Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council not making all the provision specified in Mrs X’s child’s Education Health and Care Plan when they were not attending the educational setting named in the Plan. Investigation by us would be unlikely to add to the findings of the Council’s own investigation or an increased remedy.

The complaint

1. Mrs X said the Council failed to make all the provision in her child’s Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan in the school year 2024-25. She said the financial remedy offered of £600 was inadequate to take account of the effect on her child.

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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’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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 the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The Council accepted it had not made all the provision in the child’s EHC Plan, specifically regular meetings with a key worker. However, it stated it would not have been possible to meet all the requirements of the EHC Plan as it was designed for a school setting.
7. The child’s long-term difficulties in attending educational provision are not the child's fault. However, they are relevant in that the Council could take the view they made its delivery of the SEN provision specified in the EHC Plan significantly more difficult. I also note the Council made different offers of educational provision for the child, and that both parties accept the child made attempts to engage with education, but was unable to do so. Were we to investigate, it is unlikely we would find evidence of sufficient fault on the Council’s part causing enough injustice to warrant a significantly higher financial remedy.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because doing so would be unlikely to add to the Council’s own investigation or warrant a significantly different remedy recommendation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman