A mum from Reading has received compensation after her child was left in the lurch over the educational support they would be getting in the crucial move between primary and secondary education.
Her child has an education, health and care (EHC) plan prepared by Brighter Futures for Children (BFfC) – Reading’s children’s services company – to determine the extra support required to meet their needs.
EHC plans should be reviewed every 12 months, and ahead of major changes in a child’s circumstances.
Legislation states EHC plans must be reviewed and amended in sufficient time before a child or young person moves between key phases of education.
Problems began in February last year when the mum was expecting BFfC staff to conduct a review of the EHC Plan ahead of her child entering secondary education that September.
Ultimately, the mum ended up waiting around six months to access the new EHC Plan, finally having sight of it at the end of July.
The mum asked the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSO) to investigate her case.
She argued that the council failed to issue a new plan in a timely manner, and failed to giver access to the details contained within the draft staff had devised.
The ombudsman found that the mum had not received emails containing the details of the EHC Plan for her to scrutinise.
While the BFfC staff said the EHC had been sent at the end of May, BFfC at first failed to attach its decision letter and the draft EHC plan.
When the files were sent, they were in a format the mum was unable to access. Eventually, she got access to the plan and decision letter ahead of the final plan being issued at the end of July.
The ombudsman review indicates there was a dispute between the mum and the council at an earlier stage, with a ‘tribunal consent order’ being mentioned in the ombudsman’s findings.
The mum also wanted to appeal part of the plan, a right she was denied because she was unable to access the draft plan.
In their judgement, the ombudsman ruled that BFfC staff were at fault and had caused an injustice.
In recompense, the ombudsman suggested the company apologise for the distress caused, pay £100 in compensation and take remedial action. All of these actions have since been undertaken.
A spokesperson for the children’s services company said: “BFfC fully accepts the Ombudsman’s findings in relation to the mum’s complaint.
“We have made an apology in writing to her along with a payment deemed appropriate and proportionate by the Ombudsman.
“We also commit to making service improvements to prevent similar situations from arising in the future.”
