Special needs child missed school due to council

A looked after child with special needs missed out on a year-and-a-half of school because a council failed to find them a suitable place, an ombudsman has said.

Worcestershire Children First, owned by Worcestershire County Council, took more than a year to update the child's education, health and care plan (EHCP).

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGO) upheld a complaint against the council and said it had a "poor grasp of the SEND system".

Worcestershire County Council agreed to pay £11,060 for the child’s missed education and apologise to the child's carer.

The child, who lived with a relative as part of a kinship care arrangement, was unable to attend mainstream school because their education and behavioural needs were unsupported.

The LGO said the child failed also to receive the therapy they needed for more than two years.

It said the process of finding a new school for the child was delayed due to a lack of understanding of the EHCP process.

A statement from the ombudsman said the council took more than a year to update the child’s EHCP.

During this period, it approached special schools with an out-of-date record of the child’s needs when enquiring about spaces - which meant that schools were making a decision on whether they could admit the child based on inaccurate information.

The LGO said: "The council failed to keep the child’s carer informed throughout the process, and failed to ask for her views on the plans, despite the law defining her as a parent for these purposes.

"Because the child’s needs remained unsupported for so long, their emotional wellbeing worsened at home to the extent they struggled to leave the house.

"The child became distressed and isolated from their peers and this had a great impact on their relationship with their carer and the carer’s own mental health, who admitted the placement was at risk of breaking down."

The council has agreed to review the training provided to staff to ensure it covers aspects of concern raised in the Ombudsman’s report.

Councillor David Chambers, cabinet member for education at Worcestershire County Council, said: "The council take all complaints, as well as investigations and findings from the Local Government Ombudsman, very seriously.

“We would like to apologise to the family involved in this case. We fully accept the recommendations of the report.

“Training provided under our SEND improvement plan will be reviewed to ensure improved practices can be taken forward.”

Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.