London Borough of Waltham Forest (23 019 274)
Category : Education > Special educational needs
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 10 Apr 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to provide an Education, Health and Care plan. This is because Mrs X had a right of appeal to the SEND tribunal that she has either used or could reasonably have used.
The complaint
- Mrs X complained about the Council’s decision not to provide an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP), and its later decision not to carry out an assessment for her son, Y. Mrs X says this has caused delay in getting the support needed for Y.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. We also cannot investigate a complaint if in doing so we would overlap with the role of a tribunal to decide something which has been or could have been referred to it to resolve using its own powers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- In December 2020 Mrs X requested an EHC needs assessment for her son, Y. The Council considered the request in early 2021 and based on information gathered, decided to not provide an EHC plan.
- In May 2022 Y’s school requested an EHC needs assessment. The Council decided not to assess as no further information of regression was provided. Mrs X used her right of appeal and says Y was issued an EHC plan in March 2023.
- I will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Councils decision not to provide an ECH plan in 2021. This is because Mrs X had a right to appeal the decision and it is reasonable to expect her to have used this. I will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s decision not to assess Y in 2022 because she has appealed to the SEND tribunal about the matter.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because she had a right of appeal to the SEND tribunal that she has either used or could reasonably have used.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman