Essex County Council (23 003 950)

Report Upheld Special educational needs 07-Mar-2024

Summary: Mrs X complained about the Council’s failure to carry out an Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment for Y when she had asked for it in January 2022, follow the statutory timescales for an EHC Plan process and deliver suitable full-time education to Y since September 2022.

Surrey County Council (23 015 773)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Special educational needs 05-Mar-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council carried out an Education Health and Care assessment for a child. This is because the complainant has used their right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal and because we could not add to the investigation carried out by the Council.

Essex County Council (23 016 413)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries School transport 05-Mar-2024

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to change a named home to school transport provider for a child she cares for because there is insufficient evidence of fault, and we cannot achieve the outcome Mrs X wants.

Kent County Council (23 016 621)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Special educational needs 05-Mar-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to make Ms X’s child’s special educational provision for 15 months. This is because 11 months of this period is affected by a limit on our legal powers that means we cannot investigate it. While there was fault by the Council in the period we could investigate, the likely maximum remedy we would propose for the fault over four months is smaller than the remedy offered by the Council for failings it has identified in its actions during the full period, which includes the period we cannot investigate.

Worcestershire County Council (23 005 674)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 05-Mar-2024

Summary: We upheld this complaint. There was a delay of over a year in completing the annual review of Y’s Education, Health and Care Plan. The Council delayed organising any alternative provision and the provision it eventually put in place was minimal. As a result, Y was without suitable full-time educational provision between January 2022 and September 2023. The Council will apologise, issue an amendment notice and final plan and make payments set out in this statement.

Surrey County Council (23 006 177)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 05-Mar-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council not arranging educational provision for Miss X’s child. A legal judgement prevents us investigating matters that are not separable from matters subject to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal.

Slough Borough Council (23 006 513)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 05-Mar-2024

Summary: The complainant (Ms X) said the Council had delayed her son’s (Y) Education Health and Care needs assessment following the Special Educational Needs Tribunal order and failed to follow the right process during this assessment. We cannot investigate the quality of the professional advice obtained during Y’s needs assessment. We found fault with the Council for the delays in making its decision not to issue an Education Health and Care Plan for Y and for not obtaining all professional advice needed. We also found fault in the way the Council dealt with Ms X’s complaint. This fault caused injustice to Y and Ms X. The Council agreed to apologise, make payments to Ms X and obtain Speech and Language advice for Y. The Council also agreed to review its process of getting professional advice as part of a needs assessment for children who are electively home educated and provide some training to its staff dealing with the complaints.

East Sussex County Council (23 006 590)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 05-Mar-2024

Summary: Ms B complained how the Council handled her daughter’s annual review. She says the Council delayed processing the annual review and it failed to consider her daughter’s safety and welfare during the request for a change of placement. She also says the Council failed to consider all her comments and evidence when it responded to her complaint. We find the Council was at fault for its delays during the annual review process. It also failed to evidence it considered all relevant information when deciding on a suitable placement for Ms B’s daughter. The Council has agreed to our recommendations to address the injustice caused by fault.

Royal Borough of Greenwich (23 008 549)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 05-Mar-2024

Summary: There was fault the Council did not secure all the required provision for Mr X’s child’s Education, Health, and Care plan for when it was due to start. We would describe this fault as a service failure, and it caused Mr X an injustice, because it left him with avoidable uncertainty about how this delayed provision affected his child’s progress. The Council have already provided a remedy for this injustice during our involvement.

Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council (23 009 065)

Statement Not upheld School transport 05-Mar-2024

Summary: There was no fault in how the Council decided the level of school travel support to offer Miss B’s daughter. There was no fault in the process the Council followed when making the decision, so we have no power the question the decision itself.