Mother wins High Court case over son's education

All of the boy's provision must be delivered by 16 August, the judge ordered

A mother has won a High Court case against a council after she argued it had not provided her son with the special educational provision it was told to.

The 11-year-old is unable to attend school and has received Hampshire County Council-supported provision since April 2020.

A plan for that was ordered by a tribunal in September 2023 but the mother said little of it had been delivered.

The council said it was "absolutely committed" to supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) but provision was a "significant challenge" because of rising demand and the complexity of cases.

But deputy High Court judge Sarah Clarke KC found the council's response to the boy's needs was “characterised by delay and drift”.

She found it was in breach of its legal obligation to secure the provision in the boy's care plan.

In a judgement made on 12 July but published this week, she ordered the council to provide him with all of the required provision by 16 August.

Leo Davidson, for the council, said the boy’s education, health and care plan (EHCP) was “large and complex” and it had been difficult for council officers to “keep all the plates spinning”.

A council spokesperson said since 2014 the number of EHCPs had risen by 220% in Hampshire but the authority had received "no corresponding additional national funding" to support them.

“Despite these challenges, we remain absolutely committed to supporting children with SEND to get the very best from their education and to fulfil their potential, as they rightly deserve.

"We always work closely with families to achieve this and where issues arise, to resolve these as quickly and effectively as possible – and we are sorry that this was not possible in this case," it added.

"...we would always comply with a court's decision and take any required action, where we have been found to have fallen short."

The council also said it was undertaking an "extensive transformation programme" to manage challenges in the area.