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Guidance

Area SEND: framework and handbook

This framework and handbook document sets out Ofsted’s inspection principles, guidance and the main judgements that inspectors make when inspecting area SEND.

Updates to this page

From:
Ofsted and Care Quality Commission
Published:
29 November 2022
Last updated:
7 July 2025
Show all updates

  1. See 'Summary of changes'.

  2. We have updated the Area SEND inspections: framework and handbook (see the Summary of changes) and the Area SEND person-level data guidance and template. We have also added 2 new templates: Health commissioning template and Residential special school commissioning and provision template.

  3. See 'Summary of changes'.

  4. See 'Summary of changes'.

  5. We are in the process of updating this handbook to reflect the changes mentioned in our statement published on 7 December.

  6. Updated to clarify the number of days before fieldwork begins and some processes on what happens after inspection.

  7. Added clarification to how local area partnerships should update their strategic plans and produce a priority action plan (area SEND).

  8. First published.

Applies to England

Documents

Area SEND inspections: framework and handbook

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Area SEND person-level data guidance and template

ODS, 22 KB

This file is in an OpenDocument format

Health commissioning template

ODT, 10.1 KB

This file is in an OpenDocument format

Residential special school commissioning and provision template

ODT, 6.32 KB

This file is in an OpenDocument format

Summary of changes

HTML

Details

The first part of the document is the area SEND inspection framework, which sets out the purposes and principles of inspection and its statutory basis, along with the inspection approach, model, frequency and timing.

The second part of the document is the inspection handbook. This handbook is primarily a guide for inspectors on how to carry out area SEND inspections.

We ran a consultation on the framework and draft handbook in summer 2022.

In June 2025, we published a report on our findings during the first 2 years of inspecting local area partnerships under the current area SEND inspection framework.

We also published the findings from a review of the framework that we did in 2025. It details the feedback we received from stakeholders about area SEND inspections, and the actions that we will take in response.

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