Summary: Ms M complains about delays by the Council arranging the special educational provision in her daughter G’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. We are satisfied the Council responded appropriately to Ms M’s complaint.

The complaint

1. Ms M complains about delays by the Council arranging the special educational provision in her daughter G’s 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. 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)
3. Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered information provided by Ms M and the Council. I invited Ms M and the Council to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

5. Ms M’s daughter, G, has an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan maintained by the Council.
6. The Council amended G’s EHC Plan in July 2023 and agreed to arrange special educational provision for G at the independent school chosen by Ms M.
7. Ms M complained to the Council at the beginning of October 2023. She said G had not received the special educational provision in her plan since the beginning of term in September. In particular, G had not received Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) and one-to-one support.
8. The Council responded to Ms M’s complaint on 1 November 2023. The Council acknowledged G had not received SALT. The Council said it had identified a therapist and would make arrangements for the provision to begin. The Council apologised for the delay. The Council said the school had appointed a teaching assistant who started on 16 October to provide consistent support, but G’s EHC Plan did not specify the support would be one-to-one. The Council apologised for the delay.
9. Unhappy with the Council’s response, Ms M asked the Council to respond at the second and third stages of its complaints process. Ms M complained the Council had not been in touch to arrange the SALT. Ms M was particularly unhappy as this was the third complaint she had made about delays arranging provision in G’s EHC Plan.
10. The Council sent its final response, a letter from the Council’s Chief Executive, on 29 January 2024. He explained the officer due to contact Ms M to arrange the SALT had been absent from work due to ill-health. He said he would have expected the task to be re-assigned and apologised this had not been done sooner. He acknowledged Ms M’s previous complaints and described the lessons learned and improvements the Council had made as a result. These included changes in casework supervision, and weekly meetings between the complaints and SEND teams to ensure actions arising from complaint investigations are completed.

Consideration

11. I have carefully considered the Council’s response to Ms M’s complaint. I agree with the Chief Executive’s findings and the actions the Council has taken to address the delays arranging G’s provision. I acknowledge the steps the Council has taken to improve its services in response to Ms M’s complaints. I do not consider there is more I could add by further investigation.

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Final decision

12. I have ended my investigation. I uphold Ms M’s complaint, and I am satisfied the Council has responded appropriately.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman