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Special educational needs Maladministration causing injustice
18 July 2007
Cornwall County Council failed to provide for a boy’s special educational needs after it had already been criticised for the same failures in an earlier Ombudsman’s report. The Ombudsman says “It is particularly disappointing … that the same problems have recurred”. These included failure to provide speech and language therapy, and failure to oversee the boy’s statement of special educational needs. The Council had previously agreed to review the way it carried out its statutory duty in respect of statements of special educational needs, but, says the Ombudsman, “In reality very little seems to have changed.” ‘Mrs Ivy’ (not her real name for legal reasons) complained that, following the Ombudsman’s report on her previous complaint (ref 04/B/07871, issued March 2006), the Council continued to fail to provide for the needs of her son, ‘Oliver’ (not his real name), as set out in his statement of special educational needs. Mrs Ivy contacted the Council in summer 2005 to complain about the continuing failures. The school promised close monitoring of Oliver’s statement, but this did not happen. In November 2005 she withdrew her son from his primary school because it was not making the necessary provision. In January 2006 the Council accepted a duty to provide home tuition because of Oliver’s medical needs, but it did not make speech and language therapy available until January 2007. The Council revised Oliver’s statement in June 2006 and Mrs Ivy appealed against the provision and placement identified by the Council, with the result that Oliver was to be placed in a special school or unit for children with specific language difficulties and communication disorders on the autistic spectrum. The Council has no such provision of its own and is setting up a small unit to deal with Oliver and other children with similar needs. The Ombudsman finds maladministration causing injustice and recommends that the Council should:
Date Updated: 17/12/08
are in .pdf format. To view these files you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader software. It can be downloaded below free of charge. Click To Download