Bury’s Improvement Journey Information

SEND Inspection March 2026

Following the Local Area SEND inspection in 2024, we recognised that we needed to make important improvements to better support children and young people with SEND and their families in Bury.

Since then, the Local Area Partnership has been working at pace to strengthen how we work together across education, health and care. This has included delivering our Local Area Partnership SEND Priority Impact Plan, strengthening our SEND Strategy, and reducing waiting times for some health services.

We have also placed a much greater focus on children receiving support earlier through a well-understood graduated approach. This means identifying children’s needs as early as possible and putting the right support in place quickly, then reviewing and adapting that support over time to make sure it continues to meet their needs.

We know that meaningful change takes time, and we are committed to continuing to make improvements that are sustainable and make a real difference to children, young people and their families.

In March 2026, we welcomed our SEND monitoring inspection, with an on-site visit taking place from 9–11 March 2026. This was an important opportunity to share the progress we have made so far, reflect on what is working well, and identify where we need to continue to improve.

Publication of the report was slightly delayed due to pre-election restrictions linked to the recent local elections. However we are pleased to now be able to share that report with you, which confirms that effective action has been taken in all 6 areas of the priority impact plan. This reflects the collaborative hard work undertaken by the partnership on our improvement journey.

We now look forwards continuing to improve the experience and outcomes of children with additional needs, alongside our work towards the local SEND reforms plan.

Bury Metropolitan Borough Council - Open - Find an Inspection Report - Ofsted

 

SEND Improvement Plan approved by Ofsted & CQC

Following Bury’s local area SEND inspection of February 2024, there was a requirement to co-produce a local area Priority Action Plan. We have worked together with stakeholders including Bury2Gether to co-produce what we have locally named the SEND Priority Impact Plan and we have now received confirmation that this has been approved by Ofsted & CQC. As part of our plan, you will see we intend to review our communications strategy which will inform how we continue to share updates with you on our progress.

Bury SEND Strategic Vision 2025-2028

The Bury SEND Strategic Vision 2025-2028 has been developed to ensure we deliver on the things that matter to children and young people. Our goal is to work as a partnership so that children and families can take control of their lives, access the support that they need, and reach their potential. Find out all about our SEND Strategic Vision and help create a a positive and sustainable future for our Children and Young people.

SEND Stocktakes

The local area remains subject to ongoing monitoring visits. Including ‘deep dive’ activities and ‘Stocktake’ monitoring visits from representatives from the Department for Education and NHS England.

'Stocktake visits' from the Department for Education (DfE) typically refers to an assessment visit and are designed to review the progress and performance of the local area in respect of the delivery of the agreed SEND Local Area Priority Impact Plan (PIP).

The aim is to ensure that the local area is on track with their improvement plan and to provide further guidance if needed. In December 2024, our first stocktake visit took place and advisors from the Department of Education and National Health Service England did a review of our progress against the Priority Impact Plan. This happens in all Local Area SEND systems where widespread and/or systemic failures have been identified after about six months following the inspection report and the Improvement Notice being issued.

As a Local Area Partnership, we fully appreciate that the first six months have focused on implementing actions per the improvement plan. The next phase is to embed these into systematic changes and ensure sustainability. We acknowledge that the impact of these changes is not yet being felt by our parents, carers and their families. This will be a major focus for us leading up to our next stocktake visit, anticipated in July 2025.

You can read more about about this below:

Project Safety Valve

The Department of Children and Young People is committed to transforming Special Educational Needs and Disabilities provision in Bury, as part of its improvement
journey in all areas of delivery to the Borough’s children, young people, and families.

Bury and the DfE have signed an agreement in which the Council has agreed to implement the action plan that it set out in the funding bid in return for an additional £20m in grant over the next five years.

Find out more by downloading the flyer below: