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Director of Children's Services: Daniel Phelps

Summary of Ofsted findings

Summary of Ofsted findings

Inspection of Redbridge’s local authority children’s services

These inspections focus on the effectiveness of local authority services and arrangements:

  • to help and protect children, and enable families to stay together and get the help they need
  • the experiences and progress of children in care wherever they live, including those children who return home
  • the arrangements for permanence for children who are looked after, in stable, loving homes, including adoption
  • the experiences and progress of care leavers.
Inspection type Inspection start date Overall effectiveness Impact of leaders Help and protection Children in care Care leavers
ILACS Short Inspection 10 June 2024 Outstanding Outstanding Outstanding Outstanding Outstanding

Local authority children’s services inspection outcomes, Ofsted, updated 13 November 2026

Area SEND inspection of Redbridge Local Area Partnership

The purpose of an area SEND inspection is to:

  • provide an independent, external evaluation of the effectiveness of the local area partnership’s arrangements for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)
  • where appropriate, recommend what the local area partnership should do to improve the arrangements.
Inspection outcome

Redbridge was last inspected on 12 May 2025.

There are widespread and/or systemic failings leading to significant concerns about the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND, which the local area partnership must address urgently. The local area partnership must prepare and submit a priority area SEND action plan addressing the areas for priority action that we identified.

They were given 5 areas for priority action.

A monitoring inspection will be carried out within approximately 18 months. The next full area SEND inspection will be within approximately 3 years.

Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) ask that the local area partnership updates and publishes its strategic plan based on the recommendations set out in this report.

Area SEND inspections and outcomes in England, Ofsted, published 3 September 2026

Joint targeted area inspection of Redbridge local authority

The agencies for these inspections can include the police, children’s social care, probation services, education and relevant health services. Inspectors will also evaluate how local agencies work with education and childcare providers. The focus of these inspections is how effectively the local safeguarding partners work together at the practice and strategic levels.

Theme Inspection start date Link
There have been no JTAI inspections for this local authority.

Joint targeted area inspection outcomes, Ofsted, updated 13 November 2026

Ofsted inspection reports and tools


Deprivation

Redbridge has 40% of children living in low-income families, compared to 38% nationally.

English indices of deprivation 2025, Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (2021 to 2025), published 31 March 2026


Local authority context

Population 18 and under Number %
Redbridge 82,266 26%
National 12,869,368 22%

Data source

Children looked after Number Rate per 10,000
Redbridge 299 38
National 81,770 67

Data source

School-age pupils eligible for free school meals Number %
Redbridge 11,613 24%
National 2,120,010 27%

Data source

School-age pupils eligible for extra funding (pupil premium) Number %
Redbridge 11,494 24%
National 2,313,696 30%

Data source

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in state-funded settings Number %
Redbridge 9,652 16%
National 1,858,327 21%

Data source

School-age pupils with English as an additional language Number %
Redbridge 31,718 56%
National 1,808,419 22%

Data source

Not in Education, Employment or Training or activity not known Number %
Redbridge 266 3.1%
National 78,620 5.8%

Data source

Health Index (children and young people) Number
Redbridge 100
National 101
More details about the health index metric

Indicates the health of an area measured in three domains: Healthy People, Health Lives and Healthy Places.

A score of 100 represents health in England in 2015. A higher number means better health and a lower number means worse health.

Data source