Speaking on behalf of Hertfordshire's local area SEND partnership, the council's comments followed an Ofsted and CQC inspection in October 2025.

Inspectors noted effective action had been taken since the previous inspection in July 2023 with the partnership having ‘improved the quality of its data' ensuring that ‘more children and young people's needs are identified accurately, and appropriate services are provided to meet these needs.'

They also noted that ‘the local area partnership has worked at pace to implement improved governance arrangements', adding ‘rigorous quality assurance underpins the area's work' and that ‘significant investment has been made in the SEND system'.

Inspectors recognised improvement in partnership working, noting ‘tangible improvement across health, social care and education' having found that ‘successful collaboration is increasingly apparent in many services.'

However, inspectors highlighted the need for continued improvement, encouraging the local area partnership to continue to address geographical inequity and to develop aspects of the data dashboard. They noted leaders were aware of long waits for some services and that some families still need to see improvements in their lived experience. They noted over 500 Hertfordshire schools had a mixed experience of support.

Mark Watkin, executive member for Education, SEND and Inclusion at Hertfordshire County Council, said: ‘Our improvement journey is by no means over, we know there is more to be done. It is, however, important that we recognise how far we have come and thank all staff, partners and contributors for their shared dedication and hard work in improving outcomes for children and young people in Hertfordshire.

‘We know that our improvements are not yet being felt by everyone and there are still things we must improve. We will continue to work collaboratively across the partnership to address the challenges we face locally and continue to call for national reform to address challenges being faced by local authorities across the country.

‘We're committed to building upon improvements made so far so that children and young people with SEND in Hertfordshire receive the support and opportunities they deserve.'