Kingston Council apologised to the boy’s mum and paid her £600 for the missed provision
A South London council failed to provide therapy for a boy with special educational needs (SEN) for eight months. The boy’s mum said he could not cope with his anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) while Kingston Council failed to secure speech and language and occupational therapy for him.
A Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman report said the council failed to provide the boy, referred to as Y, with the support he needed for two school terms. The watchdog found this caused him and his mum, named Ms X, distress and uncertainty.
Y had an education, health and care (EHC) plan, which set out the support he required. The council ruled he would need 12 hours each of speech and language therapy and occupational therapy a year when he transitioned to an education otherwise than at school (EOTAS) package in September 2023.
Ms X raised concerns about the number of therapy hours that were being used for indirect and administrative tasks during a review of Y’s EHC plan in September 2024. The therapy provider said in November it was withdrawing provision for Y as it did not have his mum’s consent to use its model of delivering therapy.
The watchdog said that while the council worked to find suitable alternative therapy providers, it did not manage to secure this until May 2025.
The report said: “This was fault and left Y without the required provision between September 2024 and May 2025. It also caused Ms X frustration and uncertainty as to when the council would secure the provision for Y.”
The council agreed to apologise to Ms X and pay her £600 for the two terms of missed provision.
SEND failings sparked protests
The findings come after Kingston and Richmond parents took part in a protest on November 3 called Every Pair Tells a Story, which saw pairs of shoes lined up outside council headquarters in England and Scotland. Campaigners said they represented thousands of children failed by the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system.
Families gathered outside Kingston’s headquarters to describe endless battles to get the right support for their children. They told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) their children were struggling in unsuitable mainstream schools, missing out on vital support and waiting months to years for EHC plans to outline the help they needed.
The council told the LDRS at the time it had worked to address these concerns through its local SEND partnership board, while it was committed to doing more to help families.
Responding to the ombudsman’s findings, a council spokesperson said: “We accept the ombudsman’s findings in this individual case. The steps we have already started to take align with the action plan produced to improve the commissioning, monitoring and delivery of therapy provision for pupils.
“While the vast majority of children and young people in Kingston receive the support set out in their plans through local arrangements, we recognise that on this occasion our local services fell short of the standard they are entitled to expect, and we remain committed to continuous improvement of our SEND services.”
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