Overview:

Key to names used

• Mrs X The complainant
• Y Her child

Summary

The Council failed to secure the special educational provision in Y’s Education, Health and Care Plan. It also failed to carry out the annual review of Y’s Plan, despite sending letters to Mrs X saying it had done so. This resulted in Y missing out on their special educational provision and caused Mrs X and Y uncertainty, distress and frustration. 99 others also received annual review completion letters when no meeting or consultation had taken place.

Finding

Fault found causing injustice and recommendations made.

Recommendations

The Council must consider the report and confirm within three months the action it has taken or proposes to take. The Council should consider the report at its full Council, Cabinet or other appropriately delegated committee of elected members and we will require evidence of this. (Local Government Act 1974, section 31(2), as amended)

To remedy the injustice caused, we recommend the Council carry out the following actions within three months of the date of this report.

• Apologise to Mrs X and Y for the failings identified. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology.

• Pay Mrs X £5,700 to recognise the impact of four and a half terms of missed education on Y, between May 2023 and July 2024.

• Pay Mrs X £200 to recognise the frustration caused by issuing decision letters to annual reviews that did not take place.

• Write to the 99 families it has identified as not having an annual review to explain what it did wrong and apologise. It should also invite those with concerns about their child’s provision to contact it and consider whether an interim review is necessary.

Within three months of the date of this report the Council should take the following actions to improve its services in future.

• Develop an action plan which aims to ensure that every child/ young person has an annual review every year. The Council should set out specific actions, timescales and any additional resources required to achieve this statutory requirement as quickly as possible. The action plan should be agreed by the relevant Council committee and progress should be monitored by that committee as well as senior officers. This should include ensuring that annual review outcome letters are only issued when a review meeting has taken place.

• Review its procedures for delivering Education Otherwise Than at School (EOTAS) provision in EHC Plans, to ensure it properly assesses what provision is required and develops processes to check the provision is in place and act on any concerns.

• Review its processes for finding post-16 placements for young people with EHC Plans to ensure the Council identifies a placement and completes the process within the statutory timescales.

The Council has accepted these recommendations.

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