County council pays £2,000 to woman whose child missed a year of educational help

Her complaint to the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman was the latest in a long line relating to delays in completing Education, Health & Care Plans.

A report from the Ombudsman said the child was diagnosed with autism late in 2022, with doctors advising that they work from home for a while until they were ready to return to school.

An Education, Health & Care needs assessment was called for and, by mid-January 2023, alternate provision for the child’s education had been made.

The council then decided not to complete the assessment – but new evidence changed the authority’s mind and, in late November 2023, it decided it would issue a Plan.

Problems with the draft Plan meant the process was dragged out and it wasn’t until September 2024 that the final Plan was issued.

A report from the Ombudsman said the council had had all the relevant professional reports it needed by late October 2023 and should have issued the final Plan in November 2023.

After investigating the mother’s complaint, it was agreed that the council would make a ‘symbolic payment’ of £2,025 to acknowledge the impact on the child of the lost special educational provision.

On top of that, the council would apologise and pay the mother £300 to acknowledge the frustration caused by its failure to issue the final Plan on time, as well as the ‘frustration and time and trouble caused by its poor communication’.

The agreement takes the amount the council has paid out following such complaints to almost £6,000 this calendar year. In 2023, the payouts totalled more than £25,000.

Much of the problem lays in the increased demand for special needs services, as well as a national shortage of education psychologists.

Since 2019, the number of Education, Health & Care Plan assessments completed by the council has risen by more than 60%.

In December 2024, a total of 9,254 West Sussex children had a Plan – an increase of 1,565 since the previous December.

But only 12.7% of the new Plans were completed within the 20-week deadline.

A council spokesman said: “We accept the Ombudsman’s findings, have apologised to the family involved and have made the recommended payment.

“We understand the distress that this has caused and we have taken action to reduce the risk of this situation arising again.”