Summary: Ms B complained on behalf of her now adult daughter Ms X about the Council’s assessment for, and production of, an Education, Health and Care plan (EHC plan) for her. She said there were significant delays in the process and a lack of communication. She said that as a result Ms X missed education. There was fault which caused injustice. The Council will apologise and make a payment.

The complaint

1. I refer to the complainant as Ms B. She complained on behalf of her now adult daughter Ms X about the Council’s assessment for, and production of, an Education, Health and Care plan (EHC plan) for her. She said there were significant delays in the process and a lack of communication. She said that as a result Ms X missed education.

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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. ! considered the complaint and documents provided by Ms 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 Ms B and the Council and considered their comments.
5. 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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What I found

Summary of the relevant law, guidance and good practice

6. 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.
7. Statutory guidance ‘Special educational needs and disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years’ (‘the Code’) sets out the process for carrying out EHC assessments and producing EHC Plans. The guidance is based on the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEN Regulations 2014. It says:
• where a council receives a request for an EHC needs assessment it must give its decision within six weeks whether to agree to the assessment;
• the process of assessing needs and developing EHC Plans “must be carried out in a timely manner”. Steps must be completed as soon as practicable;
• the whole process from the point when an assessment is requested until the final EHC Plan is issued must take no more than 20 weeks (unless certain specific circumstances apply); and
• councils must give the child’s parent or the young person 15 days to comment on a draft EHC plan.

What happened – summary of events

8. Ms X was home educated from year 5. She returned to formal education when she was 16 to attend college. Ms X has a diagnosis of autism, anxiety and depression. In July 2021 Ms B requested an assessment by the Council for Ms X for an EHC plan. The Council agreed to issue an EHC plan and sent a draft to Ms B in January 2022.
9. The Council produced a final EHC which is dated March 2022 but it is unclear when this was actually sent to Ms B. Ms X started at her preferred placement in September 2022.

Analysis

10. There was considerable delay in the Council’s production of the EHC plan. The Council accepted this and apologised. It said it was because of significant staff shortages. This also meant there was a lack of support and communication with Ms B. Although the final plan was dated in March Ms B did not receive it then and the Council has no record to show it was sent. It appears it was probably first sent to Ms B in May. That was 42 weeks from the date of the request for assessment when it should have been completed in 20 weeks.
11. It was at that point the Council contacted the preferred placement. They said they could offer a place to Ms X but not until September. Had there been no delay by the Council it is possible that Ms X could have started there in January 2022. That would mean she missed two terms at the placement.
12. The only remedy that is possible for the missed opportunity is for the Council to make a payment to Ms X. In line with our guidance on remedies a payment of £200 a month for the six months missed education is appropriate.
13. The Council should also make a payment to Ms B for the impact the lack of communication and delay will have had on her.
14. In responding to Ms B’s complaint the Council said it would make her requested changes to the EHC plan and reissue it. Ms B did not receive that and the Council provided nothing to show it had taken that action. Ms X’s EHC plan is currently being reviewed and the Council should ensure that any inaccuracies are corrected.
15. The Council has provided information which shows the changes it made in the EHC plan teams and the difference that is making to time taken to process assessments and produce plans. I will not, therefore, make any wider service improvement recommendations.

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Agreed action

16. Within a month of the final decision the Council will apologise to Ms B and pay her £200 and £1200 for Ms X’s benefit.
17. The Council should provide evidence to show that it has completed the above action.

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Final decision

18. There was fault which caused injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman