Essex County Council (25 017 265)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 17-Mar-2026

Summary: Mrs X complained that the Council delayed finalising her daughter’s Education, Health and Care plan. We have found the Council was at fault. It caused a delay of five months. This meant
Mrs X’s daughter missed out on some support she needed, and
Mrs X’s right to appeal was frustrated. The Council has agreed to take action to address their injustice.

West Northamptonshire Council (25 015 273)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Special educational needs 17-Mar-2026

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the content of an Education, Health and Care Plan and the information the Council relied on when making the decision. This is a matter where the complainant had a right of appeal to a tribunal and it would be reasonable to use this right if they disagree with the content of the plan.

Hertfordshire County Council (25 004 257)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 17-Mar-2026

Summary: There was fault by the Council. There was poor communication and delay when dealing with an education personal budget request. The Council also failed to ensure that a child received the provision in Section F of an Education, Health and Care Plan after the school had told officers that the child was not receiving all the provision. An apology and a symbolic payment remedies the injustice.

London Borough of Islington (25 004 878)

Statement Not upheld Special educational needs 17-Mar-2026

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to support her son, Y, back into education. She also complained about the delay in completing the annual review process. Mrs X said Y missed a year of education and Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan provision. She also said the process distressed her and impacted the family financially. The Council was not at fault.

Somerset Council (25 005 390)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 17-Mar-2026

Summary: Ms F complained about the Council’s handling of the annual review process for her son’s (X) Education, Health, and Care plan and actions around her personal budget requests. The Council agreed it had failed to adhere to statutory timescales and communicated poorly. This was fault. It has since set out the provision X should have received and backdated his personal budget in a direct payment to Ms F. We found this addressed the injustice X experienced. The Council will also apologise and make payment to Ms F to acknowledge the unnecessary distress and uncertainty she experienced.

London Borough of Lewisham (25 005 867)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 17-Mar-2026

Summary: Mrs X complains the Council failed to deal with education for her son Y properly. The Council is at fault because it did not properly consider whether it should provide alternative education for Y. Y missed educational provision. The Council should apologise, make a symbolic payment to Mrs X and provide an action plan showing how it will ensure that alternative education is properly considered.

Derbyshire County Council (24 021 963)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 16-Mar-2026

Summary: The Council was at fault. It did not secure all the tuition set out in Mrs X’s child, Y’s, Education, Health and Care Plan over a nine-month period. The Council will apologise and make a symbolic payment to Mrs X for Y’s lost provision to which they were entitled. The Council will provide evidence it has put a service improvement in place.

Swindon Borough Council (25 020 225)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Special educational needs 16-Mar-2026

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council responded to Mrs X’s concerns about her daughter’s Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and education case because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

Buckinghamshire Council (25 015 279)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Special educational needs 16-Mar-2026

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Education, Health and Care Plan process for her son. Mrs X’s appeal to the Tribunal places much of the complaint outside our jurisdiction. An investigation by the Ombudsman would be unlikely to add anything to the Council’s response about the rest of Mrs X’s complaint.

Bristol City Council (25 001 349)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 16-Mar-2026

Summary: Mr and Mrs X complained about the Council’s failure to provide their child, P, with a suitable education, support for their special educational needs and related matters. We found the Council to be at fault. It failed to ensure P had access to appropriate support when she was unable to attend school. There was also delay in the Education, Health and Care Plan process. To remedy the resulting loss of provision and distress, the Council agreed to apologise and increase a symbolic payment already made to Mr and Mrs X during its complaint handling.