Hertfordshire County Council (20 010 003)

Category : Education > Special educational needs

Decision : Upheld

Decision date : 02 Feb 2022

Summary: Mrs X complains the Council has failed to secure the provision in her son, Y’s, education, health and care (EHC) plan.

Finding

Fault causing injustice and recommendations made.

Recommendations

Within one month of this report, to remedy the injustice caused, the Council has agreed to:

  • apologise to Mrs X and to Y for the injustice caused by the faults in this report and pay £500 to recognise the frustration and distress caused by the Council’s failure to secure the provision, and the time and trouble taken to resolve their complaint.
  • pay Y £2,900 for the special educational needs provision he lost. This includes lost social skills support, opportunities to attend clubs, occupational therapy, and support with his emotional wellbeing in the period under investigation. In calculating this amount, we considered the provision Y received in this period. Mrs X can use this for Y’s educational benefit to ensure he catches up, as far as possible, on provision he missed.
  • pay Y £250 for the uncertainty of what further provision could have been made between May and July 2020, if the Council had taken reasonable endeavours to do so.
  • arrange for Y to receive an extra 24 hours of one-to-one support with a subject specialist in each of his four core subjects to account for the hours he missed in the previous academic year. It should discuss with Mrs X and Y the best way to achieve this. If Y’s school cannot deliver this, the Council should consider providing a personal budget to enable Mrs X to commission this support in a format that best suits Y’s needs.
  • reimburse Mrs X for the cost of securing the postural support programme privately, when she produces evidence.
  • consider assigning a different officer to oversee Y’s EHC plan and provision.

Within two months of this report, the Council has agreed to:

  • reconsider Mrs X’s request for a personal budget to secure some of the provision in Y’s plan. If the Council decides not to offer a personal budget it must explain why “disaggregation of the funds for the personal budget would have an adverse impact on services provided or arranged for other EHC plan holders, or it would not be an efficient use of the Council’s resources”.
  • arrange for a senior officer with no previous involvement in this case to review the provision in place for Y since September 2021 to ensure it has and continues to be delivered as described in his EHC plan. Where provision has not been delivered in line with Y’s plan, including the provision which has been subject of this investigation, the Council should consider whether Y is due a further remedy and take steps to secure the provision as soon as possible.

To improve services to Y and to other families, within one month of this report the Council will ensure officers are reminded:

  • of the Council’s duty to secure the provision in an EHC plan, which is non-delegable.
  • of the Council’s requirement to prepare a personal budget and the circumstances under which one can be refused.
  • how important it is for the Council to support young people and their parents to participate as fully as possible in decisions and provide them with the information and support necessary to do so.
  • that after a tribunal hearing, the Council must amend EHC plans in line with the tribunal’s decision and further changes cannot be made.
  • that complaints should not be responded to by officers who are subject of the complaint.

Ombudsman satisfied with Council's response: 9 May 2023.

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