Hertfordshire County Council (25 004 257)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 17-Mar-2026

Summary: There was fault by the Council. There was poor communication and delay when dealing with an education personal budget request. The Council also failed to ensure that a child received the provision in Section F of an Education, Health and Care Plan after the school had told officers that the child was not receiving all the provision. An apology and a symbolic payment remedies the injustice.

Hertfordshire County Council (25 004 260)

Statement Upheld Alternative provision 17-Mar-2026

Summary: There was fault by the Council. There was poor communication and delay when dealing with an education personal budget request. The Council also failed to ensure that a child received the provision in Section F of an Education, Health and Care Plan after the school had told officers that the child was not receiving all the provision. An apology and a symbolic payment remedies the injustice.

London Borough of Islington (25 004 878)

Statement Not upheld Special educational needs 17-Mar-2026

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to support her son, Y, back into education. She also complained about the delay in completing the annual review process. Mrs X said Y missed a year of education and Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan provision. She also said the process distressed her and impacted the family financially. The Council was not at fault.

Somerset Council (25 005 390)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 17-Mar-2026

Summary: Ms F complained about the Council’s handling of the annual review process for her son’s (X) Education, Health, and Care plan and actions around her personal budget requests. The Council agreed it had failed to adhere to statutory timescales and communicated poorly. This was fault. It has since set out the provision X should have received and backdated his personal budget in a direct payment to Ms F. We found this addressed the injustice X experienced. The Council will also apologise and make payment to Ms F to acknowledge the unnecessary distress and uncertainty she experienced.

London Borough of Lewisham (25 005 867)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 17-Mar-2026

Summary: Mrs X complains the Council failed to deal with education for her son Y properly. The Council is at fault because it did not properly consider whether it should provide alternative education for Y. Y missed educational provision. The Council should apologise, make a symbolic payment to Mrs X and provide an action plan showing how it will ensure that alternative education is properly considered.

Newcastle upon Tyne City Council (25 008 888)

Statement Upheld Other 17-Mar-2026

Summary: Ms X complained the Council wrongly excluded her child from the Holiday and Activities (HAF) Programme and failed to apply its discretion to allow inclusion as a child in need. The Council confused two schemes and failed to consider Ms X’s child for inclusion in the HAF programme meaning the child missed out on holiday activities and meals. A remedy which includes a distress payment and information on how to apply for the next scheme is agreed.

Swindon Borough Council (25 008 904)

Statement Upheld School admissions 17-Mar-2026

Summary: We found there was fault in the way the Council decided Mrs X’s application for her children to be admitted to Reception out of their normal age group. We recommended the Council apologised and reconsidered its decision.

London Borough of Ealing (25 014 680)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries School exclusions 17-Mar-2026

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the conduct of an Independent Review Panel that considered the permanent exclusion of Ms X’s child from school. There is not enough evidence of procedural fault in the conduct of the panel to warrant our further involvement.

Manchester City Council (25 015 241)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Alternative provision 17-Mar-2026

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council failing to arrange alternative provison for Y because there is insufficient evidence of fault and the injustice is not significant enough to warrant an investigation.

West Northamptonshire Council (25 015 273)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Special educational needs 17-Mar-2026

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the content of an Education, Health and Care Plan and the information the Council relied on when making the decision. This is a matter where the complainant had a right of appeal to a tribunal and it would be reasonable to use this right if they disagree with the content of the plan.