan in the coming weeks.

“The Royal Borough is committed to giving all young people, whatever their background or needs, the best possible start in life and we will work hard with schools, colleges, health providers and the voluntary sector to make sure there is a level playing field for all within the borough.”