Summary: Miss X complained the Council did not amend her son’s Education, Health and Care plan following her son’s annual review and used an outdated plan to consult with schools. We have found the Council was at fault. The Council has proposed a suitable remedy to the injustice caused by its fault.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council did not update her son Y’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan after his annual review in October 2024.
2. She says the Council used an outdated plan when consulting with schools. Miss X says this caused her frustration and anxiety, which has impacted on her wellbeing.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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(1), as amended)
4. 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

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

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What I found

Law and Guidance

7. A child or young person with special educational needs may have an EHC plan. This document sets out their needs and what arrangements should be made to meet them.
8. The council must arrange for the EHC Plan to be reviewed at least once a year to make sure it is up to date. Following the review meeting the council must issue a decision to either amend, maintain or cease to maintain the EHC Plan. This must happen within four weeks of the meeting. (Section 20(10) Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 and SEN Code paragraph 9.176)

9. The council must review and amend an EHC Plan in enough time before a child or young person moves between key phases of education. This allows planning for and, where necessary, commissioning of support and provision at the new institution. The review and any amendments must be completed by 15 February in the calendar year in which the child is due to transfer into or between school phases. The key transfers are:
• early years provider to school;
• infant school to junior school;
• primary school to middle school;
• primary school to secondary school; and
• middle school to secondary school. (SEN Code paragraph 9.179)

What happened

10. Y had his annual review in October 2024.
11. Y had an interim annual review in mid-June 2025. The Council then issued a draft amended EHC plan at the end of June.
12. In July 2025, the Council sent consultations to six schools for a Year 6 placement for Y.
13. At the end of September 2025, Miss X complained to the Council. She said the Council had not amended Y’s EHC plan following his October 2024 annual review. She also said the Council had not found a secondary school placement for Y and had sent consultations using an outdated version of his plan.
14. In mid-October 2025, the Council responded to Miss X. It apologised for not issuing an amended plan following the October 2024. The Council later told me that capacity issues within the team had caused the delay.
15. Y had another annual review in Mid-October 2025, when he was in Year 6.
16. In mid-February 2026, the Council issued a final amended EHC plan. The plan named a new residential placement, which matched Miss X’s preference.

My findings

17. By not making a decision about Y’s plan, the Council exceeded the statutory timeframe for deciding whether to maintain, amend or cease Y’s plan following his October 2024 annual review. It also failed to issue a decision letter. This affected Miss X’s ability to appeal a final plan. This was fault.
18. In July 2025, the Council sent consultations to several schools about Y’s placement while he was still in Year 5. It sent the schools Y’s existing EHC plan, but the plan was outdated and did not reflect his current needs. This was fault.
19. Following the June 2025 interim review, the Council issued a draft plan within the statutory timeframe.
20. In mid-October 2025, Council responded to Miss X’s complaint and apologised for not issuing an amended EHC plan. It upheld her complaint but did not offer any remedy. Miss X therefore brought her complaint to the Ombudsman.
21. Y had another review in mid-October 2025, and the Council issued an amended plan in mid-February 2026. Y was in Year 6 and due to move from primary to secondary school in September 2026. The statutory guidance required the Council to complete this process by 15 February. I therefore find no fault with the Council over this review.
22. The Council told me it had reorganised its SEND team to improve oversight and make sure staff deal with reviews on time.
23. Following my enquiries, the Council proposed a further apology and an £800 payment. It proposed £500 to recognise the frustration and impact caused by the delay and poor communication, and £300 to recognise the emotional impact on Y and Miss X. The proposed payment is in line with our Guidance on Remedies.
24. I have considered the service improvements the Council has made and the remedy it has proposed. If the Council completes the actions set out below, I consider they will remedy the injustice caused to Miss X and Y.

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Action

25. Within four weeks the Council has agreed to:
• Write to Miss X, apologising for failing to send a decision letter following Y’s annual review, using an out-of-date plan when sending consultations to schools, and causing her to spend time and effort in raising her complaint. We publish guidance which sets out what we expect an effective apology to look like. The Council will consider this guidance when writing to Miss X.
• Make a symbolic remedy of £800, to Miss X on Y’s behalf to recognise her frustrated right of appeal and the stress and inconvenience in raising her complaint.
26. The Council will provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

27. The Council was at fault. The Council will now take action to remedy Miss X and Y’s injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman