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Summary of Ofsted findings
Summary of Ofsted findings
Inspection of Lancashire’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 Standard Inspection | 11 May 2026 | Not judged | Outstanding | Good | Good | Outstanding |
Local authority children’s services inspection outcomes, Ofsted, updated 5 November 2026
Area SEND inspection of Lancashire 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 |
|---|
|
Lancashire was last inspected on 9 December 2024. 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 3 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 Lancashire 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Serious youth violence | 5 February 2024 | Link |
Joint targeted area inspection outcomes, Ofsted, updated 5 November 2026
Ofsted inspection reports and tools
Deprivation
Lancashire has 37% of children living in low-income families, compared to 38% nationally.
Local authority context
| Population 18 and under | Number | % |
|---|---|---|
| Lancashire | 276,890 | 21% |
| National | 12,869,368 | 22% |
| Children looked after | Number | Rate per 10,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Lancashire | 1,699 | 65 |
| National | 81,770 | 67 |
| School-age pupils eligible for free school meals | Number | % |
|---|---|---|
| Lancashire | 44,477 | 26% |
| National | 2,120,010 | 27% |
| School-age pupils eligible for extra funding (pupil premium) | Number | % |
|---|---|---|
| Lancashire | 48,676 | 29% |
| National | 2,313,696 | 30% |
| Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in state-funded settings | Number | % |
|---|---|---|
| Lancashire | 37,314 | 20% |
| National | 1,858,327 | 21% |
| School-age pupils with English as an additional language | Number | % |
|---|---|---|
| Lancashire | 26,250 | 15% |
| National | 1,808,419 | 22% |
| Not in Education, Employment or Training or activity not known | Number | % |
|---|---|---|
| Lancashire | 1,883 | 6.0% |
| National | 78,620 | 5.8% |
| Health Index (children and young people) | Number |
|---|---|
| Lancashire | 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.