Isle of Wight Council (08 001 991)

Special educational needs        Maladministration causing injustice

04 June 2009

Isle of Wight Council failed to provide education for a boy with special needs for 16 months. The Ombudsman says “This was a lost opportunity that held back his personal development at a critical time. He also did not have any support or help to develop social and living skills… This left him isolated, withdrawn and dependent on his family.”

The Ombudsman is pleased that the boy is now settled and making progress in his new residential placement, and that the Council has agreed to apologise and pay a total of £17,000 compensation to him and his mother. It has also taken steps to review working methods and ensure that special educational needs work is more effectively managed and supervised in future.

‘Mrs Berry’ (real names are not used for legal reasons) complains that the Council failed to provide education and social support for her son, ‘Ben’, from July 2007 and gave inadequate consideration to her complaints in 2007. She considers that Ben became isolated, withdrawn and disengaged, and the Council took until September 2008 to agree home care and until November 2008 to arrange a suitable placement in a residential college. Mrs Berry says that she lost earnings and she and her husband were put under unacceptable stress and strain.

The investigation revealed a number of significant faults in how Ben’s circumstances were considered by the Council. These were:

• a failure to make appropriate provision in accordance with the Council’s statutory responsibilities for education and special educational needs (SEN);
• a failure to plan for his educational needs from the age of 14, and for his post-16 transition, in an effective, proactive and timely manner;
• a lack of incisive action and delay in finding alternative schooling and a failure to give his case a consistently high level of attention and urgency;
• a lack of recording of action taken and keeping in touch with Mrs Berry;
• a failure to properly communicate with her about Ben’s SEN Statement and to carry out a full statutory Annual Review after March 2007;
• a failure to look at the whole child and a delay in arranging home care support; and
• a lack of response and follow up to Mrs Berry’s complaints in late 2007.

The Ombudsman finds maladministration causing injustice and the Council has agreed to:

• pay Mrs Berry £13,000 in total for her anxiety, frustration and financial losses;
• pay Ben £4,000 for his lost education and support;
• make a formal apology to Mrs Berry and Ben; and
• offer to meet with Mrs Berry, her husband and Ben to reassure them of its commitment to meeting his continuing needs.
   

Date Published: 09/06/09