Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to secure provision set out in Y’s Education, Health and Care Plan and delayed completing a review of the plan. Mrs X says this caused distress and means Y did not receive the education they were entitled to. We find the Council at fault for not securing provision and delays in reviewing Y’s plan. We find the Council has already taken suitable action to address the injustice to Mrs X and Y.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about the Council’s handling of Y’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan after they moved into its area. Mrs X says the Council failed to secure provision for Y between March 2024 and July 2024, it failed to review and update the EHC Plan within statutory deadlines, and communication has been poor. Mrs X says this has caused her real distress and means Y has not received the education they are entitled to.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).
4. 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(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered all the information Mrs X provided about her complaint. I also considered information received from the Council.
6. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Relevant law and policy

7. A young person with special educational needs (SEN) may have an EHC Plan. This sets out the young person’s needs and what arrangements should be made to meet them.
8. Where a child or young person moves to another council, the ‘old’ council must transfer the EHC Plan to the ‘new’ council. The new council must make sure the provision in the EHC Plan begins on the day of the move or within 15 working days of becoming aware of the move if this is later. The new council must review the EHC Plan either within 12 months of it last being reviewed or three months of the date of the transfer, whichever is the later date. (Section 15 Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014)  
9. The new council may, on transfer of the EHC Plan, bring forward the arrangements for the review of the plan. The new council must tell the child’s parent, within six weeks of the date of the transfer, when they will review the plan.

What happened

10. Y has SEN and their education is supported by an EHC Plan.
11. Mrs X notified the Council at the beginning of March 2024 that Y would be moving into its area at the end of the month and asked it to liaise with her current council to support this process.
12. Y moved into the Council’s area at the end of March 2024, but the Council had not yet secured provision. At this point, Y’s EHC Plan existed in draft form and provided for 1:1 catchup sessions, individual adult support from a key member of staff and a differentiated plan of support.
13. Mrs X complained to the Council in April 2024. Mrs X explained the Council had been responsible for securing provision for Y for six weeks but had failed to do so, despite Mrs X chasing every week and Y was currently not accessing education.
14. As Mrs X did not receive a response to her complaint, she chased the Council several times and explained she wished to apply for a place for Y in School A.
15. The Council responded to Mrs X’s complaint in May 2024. It acknowledged there had been a delay in securing provision for Y and that communication had not been to the level Mrs X should expect and apologised for this. The Council agreed to discuss amendments to Y’s EHC Plan with Mrs X.
16. Mrs X contacted the Council later that month, asking it to secure a place at School A and pointing out the Council still had not contacted her to discuss amendments to Y’s EHC Plan.
17. Mrs X chased the Council again in June 2024 and pointed out the Council had now failed to secure any provision for Y for more than three months. Mrs X said School A needed to see an amended final EHC Plan before it could agree a place for Y.
18. The Council agreed to treat Mrs X’s contact as an escalation of her complaint and respond to her, but she had to chase it again in July 2024.
19. In July 2024, the Council told Mrs X that School A had agreed to accept Y once the EHC Plan was amended and finalised and said it would arrange to do this.
20. The Council then responded to Mrs X’s complaint. It apologised for not having secured provision for Y and for not finalising the EHC Plan. The Council acknowledged that communication had been below the expected standard. The Council said it would consider a symbolic remedy to acknowledge the frustration and uncertainty caused by the delays and for the missed provision. The Council also said it would share the final EHC Plan as soon as possible.
21. The Council issued an amended EHC Plan for Y in August 2024. This provided for 1:1 catchup sessions, individual adult support from a key member of staff and a differentiated plan of support. The EHC Plan named School A as Y’s educational setting.
22. The Council then wrote to Mrs X with a remedy of £2,700. This was made up of £300 to acknowledge the frustration and uncertainty caused by the delays and £2,400 to recognise the missed education from April 2024 to July 2024.

Analysis

23. The Council had a duty to secure Y’s EHC Plan provision from the time they moved into its area at the end of March 2024. That it did not do so is fault and meant Y did not receive the provision they were entitled to, which is injustice. The Council did not secure provision for Y until September 2024, which means this injustice continued for a full school term.
24. The Council has already paid Mrs X £2,400, to be used for educational purposes, to recognise the injustice caused and I find this is a suitable remedy in the circumstances.
25. Y’s EHC Plan was in draft form when the Council received it in March 2024, but it did not issue a final EHC Plan until August 2024, around five months later. This is fault and would have caused further uncertainty for Mrs X, which is injustice. In that time, Mrs X had to chase the Council several times for an outcome and responses, which would have caused her further uncertainty.
26. The Council has already paid Mrs X £300 to recognise the frustration and uncertainty caused by the delays and I find this is a suitable remedy in the circumstances.

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Final decision

27. I find the Council at fault for delays in securing provision for Y, for delays in finalising their EHC Plan, and for not communicating effectively with Mrs X. However, I find the Council has already taken sufficient action to remedy the injustice caused. I have completed my investigation.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman