The council has apologised and says it has improved its service provision
A West London council has been forced to pay a mother over £5,000 after significant failures were found in support provided for a disabled child.
Ealing Council failed in its handling of the child’s Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), leaving the child without education or speech and language therapy for nine months. The child, named as Child Y in the report, also missed out on suitable education from November 2023 until July 2024.
In July 2023, the mother, referred to as Miss X, raised concerns that her child’s provisions were not being delivered, and asked the council to move her classes, reassess her, and conduct an annual review. The council held a review two months later, and decided to seek alternative placements; one was found in December 2023, with an offer to move in September 2024.
By this stage, the child had developed anxiety, and stopped attending school. The council proposed home tuition, and sent Miss X information about services available to her.
Despite discussing home tuition in December 2023, no class had taken place until March 2024, however it was discontinued shortly after following a safeguarding incident. Under Section 19 of the Education Act 1996, councils must arrange suitable education for children who are out of school due to exclusion, illness, or other reasons – as such the council was found to be at fault.
In February 2024, the tuition started, and the council issued a draft EHCP, which Miss X argued was outdated and lacking medical evidence about the child’s epilepsy – something the council later agreed with. The Ombudsman found this to be a fault.
In May 2024, Miss X also raised concern about the lack of speech and language therapy, and occupational therapy, as the council could not secure a provider. This was another fault on the part of Ealing Council, as it has a duty to provide required therapies.
Three months after Miss X raised concerns about the EHCP, the council issued a final plan. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) found fault in the council’s delay of issuing it.
Local authorities are required to issue an amended EHCP within 8 weeks, however between the initial review and final plan being issued, the council took 32 weeks – four times as long as it should have. This caused Miss X and her child unnecessary uncertainty and distress.
In November 2023, one council officer contacted Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) to “request an update on a referral for Y.” The officer did not obtain parental consent to do so, mistakenly thinking it had already been given.
This was then treated as a data breach by CAMHS, as no evidence of parental consent was found. The council has since apologised to Miss X for the unauthorised contact.
Miss X told the Ombudsman that the delays and lack of support from the council caused distress and financial pressures. She also said that it affected her child’s development. As a result, the watchdog ordered Ealing Council to apologise and pay Miss X £5,675.
An Ealing Council spokesperson said: “We sincerely apologise for our failings in this case. Supporting residents with extra needs is a top priority for us.
“This investigation occurred in 2023-2024 and since then the team has done a lot of training on how to deal with complaints, communication skills and data protection, which is ongoing and included in our workplan. We have been rapidly improving our service, which was most recently recognised in an Ofsted special educational needs and disability (SEND) report in September.
“We recognise that there is still work to do to ensure all residents receive a consistently high level of service and we are committed to acting on feedback and working with all partners to ensure our services continue to improve so we deliver the very best experiences for all our children and young people with additional needs.”
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