Summary: Mrs B complains on behalf of her now adult son, X, that there was inadequate support for him to achieve the planned outcomes from his Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC plan) when he attended college and that there was no transition planning for when the course ended. She complains about how the Council responded to her when she raised concerns. There was a lack of proper transition planning for X. The Council will apologise and make a payment to X.

The complaint

1. Mrs B complains on behalf of her now adult son, X, that there was inadequate support for him to achieve the planned outcomes from his Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC plan) when he attended college and that there was no transition planning for when the course ended. She complains about how the Council responded to her when she raised concerns.
2. She says that as a result X’s life chances are now limited as he doesn’t have any basic educational qualifications. Also, as he left education earlier than intended she has not been able to claim benefits she would have been entitled to had he stayed on in education.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. SEND is a tribunal that considers special educational needs. (The Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (‘SEND’))
4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
5. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
6. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
7. Under the information sharing agreement between the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted), we will share this decision with Ofsted.

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How I considered this complaint

8. I considered the complaint and documents provided by Mrs B and spoke to her. I asked the Council to comment on the complaint and provide information. I sent a draft of this statement to Mrs B and the Council and considered their comments.

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What I found

Overview of events

9. X had an EHC plan and in September 2017 started a one year course at college. The aim of the course was to prepare him for work, and part of the course included two days a week unpaid work placement. X also started to study for level 1 functional skills in maths and English. There was a review in December 2017 and it was agreed he would no longer continue with English.
10. In January there was a review of the EHC plan. Mrs B commented on the draft plan and a revised draft was produced and then a final. In the education section this said X’s next educational setting was likely to be an apprenticeship where he would need more support. In the section referring to adult social care needs it said he had been assessed as having eligible needs. To meet those needs when the college course ended there would be support from a specialist provider for 12 weeks when X’s needs would be reviewed.
11. X completed the course in June 2018 and started working at the placement he had attended as part of the course.
12. In December the Council learnt that X was working full-time so in January 2019 wrote to Mrs B saying it intended to stop maintaining the EHC plan. In commenting on a draft of this statement Mrs B says that X was not working full-time. She did not want the EHC plan to be ended, she and X wanted him to return to education.
13. Over the next six month there was considerable contact between Mrs B and the Council. The position now is that X started a college course in September 2019. There will be a review of the EHC plan in October.

Legal background and guidance

14. The Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice (‘the Code’) issued in January 2015 says, “the purpose of an EHC plan is to make special educational provision to meet the special educational needs of the child or young person” (section 9). The plan sets out the child’s needs and what arrangements should be made to meet them. EHC plans are for children and young people up to the age of 25.
15. Councils have a duty to make sure the child or young person gets the special educational provision set out in an EHC plan (Children and Families Act 2014, section 42).
16. The Code explains what councils should do to help support young people in the transition to life after college. It says it is important to ensure young people are prepared effectively for adulthood.
17. Where it is known that a young person with an EHC Plan will soon be completing their time in education and training, the local authority should use the annual review prior to ceasing the EHC Plan to agree the support and specific steps needed to help the young person to engage with the services and provision they will be accessing once they have left education.
18. This transition should be planned with timescales and clear responsibilities and the young person should know what will happen when their EHC plan ceases. During this planning process, the local authority must continue to maintain the young person’s EHC plan as long as the young person needs it and remains in education or training.
19. Local authorities should ensure that young people are given clear information about what support they can receive, including information about continuing study in adult or higher education when their plan ceases.
20. As young people develop, and increasingly form their own views, they should be involved more and more closely in decisions about their own future. After compulsory school age the right to make requests and decisions under the Children and Families Act 2014 applies to them directly, rather than to their parents. Parents, or other family members, can continue to support young people in making decisions, or act on their behalf, provided that the young person is happy for them to do so, and it is likely that parents will remain closely involved in the great majority of cases.

Analysis

Support in college

21. There was the annual review of X’s EHC plan in December 2017. Mrs B wanted there to be further involvement from educational psychology. The record shows that X had made some or expected progress in all areas. It was agreed he would drop English.
22. The Council’s role was to make sure X received the support specified in the statement. There is no evidence to show that any of the specified support was not provided, that the Council knew about that and failed to take action.

Transition planning

23. When X left college he was 19 and there should have been a clear plan for him to transition to adulthood both in terms of any further education and any adult social care needs he had. The final EHC plan said that X’s next educational setting would be an apprenticeship involving work experience but there was no action by the Council to support that outcome. In responding to this complaint the Council has said the expectation was that X would move into full-time employment. I do not know what the basis is for this statement as it is not supported by the content of the EHC plan or any other evidence. There is no evidence of any clear plan for X when he left college and that is fault.
24. However I have not seen any suggestion that X or Mrs B were unhappy with the situation at the time. X started working and there was no contact from them to the Council. What prompted the next action was the proposal by the Council in January 2018 to cease to maintain the EHC plan.
25. The lack of proper transition planning for X was fault. Where there has been fault I have to consider what injustice that has caused. It may be that if there been further contact and planning with X he would still have expressed a wish to work. But if other options, such as the course he has now started, had been explored he may have pursued that. I do not consider there is enough evidence for me to say that, on the balance of probabilities, had there been proper planning there would have been a different outcome for X. But X did not have the transition planning he should have done and in recognition of that there should be some remedy.

Council response to Mrs B

26. Mrs B complained to the Council in January 2019 when the Council wrote saying it was going to cease to maintain X’s statement. The Council’s response to Mrs B’s complaint was sent on 20 March. It did not accept fault in its role in X’s placement at college. It did accept that educational psychology had not been involved after 2017 when X’s EHC plan was drawn up but that would now happen. It accepted its communication with X and Mrs B could have been better.
27. Over the next months there was considerable correspondence between the Council and Mrs B about any further educational provision for X. Mrs B complained to the Ombudsman in May. Up to that point I consider the Council had responded appropriately to Mrs B.
28. The Council did respond to Mrs B’s ongoing concerns in July 2019 and if Mrs B wanted to make a further complaint about that she can, but it has not formed part of my consideration of this complaint.

Agreed action

29. The Council will apologise to X and Mrs B and pay X £500. It should do that within one month of the final decision.

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Final decision

30. There was a lack of proper transition planning for X. The Council should apologise and make a payment to X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman