Tameside council is routinely taking too long to complete reviews of the support it offers to children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found.

During an investigation into a mother’s complaint in which she raised that the council had taken too long to review her children’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans, the Ombudsman found it was failing to meet statutory timescales for reviews for the majority of children and young people in the area.

In the mother’s case, it took the council 10 and a half months too long to let the mother know whether it intended to ‘cease, maintain or amend’ one of her children’s EHC Plans. And by the date of the Ombudsman’s report the child’s EHC Plan still had not been issued. In the other child’s case, the council again delayed completing the annual review process and sent details of its intentions to amend the plan nine months late.

The Ombudsman also criticised the way the council recorded details about the children’s annual review meetings, and found fault with certain aspects of the way it handled the mother’s complaints.

Ombudsman, Ms Amerdeep Somal, said:

“During my investigation, I found more than 57% of children with EHC Plans experienced delays of eight months or longer having their plans reviewed. In 2024, when we made our enquiries, it had only completed reviews in little more than 21% of cases, despite the time being nearly 65% of the way through the year.

“All these delays represent children and young people who are potentially not having their needs met, because the most up-to-date information about the precise support they require has not been finalised.

“I have asked the council to produce an action plan to show how it will address the significant backlog of EHC Plan reviews it now holds, make this publicly available and ensure a relevant body - made up of local councillors - oversees its progress.

“I am pleased the council has accepted my recommendations and hope by making its improvement plan accountable to local members it will ensure standards are raised for the benefit of children and young people across the area.”

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman remedies injustice and shares learning from investigations to help improve public, and adult social care, services. In this case the council has agreed to apologise to the mother and issue a final EHC Plan for the child who does not have an up-to-date Plan.

It will also pay the mother a combined £2,100 for the uncertainty, distress and inconvenience the family has faced.

The Ombudsman has the power to make recommendations to improve processes for the wider public. In this case the council has agreed to produce an action plan to address its failure to meet statutory timescales. It will also provide staff training on suitable and accurate record keeping.

Article date: 27 February 2025