Cheshire East Council (19 010 135)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 26-Oct-2020

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to ensure her daughter, Y, received suitable alternative education when she was unable to attend mainstream school due to her anxiety. She also complained that when the Council arranged tuition for Y it was not sufficient to address Y’s needs. She said this has affected Y’s mental health and negatively impacted her development. There was fault when the Council did not arrange tuition for Y for several weeks after it became aware she was no longer attending school. The Council has agreed to pay Mrs X £500 in recognition of the injustice Y suffered when she did not receive an education for two months.

Birmingham City Council (19 012 992)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 23-Oct-2020

Summary: Mr B complains on behalf of his disabled son about how the Council delayed in finalising and issuing an amended Education, Health and Care Plan. The Ombudsman finds there was fault by the Council in this matter, causing injustice to Mr B and his son for which a remedy has been agreed.

Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council (19 010 754)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 23-Oct-2020

Summary: Ms X complained the Council did not ensure her child, Y, received the provision set out in their Education, Health and Care Plan. She also complained it delayed in completing Y’s annual review and of poor complaint handling. She says the Council has accepted some fault, but not offered an appropriate remedy. The Council is at fault. It did not ensure Y received the provision in their Education, Health and Care Plan and delayed in holding their annual review. It also handled her complaint poorly. It has agreed to pay Ms X £4050 to be used for Y’s educational benefit to recognise the loss of educational opportunity and the impact that had on Y. It will also pay Ms X £300 for the distress the matter caused her and for the time and trouble spent pursuing her complaint. The Council will also review its procedures.

West Berkshire Council (18 019 774)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 23-Oct-2020

Summary: Mr and Mrs X complain about the Council’s involvement in their son’s education and social care, causing his needs to be neglected. From the evidence seen, the Ombudsman does not find fault with the child protection conference nor with the time taken to issue an Education and Health Care plan. The Ombudsman does find fault in how the Council handled the complaint, causing distress and frustration to Mr and Mrs X. The Ombudsman has made recommendations to remedy the injustice caused.

Hampshire County Council (19 013 273)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 22-Oct-2020

Summary: Mrs X complains that the Council has delayed completing an Education, Health and Care needs assessment for her son for over a year. Mrs X says the delays have been detrimental to her son’s education and mental health, and she has spent time and trouble chasing the Council. The Ombudsman finds the Council at fault. The Council will apologise to Mrs X and make a payment to reflect the injustice caused by the fault.

Swindon Borough Council (19 017 448)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 22-Oct-2020

Summary: Mrs R complained the Council failed to properly manage an Education, Health and Care Plan for her daughter S. Mrs R said this had caused her time and trouble and that S had not been supported as much as she should have been. The investigation found evidence of fault, which the Council had already accepted. It agreed to provide an appropriate remedy.

London Borough of Merton (19 017 971)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 22-Oct-2020

Summary: There was delay in issuing an Education, Health and Care Plan and in implementing actions agreed as part of the complaint process. This was fault and unnecessarily delayed some specialist support. Recommendations for an apology, financial payment and service improvements are made.

West Sussex County Council (20 004 779)

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

Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint about which year group her child should be educated in. She has appealed to the Tribunal to amend the Council’s Education Health and Care Plan and we cannot investigate the same issues the Tribunal is considering.

Cumbria County Council (19 015 087)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 21-Oct-2020

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council delayed in finalising her daughter, D’s, Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan, failed to ensure D received educational provision in line with her EHC Plan, and did not respond to her complaints in a timely manner or respond to the points she raised. The Council delayed in finalising D’s EHC Plan and at times did not ensure she received the educational provision in her Plan. It also failed to deal with Mrs X’s complaints appropriately. These faults caused Mrs X and D an injustice. The Council has agreed to make them a financial payment and review its processes to ensure similar faults do not occur in future.

Norfolk County Council (19 017 423)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 19-Oct-2020

Summary: Mrs M did not received a satisfactory response to her complaint from the Council. She has been denied access to the statutory children’s complains process. The Council has agreed to apologise and investigate Mrs M’s complaint.