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Quality assurance at Oldham Council was a priority, but manual processes limited scalability, find out how they changed this approach
➡️ Oldham Council takes a continuous improvement approach to EHCPs and EHCP annual reviews. However, manual QA processes were time-consuming and hindered further progress.
➡️ By adopting Invision360’s quality assurance modules, they are achieving real-time insights, streamlined audits, and improved outcomes.
➡️ Over 70% of plans meet gold or silver standards, with a 20% increase in gold-rated EHCPs in the first 12 months.
The pressures facing SEND teams remain unprecedented. Rising EHCP demand has exposed two critical challenges. The first is that demand for new EHCPs has grown by 15% year-on-year (2023 vs 2024), and the second is that the number of new EHCPs issued within the statutory 20-week timeframe has fallen (source: Department for Education, June 2025).
While these figures will naturally dominate the SEND conversation, another statutory requirement (the EHCP annual review process) demands equal attention and urgent action.
Quality assurance processes need to move beyond just the EHCP itself, to thoroughly examine how an EHCP is being used and whether the suggested outcomes within the plan are genuinely improving outcomes for children and young people.
SEND teams need a solution that quality-assures EHCPs consistently with quality insight.
You also need something that brings the same consistency and real-time insight to your annual review process.
Rising demand and shrinking budgets will continue to stretch SEND teams across the UK. Without a proactive approach, quality risks slipping, inspection concerns grow, and children miss out on the support they need.
This case study shows how Oldham turned that risk into an opportunity for improvement and how you can follow their example of best practice.
Oldham Council manages nearly 4,000 EHCPs, supported by a dedicated SEND team that includes officers, family liaison leads, and a team manager reporting to the Head of SEND and Inclusion.
👉 Before adopting the Invision360 quality assurance modules, quality checks relied on internal peer and senior reviews of individual plans, with feedback provided manually.
👉 Annual reviews involved senior SEND officers manually identifying trends and delivering focused training where gaps appeared.
The team’s high standards and commitment to SMART outcomes were clear, but the approach was labour-intensive and focused on qualitative insights. Despite having a collective growth mindset focused on continuous improvement, the team had no way to scale up their quality assurance processes across their ECHPs or annual reviews.
The SEND team recognised that while their manual quality assurance processes were valuable, they couldn’t provide real-time insights or identify immediate trends across the authority.
They wanted a digital system that was consistent, scalable, and data driven. They needed something which supported continuous improvement and maintained accountability among stakeholders.
As part of the decision to invest in a new digital tool, they asked staff for feedback to prioritise the features that mattered most.
The team wanted a tool that was:
👉 Easy to use
👉 Could involve multi-agency partners
👉 Capable of real-time data reporting
👉 Integrated with existing workflows
👉 Supportive of moderation and audit trails
Oldham wanted a digital system that would allow them to embed training and moderation directly into the audit process.
It was also “essential” that there was an integrated quality assurance approach across the EHCPs and annual reviews, with Paula Green, Head of SEND and Inclusion, commenting:
“This dual approach will allow us to track the full lifecycle of a plan, from creation to review. It will identify where quality might drop off or improve. This will help us ensure that the outcomes and provisions remain relevant and measurable over time.”
To embed quality assurance into everyday practice, the SEND team restructured its auditing process to make full use of both modules: the EHCP quality assurance module and the annual review functionality.
This is how the team integrated the modules into their existing workflows:
➡️ Every month, an auditor reviews two EHCPs and two annual reviews, ensuring regular, consistent checks.
➡️ Senior SEND Officers prioritise bronze-rated reports and look for improvements. They apply RAG ratings and flag plans for immediate amendment or changes at the following review.
➡️ Every two months, auditors come together for a joint moderation session. This is when they can work together to audit an EHCP and an annual review using the Invision360 modules. It has helped everyone to align their standards and share their learning.
➡️ Individual and group feedback has been built into 1:1s and team meetings. Oldham recognised that this would help staff improve quality and maintain consistency.
Auditing has moved from an isolated task into a continuous cycle of review, moderation, and improvement. Oldham’s progress has been supported by real-time data from both modules, making it easier to see what needs to be done and when.
Oldham is a best-practice example of what can be achieved when quality assurance is built into every process, every team and every stakeholder.
Over 70% of EHCPs are now graded gold or silver, which is a phenomenal achievement.
Regular auditing has been key to this success, providing reassurance that standards remain high and ensuring accountability across all professionals involved in producing EHCPs. The grading structure in the Invision360 EHCP QA module has given the SEND team the insights they needed to prioritise their bronze-rated EHCPs, focusing their improvements on the areas most in need.
In the first 12 months, there has been a 20% Increase in Gold-Standard EHCPs.
This improvement was driven by:
➡️ A multi-agency approach focusing on SMART outcomes and measurable provision.
➡️ Targeted work on Section E (outcomes), supported by new guidance and resources for SEND Officers.
➡️ Mandatory training for social workers on high-quality advice, addressing recurring gaps in Section H.
➡️ A task-and-finish group to strengthen outcomes and co-production, resulting in clear guidance and training materials.
➡️ Ongoing collaboration with health colleagues to develop a Health quality assurance framework.
In such a complex working environment, finding ways for SEND teams to do more in less time is almost impossible. But the Invision360 modules have allowed Oldham Council to do just that.
Dashboards highlight trends and outliers almost immediately, enabling the team to act quickly on emerging issues before they become systemic. Due to continuous feedback and targeted training, staff can feel supported rather than overwhelmed. This has reduced stress and created a culture of collaboration, where everyone understands "what good looks like" and works together to achieve it. Moderation sessions and continuous feedback loops have embedded a shared understanding of high quality, which is supported and reinforced by the audit modules.
The real-time reporting capabilities have provided SEND leaders with robust evidence to support strategic decisions and to engage confidently with senior leadership and external partners. Transparency has strengthened trust and reinforced a shared commitment to quality and accountability.
Families are receiving more tailored, measurable plans that lead to better outcomes. Those outcomes are tracked in the annual review audit module, ensuring parents' contributions to EHCP Annual Reviews are considered. SEND teams feel empowered and proud of the difference they're making. Because they are not working from a reactive firefighting culture, they can focus on continuous improvement. It’s a positive, proactive approach that supports children and young people at every stage.
Oldham's experience shows that improving quality assurance isn't just about grading systems or meeting statutory deadlines. It's about creating a better way of working for everyone involved in EHCPs. With the right approach, effective quality assurance processes can turn relentless pressure into a manageable, collaborative function.
✅ For SEND teams, this means less stress, more clarity, and the confidence that every plan is making a real difference.
✅ For families, it means tailored, measurable support that improves outcomes and life chances.
✅ And for children and young people, it means having the right help at the right time, because their future can't wait.
Oldham has shown that with the right tools and mindset, SEND services can prioritise proactive improvements. This isn’t just a technical upgrade; it’s a cultural transformation that empowers teams, strengthens trust, and delivers what matters most: better outcomes for children and young people.
If Oldham can achieve this, so can you.
Imagine having a process in place that immediately shows where gaps are emerging, measures family and carer involvement, and monitors whether children are meeting or exceeding their outcomes.
That’s why we’ve developed our EHCP QA module and our EHCP annual review module to work collaboratively, so you can be confident that your systems and processes are giving your SEND leads confidence that plans are delivering the outcomes they were designed for.
