Statutory directions issued due to poor performance in children's social care services (now revoked) and inadequate improvement in SEND services.
The children's services statutory direction has been revoked following an Ofsted inspection in December 2024 , and is no longer in force.
The SEND services statutory direction has been revoked. An improvement notice issued by the Department for Education on 15 April 2026 replaces it.
The children's social care services direction requires Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council to take steps to improve its services. This includes co-operating with the Department for Education's appointed adviser, operating under an expanded mandate to support the council's corporate leadership team. It follows a report by Ofsted (December 2021) that judged the overall effectiveness of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole's services to be inadequate.
The statutory direction for SEND requires the council to take steps to improve its SEND services, including co-operating with the children's and SEND services strategic improvement advisor, John Coughlan. This direction follows the 2021 joint Ofsted and Care Quality Commission SEND report and the lack of improvement for children and young people with SEND in the local area.
