Summary: Miss X complains the Council failed to complete a sensory profile assessment for her child, Y and failed to complete a carers assessment for her. Miss X also complains the Council failed to provide the support in her child’s Education, Health and Care Plan, failed to complete reviews and failed to act when it was made aware the school could not meet her child’s needs. Miss X says the Council failed to support in ensuring her child’s medications were administered and did not give advice about food banks. Miss X says this caused her distress and her child’s needs have not been properly assessed. We have not found fault in the actions of the Council.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council failed to complete a sensory profile assessment for her child, Y and failed to complete a carers assessment for her. Miss X also complains the Council failed to provide the support in her child’s Education, Health and Care Plan, failed to complete reviews and failed to act when it was made aware the school could not meet her child’s needs. Miss X says the Council failed to support in ensuring her child’s medications were administered and did not give advice about food banks.
2. Miss X says this caused her distress and her child’s needs have not been properly assessed.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the organisation knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the organisation of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5), section 34(B)6)
5. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(1), as amended)

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What I have and have not investigated

6. I have investigated Miss X’s complaint that the Council failed to complete a sensory profile assessment for her child, Y and failed to complete a carers assessment for her.
7. I have not investigated Miss X’s complaints that the Council failed to provide the support in her child’s Education, Health and Care Plan, failed to complete reviews and failed to act when it was made aware the school could not meet her child’s needs, failed to support in ensuring her child’s medications were administered and did not give advice about food banks. This is because the Council has not investigated these issues. I understand Miss X has recently complained about these issues.

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How I considered this complaint

8. I considered evidence provided by Miss X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
9. Miss X and the Council were invited to comment on my draft decision. I have considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

10. If, following the review of an EHC Plan, the council decides not to amend it or decides to cease to maintain it, it must inform the child’s parents or the young person of their right to appeal the decision to the tribunal.
11. Where the council proposes to amend an EHC Plan, the law says it must send the child’s parent or the young person a copy of the existing (non-amended) Plan and an accompanying notice providing details of the proposed amendments, including copies of any evidence to support the proposed changes. (Section 22(2) Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 and SEN Code paragraph 9.194). Case law sets out this should happen within four weeks of the date of the review meeting. Case law also found councils must issue the final amended EHC Plan within a further eight weeks.

Carers Assessment

12. The expectation of ‘Working Together’ is that an assessment which identifies significant needs will generally lead to the provision of services, but it is not the case that there is a duty to meet every assessed need. Whether a service is required is dependent on the nature and extent of the need assessed and the consequences of not providing a service. Councils may use eligibility criteria and take into account their available resources when providing services under section 17 of the Children Act.
13. If a council is satisfied it is ‘necessary’ to provide support services under section 2 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 then services must be provided regardless of the council’s resources.
14. Assessments should take account of the needs of the whole family. While some services may be offered directly to the disabled child, services may also be offered under section 17 to parents or siblings.

What happened

Sensory Assessment

15. Miss X told the Council in March 2024 she needed help to meet Y’s sensory needs. The Council’s notes from early April 2024 say Occupational Therapy had offered to change the layout of Miss X’s property to help meet Y’s needs but Miss X had declined this. Miss X said she wanted the shed in her garden adapted to be a sensory room and the Council advised her to seek funding for this.
16. Miss X complained to the Council in late June 2024 and said Y needed a sensory assessment.
17. The Council responded in late July 2024 to say a sensory assessment was not something it would complete. This was something that would be organised by the school.
18. The Council completed an annual review of Y’s EHC Plan in July 2024. This included advice commissioned on sensory provision from an external sensory needs specialist who visited the school.
19. Miss X again asked for a sensory room in the shed in the garden in August 2024 and the Council advised an assessment would need to be completed and discussed referral for doing this. Miss X decided she did not wish for this to be done.
20. The Council contacted Miss X in August 2024 regarding the review of Y’s EHC Plan and advised it had chased the paperwork it needed from the school. The Council explained it had considered Miss X’s request for a sensory assessment and it had decided the school had already provided relevant assessments. The Council told Miss X she could request the assessment via her GP.
21. The Council sent Miss X a letter in September 2024 which said it was proposing to amend Y’s EHC Plan following its review.
22. The Council again discussed a sensory assessment with Miss X in October 2024 and confirmed again referrals would need to be made to allow this to be completed.
23. The Council issued a draft EHC Plan in December 2024.
24. The Council issued a stage two response to Miss X’s complaint in February 2025 which said the social worker allocated to Y had considered Miss X’s request for sensory equipment.

Carers Assessment

25. Miss X previously complained to the Ombudsman and a decision was issued in early 2024 which said a parent carer needs assessment should be completed.
26. The Council contacted Miss X in mid-March 2024 to try to arrange the carers assessment. The notes from the call say Miss X explained she did not want the assessment as she did not feel it would be useful. Miss X also told the Council it was the ombudsman who recommended this rather than her who had requested it. The Council arranged to visit Miss X in early April 2024.
27. The Council visited Miss X as arranged in early April 2024. The notes from the visit record again that Miss X said she did not request a carers assessment. Miss X confirmed she wanted help addressing Y’s sensory needs.
28. Miss X complained to the Council in mid-July 2024 about the lack of a sensory assessment for Y and for failing to complete a carers assessment.
29. The Council responded to Miss X in August 2024 and said it would complete a Children and Family Assessment. Miss X was unhappy with the Council’s response and asked for her complaint to be escalated to stage two.
30. The Council contacted Miss X in late August 2024. The notes record Miss X told the Council she did not request a Children and Family assessment. The Council also contacted Miss X in September 2024 to try to arrange a Child and Family Assessment.
31. The Council visited Miss X in early October 2024. The notes record Miss X asked the Council to stop the Children and Family Assessment and complete it when she was ready.
32. The Council again contacted Miss X in late-October 2024 and the notes from this say Miss X had agreed for a carers assessment to be completed when she was ready for the Council to complete the Children and Family assessment.
33. The Council’s notes from November 2024 also show Miss X had again decided she did not want an assessment to take place at that time.
34. The Council issued a stage two complaint response in mid-February 2025 which said it had tried to complete an assessment, but Miss X had said she did not want this.

Analysis

Sensory assessment

35. The Council completed a review of Y’s EHC Plan in July which included an assessment of Y completed by an external sensory need’s specialist. The Council consider this when completing Y’s EHC Plan review.
36. The Council also considered Miss X’s request for a sensory assessment and confirmed it could not complete this and explained the reason it would not be doing.
37. I therefore have not found fault in the actions of the Council.
38. Miss X has the opportunity to appeal Council’s decision on EHC Plan when it is issued and this would be the correct route to take to challenge it. I understand Miss X has raised a complaint about the review process which the Council is dealing with. I have not considered this as part of this complaint.

Carers Assessment

39. The Council has made multiple attempts to complete a Children and Family assessment and confirmed a carers assessment would be included within that process. However, it is recorded that Miss X has said on several occasions she did not request or want this assessment.
40. Miss X has complained to the Council about the carers assessment not taking place and the Council has again tried to complete the assessment. However, again Miss X has said she does not want this.
41. The Council has clearly tried to complete an assessment but has not been able to. Based on this, I find no fault in the actions of the Council.

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Decision

42. I find no fault.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman