Surrey County Council (05A13627)

Special educational needs        Maladministration causing injustice

13 September 2006

‘Ms Davis’ (not her real name for legal reasons) complains that the Council delayed in the assessment and statementing process for her son, ‘John’, who has learning difficulties, and that its communication with her during this process was inadequate.

The Ombudsman finds that the Council delayed in assessing John Davis’ special educational needs. He says this caused injustice to Ms Davis because, if the delay had not occurred, the Council would have made a contribution to John’s school fees half a term earlier than it did.

The Ombudsman did not uphold the part of the complaint about the Council’s communication with Ms Davis during the process.

To remedy the injustice, the Council has agreed to:

• reimburse Ms Davis with its contribution to half a term’s fees (£800); and
• review its procedures to ensure it is more proactive in following up requests for information to external bodies.

The Ombudsman welcomed the Council’s positive response.

Date Published: 03/02/09