Summary: We have upheld Miss X’s complaint about the delayed finalisation of her child’s Education, Health and Care needs assessment and lack of educational provision provided by the Council. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about the delayed finalisation of her child’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment and lack of educational provision provided by the Council. She says that after her child – Y was excluded from school, the Council failed to put in educational provision for over six months.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy.(Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), 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 considered information provided by Miss X and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. If we investigated this complaint, it is likely that we would find the Council at fault. It has failed to evidence that it provided educational provision for Y from January 2024 to the end of the school year in July 2024 and delayed issuing a final EHC Plan by three months.
7. Where fault has resulted in a loss of educational provision, we will usually recommend a remedy payment of between £900 to £2,400 per term to acknowledge the impact of that loss.
8. The remedy already proposed by the Council for missed education provision of £2,100 (or £1,050 per term) is at the lower end of this guidance. It does not reflect the greater impact that a loss of educational provision would have had on a child with these documented special needs and the fact there was no alternative education provision provided. However, I am also mindful the child is of primary age and was not in a key year of education. I therefore propose this payment should be increased to £3,200 (£1,600 per term).
9. I note the Council has awarded a payment of £200 to Miss X for the time and trouble she has experienced. However, the delay in issuing the final EHC Plan has also caused Miss X distress in the form of frustration and this has not been remedied. I therefore propose a further payment of £300 in consideration of this.
10. We are not suggesting the Council to make a further apology because it has already apologised for the delays and lack of provision in its response to the complaint.
11. We also did not propose any service improvements. The Council had already agreed to undertake work on improving the EHC Plan process and its handling of alternative education provision on the Ombudsman’s recommendations on another case.
12. We therefore invited the Council to consider remedying the injustice caused by its actions by taking the following actions within one month of the date of this decision:
• Pay Miss X £200 for time and trouble.
• Pay Miss X £300 for distress.
• Pay Miss X £3,200 (or £1,600 per term) in recognition of Y’s loss of educational provision.
13. To its credit, the Council agreed to resolve the complaint and will complete the above within one month of our final decision.

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Final decision

14. We have upheld this complaint. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman