Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will meet with hon. Members representing constituencies in Devon to discuss (a) the recent Ofsted report in Devon and (b) SEND provision.

The department has been working closely with Devon County Council since Ofsted’s inspection of children’s services in March 2020, in which services were found to be ‘inadequate’ overall and were placed in formal intervention under a Statutory Direction.

In September 2022, the department issued Devon with an Improvement Notice for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and an Accelerated Progress Plan (APP) was developed with the local authority and integrated care board (ICB). The department is working with all statutory partners involved in delivering SEND services in Devon to monitor and support improvement, which includes the deployment of SEND advisers to assist the local area and to offer advice.

In October 2024, children’s services in Devon were inspected by Ofsted. Publication of the report has been delayed as a part of Ofsted’s quality assurance processes. Once confirmed, findings from the report will be used as part of our wider evidence base to help shape the longer-term approach to supporting children’s services at the Council.

Following the conclusion of Ofsted’s quality assurance process and the publication of the inspection report, I would welcome the opportunity to meet with the hon. Members for constituencies in Devon to discuss progress and next steps to our intervention of both children’s services and SEND in Devon.