A Written Statement of Action was a local area's improvement plan, required by Ofsted and CQC after a SEND inspection found significant weaknesses. Under the 2023 framework it's now called a priority action plan.
What the Written Statement of Action was
Under the area SEND inspection framework that ran from 2016, where a joint Ofsted and CQC inspection judged that a local area had significant weaknesses in how it met its duties to children and young people with SEND, the area had to produce a Written Statement of Action, usually shortened to WSoA. The council and its health partners had to set out jointly what they would do to fix the failings, with milestones and timescales, and publish it. Once inspectors judged the draft fit for purpose, the area then had at least around 18 months to put it into effect before a formal re-visit. More than half of the areas inspected from 2016 onwards were told to produce one.
Why the term is now a legacy one
Ofsted and CQC replaced the 2016 framework with a new area SEND inspection framework for use from 2023, reviewed and back in force from 6 June 2025. The document an area must now publish where inspectors identify areas for priority action is the priority action plan (area SEND), not a Written Statement of Action. The statutory hook is the same in both cases: under regulations 3 and 4 of the Children Act 2004 (Joint Area Reviews) Regulations 2015, the Chief Inspector decides whether a written statement of proposed action should be made and who must make it, and that named authority must produce it within 70 working days and publish it on its website. The trigger language changed too, from significant weaknesses to areas for priority action.
The mapping, old framework to current framework:
- Old (2016) framework: trigger was significant weaknesses; document was the Written Statement of Action; the area got at least around 18 months before a re-visit.
- Current (2023, in force 6 June 2025) framework: trigger is areas for priority action; document is the priority action plan (area SEND); inspection outcomes carry a graduated set of monitoring and re-inspection arrangements rather than the single fixed re-visit window.
Why this matters for your area
Many results still describe the WSoA mechanism without flagging that it has been superseded, which leaves officers preparing for inspection unsure which document they are actually obliged to produce. The answer, for any inspection from 2023, is a priority action plan. If your area was issued a Written Statement of Action under the old framework but was never re-visited, you will typically receive a full inspection within the first cycle of the new framework, and any priority actions arising will sit in a priority action plan rather than a fresh WSoA. The wider inspection mechanics are set out in our note on area SEND inspections and on what Ofsted and CQC look for.
Where the law comes from
Related
This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.