Derbyshire County Council (19 000 747)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 28-Jan-2020

Summary: Mr X complained the Council has not made suitable alternative education arrangements for his daughter Miss Z since she stopped attending school because of anxiety in February 2018. We find the Council was at fault. It did not take appropriate, prompt steps to deal with the absence and make appropriate alternative education provision for her. It has agreed to apologise to Miss Z and pay her £2,000 to remedy injustice caused by this fault. It has also agreed to review its practice supporting children out of school, particularly with respect to those out of school because of reasons not identified as illness or exclusion.

Coventry City Council (19 000 681)

Statement Not upheld Special educational needs 27-Jan-2020

Summary: Mrs X complains the Council delayed in issuing an amendment to her child’s Education Health and Care Plan. The Ombudsman has found no evidence of fault in the way the Council considered these matters. The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaints about the school named in the Plan or her concerns about advice given over responsibility for school transport for her child. Mrs X has appealed to a tribunal about these matters. The law prevents the Ombudsman from investigating in such circumstances.

London Borough of Merton (19 000 969)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 27-Jan-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman upholds Mr and Mrs X’s complaint about the delay in issuing an Education, Health and Care plan for their daughter, Y. The Council failed to consult with all the relevant professionals and delayed seeking advice from other sources. It failed to communicate with Mr and Mrs X, missed deadlines and did not keep clear records of decisions. Y missed out on support as a result of the delay. The Council will apologise and make a payment to Y and Mr and Mrs X to remedy their injustice. It will also hold an early annual review for Y and remind staff of their duties in carrying out needs assessments and issuing plans.

Norfolk County Council (19 015 551)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Special educational needs 24-Jan-2020

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council did not carry out an annual review in time after issuing her child’s Education, Health and Care plan. We should not investigate this complaint, as the Council has offered a remedy and it is unlikely that investigation by the Ombudsman would lead to a different outcome.

Peterborough City Council (18 013 497)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 23-Jan-2020

Summary: The Council failed to ensure C received all of the provision set out in his Education, Health and Care Plan. It also failed to consider whether to make a safeguarding referral when notified that C had been assaulted at school. Then when Ofsted made a safeguarding referral to the Council, it failed to properly investigate. The Council has agreed to apologise and make payments to Mrs B and C and take action to prevent similar failings in future.

Central Bedfordshire Council (19 013 321)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Special educational needs 22-Jan-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to name a particular school in an Education Health and Care Plan for her child. Mrs X appealed that decision to the Tribunal and we cannot investigate the same issues a Tribunal considered nor the way the Council acted during that process.

London Borough of Newham (18 018 918)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 21-Jan-2020

Summary: Ms X complains of delay by the Council in deciding not to issue an Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan for her daughter, Z. The Council took too long to decide not to issue, and also failed to deal with Ms X’s complaint about this. However, there was no injustice as the resulting Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Tribunal found Z did not need an EHC Plan.

Sheffield City Council (19 006 630)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 21-Jan-2020

Summary: Mrs F complains the Council delayed finalising an EHC Plan for her son, D, and proposed an inappropriate date for the annual review. The Council has accepted there was delay and has apologised, which is a suitable remedy for the injustice caused.

North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council (19 005 777)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 20-Jan-2020

Summary: Mrs X complained about the statutory assessment and review process of her daughter’s, Y’s Education, Health and Care Plan. The Council has already accepted there were delays in the assessment process that affected Y’s provision and has paid Mrs X a financial remedy and made service improvements. However, there were further faults that occurred whilst the Council dealt with Mrs X’s complaint which has caused further avoidable frustration. The Council has agreed to apologise for those.

Isle of Wight Council (19 013 815)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Special educational needs 20-Jan-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr Q’s complaint about the school named in his son’s Education, Health and Care Plan. This is because he had a right of appeal to SEND.