Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to ensure her child (Y) received the specialist provision set out in their Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan. The Council failed to ensure Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) was in place between December 2023 until February 2025. This caused Mrs X distress, frustration and uncertainty and meant Y’s needs went unmet for longer than necessary. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to recognise this.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council failed to ensure her child (Y) received the specialist SALT provision set out in their Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan.
2. This has caused Mrs X distress, frustration and uncertainty as Y’s needs went unmet for longer than necessary.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 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)
4. 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)
5. The First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) considers appeals against council decisions regarding special educational needs. We refer to it as the Tribunal in this decision statement.
6. 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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What I have and have not investigated

7. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended). Some of Mrs X’s complaint is late as she says Y has not received SALT since the Council issued his EHC Plan in September 2022 but did not complain to us until November 2024, two years later. I have exercised discretion to investigate from November 2023. It was reasonable for Mrs X to complain to us earlier about matters before November 2023. It was also at this point Mrs X successfully appealed the EHC Plan to the SEND tribunal and it ordered the Council to increase the SALT provision in section F.

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How I considered this complaint

8. I considered evidence provided by Mrs X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
9. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

EHC Plans

10. A child or young person with special educational needs may have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. This document sets out the child’s needs and what arrangements should be made to meet them. The EHC Plan is set out in sections. We cannot direct changes to the sections about their needs, education, or the name of the educational placement. Only the tribunal or the council can do this. 
11. Councils are responsible for making sure all the arrangements set out in in the EHC Plan are put in place.
12. The Council has a legal duty to ensure the educational and social care support set out in a final EHC Plan is delivered. This duty is non-delegable.

What happened

13. Mrs X has a child (Y) of primary school age. Y has special educational needs and an EHC Plan which outlines the specialist provision they require. Following a SEND tribunal hearing in November 2023, the Council issued a new amended final EHC Plan in December 2023. Section F of the Plan outlined Y was entitled to the following SALT provision:
• A structured Speech and Language Programme devised by a HCPC registered SALT. 12 hours per academic year will be allocated for the SALT to set up and monitor the programme as well as update and review Y’s targets. The SALT will require two hours per academic year to provide a report for Y’s annual review.
• A weekly social skills intervention group planned by the SALT. The SALT and trained education staff will deliver the 30-minute session.
• Individual Speech and Language Therapy sessions weekly for 30 minutes planned by the SALT and delivered by trained education staff.
14. In June 2024, Mrs X raised a stage one complaint to the Council as Y had not received any of the SALT provision set out in the EHC Plan.
15. In August 2024, the Council responded saying it agreed for the school to provide the SALT provision and then charge the Council for the funding. However, the school then advised it was unable to provide the SALT for Y and the Council commissioned an external provider to do so. However, due to a misunderstanding it did not deliver the provision. The Council says the staff involved in commissioning the SALT no longer work for the Council so it cannot provide any further information regarding this. The Council advised it was arranging SALT provision to start in September 2024.
16. Mrs X requested a stage two complaint response but the Council did not provide one. Mrs X remained dissatisfied with the Council’s handling of the matter and complained to us.
17. In November 2024, the Council advised us there were no grounds for a stage two complaint response as all aspects of the complaint were upheld. It said it would offer and arrange a financial remedy for Mrs X.
18. In February 2025, Mrs X advised the Council had instructed a SALT and the provision had commenced but she had not received a financial remedy.

My findings

19. Y was entitled to SALT provision from December 2023 once the Council issued the amended final EHC Plan. The Council has a legal duty to ensure provision in line with section F is secured and provided. It said Y did not receive provision between December 2023-July 2024 due to a misunderstanding with the external provider. Despite being aware of the matter in July 2024, the Council then did not provide provision until February 2024 due to poor oversight of Y’s case. Therefore, the Council failed to ensure Y received the SALT provision they were entitled to for approximately a whole school year. This was fault which meant Y lost the opportunity to receive this provision and their needs have gone unmet for longer than necessary. This has caused Mrs X distress, frustration and uncertainty.
20. We have found similar fault with the Council on a separate case which resulted in a service improvement. In this case, the Council agreed to:
• Review its policy for checking EHC Plan provision and ensure it has systems in place to check the provision when a new or substantially changed plan is issued, when there is a new placement, and when concerns are raised.
21. We will continue to monitor the Council’s progress on the above actions through our casework. Therefore, a further service improvement is not required.

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Action

22. Within one month of the final decision, the Council has agreed to take the following action:
1. Apologise to Mrs X to recognise the distress, frustration and uncertainty caused by the Council’s failure to implement the SALT provision as set out in Y’s EHC Plan. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The Council should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended.
2. Pay Mrs X £200 to recognise the distress, frustration and uncertainty caused by the Council’s failure to implement the SALT provision set out in Y’s EHC Plan.
3. Pay Mrs X £500 per term to recognise Y’s loss of opportunity to receive SALT provision in line with their EHC Plan between December 2023-February 2025.

23. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

24. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed actions to remedy injustice.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman