The November 2025 inspection covered the Local Area Partnership, which includes Buckinghamshire Council, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West ICB and partners in education, health and care services.

In its areas for improvement, the report called for the voices of children and young people with SEND and their families to be central to strategic improvements and the education, health and care (EHC) planning process.

In addition, Ofsted called for: increasing timeliness and quality of needs assessments and EHC plans; strengthening the quality of annual reviews and their contribution to revising EHC plans; expediting an embedded and sustainable needs-led approach to neurodevelopmental pathways to reduce waiting times; and addressing waiting times for mental health support in schools and enuresis assessment.

Ofsted said the local area partnership should improve its strategic approach to transition planning at all stages to ensure children and young people with SEND receive the right help and support they need.

Improvements were also noted in terms of: stronger leadership and governance; support for disabled children; improvements to early years services; better accessibility and consistency in therapy services; well-coordinated wraparound support for children and young people with complex needs; and improved joint working to support young people to prepare for adulthood.

Carl Jackson, Buckinghamshire Council's cabinet member for education and children's services, said: ‘As with most local authorities across the country, Buckinghamshire Council's SEND services face growing demand. With the Government having repeatedly missed its own deadlines to introduce promised SEND reforms, Buckinghamshire Council has stepped up and invested an extra £3m to cut waiting times for EHCPs. We will continue to make improvements to support the children and young people in Buckinghamshire who rely on this support.'