COUNCIL bosses have been told to apologise and pay a family a four-figure sum after failures linked to a child’s special educational needs provision, an ombudsman has found.
The Local Government and Social Care watchdog reviewed and upheld a complaint from a parent - referred to as Mrs X - who claimed the council failed to provide suitable education and support in her child’s education, health and care plan (EHCP) and delayed reviewing its details.
Investigators concluded the council did not provide any of the plan’s quantified support between January 2024 and the end of the academic year, which delayed progressing an annual review beyond statutory timescales.
Bosses were too slow to arrange alternative education once they had decided extra provision was needed, with the ombudsman finding the failures meant the child - referred to as ‘Y’ - missed about two-and-a-half terms of suitable education and that the delay also pushed back the family’s right to appeal the updated plan.
As part of the agreed remedy, the council will pay an additional £1,150 for missed education on top of £2,000 already paid, £250 for ‘frustration and lost opportunity’ caused by delays to the EHCP review, and £500 for the impact on the child’s education and wellbeing arising from the loss of support for nearly two terms.
The council has also agreed to apologise to Mrs X.
A report said: “An EHCP is a legal document which sets out a description of a child’s needs.
“It says what needs to be done to meet those needs by education, health and social care.
“Councils should ensure an annual review of the child’s EHCP is carried out within 12 months of the issue of the original plan or the completion of the last annual review.
“An annual review is completed when a council issues a letter advising of intention to cease, maintain or amend an EHCP following an annual review meeting.
“The purpose of the annual review is to consider whether the special educational support and educational placement is still appropriate.
“The annual review is not complete until the council has decided to either maintain the plan, cease the plan or amend the plan.
“Overall, Y has missed about two-and-a-half terms of education without suitable provision in place caused by the fault of the council.
“This is either because the council has delayed in starting provision it considered was suitable for Y’s needs or failed to provide the level of provision it had considered was correct to meet Y’s needs.
“We found fault with the council failing to provide suitable education for Mrs X’s child and delaying review of the EHCP.
“We also found fault with the Council failing to provide the provision in the Plan from January 2024 to the end of the academic year.”
Coun Ashley Peace, cabinet spokesperson for children’s services, said the council’s using the case to shape its future work in the sector to avoid a repeat occurrence.
He added: “While we’re unable to comment on the details of individual cases involving children, we accept the ombudsman’s findings in full.
“We take all ombudsman enquiries seriously and we’re applying the learning from this case into practice so we can continue improving the support that’s available for families in our borough.”
