Councils told to pay compensation for Send failures

A local government watchdog ruled there were council failures after two pupils with additional needs missed school

A watchdog told two councils in Northamptonshire to pay compensation because of failures in special educational needs and disabilities (Send) provision.

The separate pay-outs - totalling £11,000 - followed two complaints to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman about delays in issuing education, health and care plans (EHCP).

North Northamptonshire Council was ordered to pay £7,700 and West Northamptonshire Council £3,300. The cases both involved boys who had missed school.

A spokesperson for West Northamptonshire Council said the authority was "committed to learning from this case". North Northamptonshire Council has been contacted for comment.

The watchdog told North Northamptonshire Council to "review its procedures" after a child with additional needs missed a year's education.

School records indicated the boy had struggled to cope in a mainstream school and there were reports of him being aggressive to both staff and other children, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

His parents were considering home education, but the ombudsman found that the council did not confirm a home education plan and did not seek alternative provision.

As a result, said the watchdog's report, the pupil - who had been excluded from primary school in July 2022 - received no education at all between September 2022 and July 2023.

The ombudsman said the delay had caused "avoidable distress, confusion and uncertainty and a loss of a chance to secure a placement for [the child] sooner".

Apology

In the case involving West Northamptonshire Council, the ombudsman said a boy with "complex needs" struggled to behave at school, leading to regular exclusions.

The watchdog's report said the school started funding alternative provision for the pupil, but then went back to the council to warn that the situation was "at crisis point".

The child stopped attending his school completely following a fixed-term exclusion. A final EHCP should have been completed by February 2023, but was not issued until July.

The ombudsman concluded the authority was aware the boy was not attending school and it should have put in place alternative provision by May 2023. It said the failure to do so until the end of September 2023 was "fault".

Fiona Baker, cabinet member with responsibility for children and education, said the council had "accepted" the ombudsman's findings about the EHCP delays and securing alternative provision.

She added: “We have apologised to the family for the impact this delay has had, and we are committed to learning from this case.

"The wellbeing and education of children in west Northamptonshire are our highest priorities, and we are taking proactive measures to improve our service delivery in this area.”