Calderdale Council pays family £1,500 after Ombudsman's ruling over handling of special educational needs complaints

Calderdale Council agreed to pay the money as part of remedies the Local Government Ombudsman concluded were needed after adjudicating on the case.

The child’s mother, referred to in the Ombudsman’s report as Mrs X, had made a number of complaints about the council’s dealing with her daughter’s special educational needs over a two-year period.

These included complaints about delay, about the council issuing two final educational, health and care plans without proper consultation, about failure to ensure adequate support was available at two different educational settings, and about poor communication.

As a result, Mrs X claimed Child Y was not provided with the support she needed and this had a negative impact on her educational progress and mental health.

Mrs X herself suffered distress, frustration, time and trouble dealing with the council, said the Ombudsman’s report.

The Ombudsman accepted there was delay in the council making amendments the child’s mother felt were critical, suffering injustice because of the frustration this caused.

Regarding issuing two final education, health and care plans without proper consultation, the Ombudsman was satisfied the council had been at fault in aspects of procedure and there was some uncertainty and distress that required a remedy.

Communication had been poor and was a fault, said the Ombudsman.

But there was insufficient evidence the council was at fault over ensuring adequate special educational needs support was in place at two different educational settings.

The council agreed to take action including apologising to Mrs X and her daughter, paying Mrs X £500 to recognise delay, poor communication and case handling, and paying pay Mrs X £1,000 to acknowledge a period of missed education and specialist provision – suggesting the payment be used for the child’s educational benefit.

The council also agreed to provide evidence to the Ombudsman action it had taken to ensure educational placements are properly monitored, particularly where problems have been identified, and to put processes in place to ensure parents are regularly updated by their designated case worker throughout the plan review process.