Summary: The Council was at fault for not providing half termly reviews of Ms X’s son’s Speech and Language Therapy. This caused injustice to Y, as he missed sessions. The Council agreed to put on extra Speech and Language Therapy sessions for Y which was a suitable remedy for any injustice caused.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Ms X, complains the Council has not provided adequate speech and language therapy (SALT) provision to her son, as outlined in his Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. 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(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. As part of this investigation, I considered the information provide by Ms X. I discussed the complaint with Ms X over the telephone. I made enquiries with the Council and considered the information received in response. I send a draft of this decision to Ms X and the Council and considered comments received in response.

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What I found

Law and guidance

5. A child with special educational needs may have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. This sets out the child’s needs and what arrangements should be made to meet them. The EHC plan is set out in sections. We cannot direct changes to the sections about education, or name a different school. Only the tribunal can do this.

6. The Council is responsible for making sure that arrangements specified in the EHC plan are put in place. We can look at complaints about this, such as where support set out in the EHC plan has not been provided, or where there have been delays in the process.
7. The council has a duty to secure the specified special educational provision in an EHC plan for the child or young person (Section 42 Children and Families Act). The Courts have said this duty to arrange provision is owed personally to the child and is non-delegable. This means if a council asks another organisation to make the provision and that organisation fails to do so, the council remains responsible. (R v London Borough of Harrow ex parte M [1997] ELR 62), R v North Tyneside Borough Council [2010] EWCA Civ 135)

What happened

8. Ms X’s son Y has Special Educational Needs (SEN). In August 2020 the Council issued Y with a EHC Plan. In December 2021, the Council updated this plan after an annual review and issued a new EHC Plan.
9. Y’s EHC Plan stated he needed a structured SALT programme devised and reviewed half termly by a Speech and Language Therapist. The programme was to be implemented by a trained support assistant at Y’s school.
10. In September 2021 the Council took over the responsibility of providing SALT. Prior to this it contracted this out. As a result, the Council said it had to employ new staff and put a new structure in place.
11. In early November 2021, Ms X complained to the Council about the lack of SALT provision for Y. Ms X said Y was not receiving the SALT provision listed in his EHC Plan and had no input from a Speech and Language Therapist for the last half term. In mid-November 2021 the Speech and Language Therapist emailed Ms X to let her know when they would visit Y. The Therapist also mentioned they would model activities based on Y’s care plan with the Council and NHS targets. The Therapist also said they would be willing to share any resources upon request.
12. In December 2021, the Council provided its stage one response. It upheld Ms X’s complaint and apologised. The Council said it took over the responsibility of providing a Speech and Language Therapist in September 2021 and had issues with rolling this out. The Council said the Covid 19 pandemic had complicated the situation as many of the qualified Speech and Language Therapists came from abroad, so it was more difficult to source therapists. The Council says Y would have the required SALT provision in place by January 2022 and it would make up any missed SALT sessions.
13. Ms X remained dissatisfied and asked the Council to consider her complaint at stage two of its process. Ms X said the Council had not provided a written SALT programme for Y.
14. On 4 March 2022, the Council provided its stage two response. The Council said Y had appointments in school with a Speech and Language Therapist in November 2021, January 2022 and February 2022. Y was supposed to have an appointment with a Speech and Language Therapist in December 2021 but the therapist cancelled this. The Council said it would reschedule this session for March 2022. The Council said it did not provide reports after each session with a Speech and Language Therapist, nor did it have to provide a written programme in addition to the half termly visits. The Council said Y had a SALT programme in place and the therapist had discussed this with the school.
15. On 11 March 2022, the Council sent Y’s school and Ms X a copy of the written SALT programme. The programme contained details of resources the Speech and Language Therapist used and stated these could be requested from the therapist.
16. In April 2022, the Speech and Language therapist stopped working for the Council. The Council has since sourced another therapist, however Ms X is unhappy she nor the school have not been provided with the resources the therapist used in the SALT programme.
17. The Council contacted Ms X in May 2022 and said it did not have to provide these resources although it had asked the previous therapist for these. The Council said is would normally rely on the school to provide these.

Analysis

18. When the Council took over the responsibility of providing Speech and Language Therapists directly in September 2021, Y did not receive all of the half termly sessions he should have done. This was fault.
19. The Council has since apologised for this and arranged a further SALT session in March 2022. Again, when Y’s Speech and Language Therapist left in April 2022, he missed a session. The Council has again agreed to provide Y with extra SALT sessions to make up for the lost provision. I am satisfied this is a suitable remedy for any injustice caused by the missed sessions.
20. Ms X also complained the Council should have provided a written SALT programme and provided this to the parents and school. I acknowledge the Council provided a written SALT programme in March 2022 and it would have perhaps been more useful for this to have been sent to Ms X earlier, however Y’s EHC Plan did not specify that a written programme had to be provided to Ms X. Y’s EHC Plan stated, “Y requires a structured Speech and Language Therapy Programme devised and reviewed half termly by a Speech and Language Therapist. The programme is to be implemented daily by a trained support assistant at school.” Therefore, I cannot say the Council is at fault. From the evidence seen, the Council provided a Speech and Language Therapist who devised a programme for Y.
21. Ms X also complained the Council did not provide the resources specified in the SALT programme. I have not found the Council at fault for this. Ms X or Y’s school could have asked the therapist for these as specified in the SALT programme. In addition, there is nothing in Y’s EHC Plan about providing SALT resources. The Council was only responsible for providing the SALT programme as specified in the EHC Plan. I am satisfied Y could still access the SALT programme.

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Final decision

22. I have completed my investigation and found the Council was at fault for not providing half termly reviews of Y’s SALT. This caused injustice to Y, however the Council agreed to put on extra SALT sessions for Y which remedies any injustice caused.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman