Kent County Council (22 008 017)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 02-Apr-2023

Summary: There was a delay in issuing Y’s Education Health and Care plan which was fault causing a loss of about four months of education provision. There was also a delay in responding to her mother Ms X’s complaint. The Council will apologise, make payments and take action set out in this statement.

Kent County Council (22 010 831)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 03-Apr-2023

Summary: Mr X complained the Council have failed to ensure his son received the occupational therapy support set out in his Education, Health and Care plan. He also said the Council failed to provide his son with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. We find the Council was at fault. This had a significant impact on Mr X’s son’s transition to college and caused Mr X significant stress. To address the injustice caused by fault, the Council has agreed to several recommendations.

Kent County Council (22 010 159)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 11-Apr-2023

Summary: Ms X complained the Council failed to provide her daughter, Y, with transition arrangements for post 16 education. Ms X also complained the Council delayed identifying Y an education placement and delayed issuing her Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) paperwork. Ms X says this has caused Y distress and anxiety and she is out of education. The Council did not provide a transition, has not provided education and delayed in the EHCP process. Ms X has suffered distress and Y has missed out on education. The Council has agreed to apologise to Ms X and Y for its fault, make a financial payment and provide guidance to its staff to confirm its statutory duties.

Kent County Council (22 012 006)

Statement Upheld Assessment and care plan 17-Apr-2023

Summary: Mr X, on behalf of his wife, complained the Council asked them to sign a charging letter for a package of care without completing a financial assessment or giving any indication of what the cost would be. The Ombudsman does not intend to pursue this complaint further as the Council has provided a suitable remedy by apologising, cancelling the first invoice and making a goodwill gesture of £50.

Kent County Council (22 010 884)

Statement Upheld Charging 19-Apr-2023

Summary: Mrs X complained on behalf of her son, Mr Y. She complained the Council has not considered all Mr X’s disability related expenditure (DRE). Mrs X also complained about the lack of clear information available to her, poor communication and delays from the Council. She says this caused distress and anxiety and Mr Y has paid more for his care than he should have. There was fault in the way the Council considered disability related expenditure, did not provide clear information and there were delays in this case. Mrs X and Mr Y suffered from the uncertainty about the financial contributions to Mr Y’s care and Mrs X was put to time and trouble to complain. The Council should apologise to Mrs X and Mr Y, pay Mrs X £200 to acknowledge the time and trouble she has been put to, reassess Mr Y’s disability related expenditure and remind its staff to consider each case individually.

Kent County Council (22 013 052)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 24-Apr-2023

Summary: there was delay by the Council issuing G’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. The Council has apologised for the delay and agreed a partial refund of fees Mrs M paid for G’s tuition.

Kent County Council (21 017 455)

Statement Upheld Residential care 25-Apr-2023

Summary: We found fault by the Council and Trust with regards to the care and treatment they provided to Mr Y when he was resident in a local care home. The Council and Trust will apologise to Mr Y’s daughter, Miss X, and pay her a financial sum in recognition of the distress caused to her by this fault. They will also take appropriate action to prevent similar problems occurring in future.

Kent County Council (22 009 049)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 02-May-2023

Summary: Mrs C says the Council failed to put in place speech and language therapy provision following a tribunal. The Council put in place speech and language therapy between October and December 2022 but has not put in place any provision since then, which is fault. An apology, payment to Mrs C and action to put in place speech and language therapy promptly is satisfactory remedy.

Kent County Council (22 008 898)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 29-May-2023

Summary: Ms X complained about how the Council has managed her son’s education provision. She said the Council has: unfairly removed his placement, issued a proposal to cease his Education, Health and Care plan without her consent and delayed responding to her complaint. We find fault by the Council. To address the injustice cause by these faults the Council has agreed to apologise, make symbolic payments and agreed to service improvements.

Kent County Council (22 014 492)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 31-May-2023

Summary: The complainant, Miss X, complained that the Council has failed to amend her son’s Education, Health and Care Plan after the 2022 review; failed to update her after a previous 2021 review; failed to respond to her complaint and other correspondence and delayed providing a personal transport budget. We find the Council at fault. This caused her and her son significant stress. To address the injustice caused by fault, we recommend several remedies.