Parents are being encouraged to speak out if their child’s special educational needs are not being met, following an investigation that found a local council denied speech-and-language therapy for three years to 15 teenagers with autism.
A joint investigation by the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) and Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) into Warrington Metropolitan Borough Council and NHS Warrington has led to the therapy being restored to the young people in the area.
“By coming forward to complain, a couple have achieved justice not only for their own child, but also for others with autism”: Dame Julie Mellor
The issue was brought to light when the parents of one of the teenagers reported in 2011 that their son had not been receiving the specialist therapy since 2009. The therapy had been specified in his statement of special education needs and the council had a legal duty to make sure it was provided.
Now Warrington MBC has agreed to offer the family £5,000 to acknowledge its failure. The council will also pay an additional £750 to the teenager for the disruption to his education and the lack of support.
Dame Julie Mellor (pictured), the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, said: “This is a prime example of how, by coming forward to complain, a couple have achieved justice not only for their own child, but also for others with autism who were denied speech-and-language therapy.”
She added: “Complaining about a public service takes courage and determination, but it can achieve results that have a positive impact that goes beyond just one individual case and results in improvements that affect many others.”
Until 2009, the council had procured the service from the NHS Warrington. The teenager was given specialist therapy three times a year, with teachers at his special ‘designated’ provision’ unit using the therapist’s report to inform their teaching.
Because of financial constraints, NHS Warrington stopped providing the service to teenagers with ASD in late 2009, without informing the families or the council.
It was not until the couple contacted Warrington MBC in September 2010 that the council was made aware that the service had not been provided. Officers had thought the service was delayed because of staffing problems at NHS Warrington. When the council wrote to the family, it wrongly told them that the speech-and-language therapy was a health provision and not its responsibility.
The subsequent joint investigation by the LGO and PHSO uncovered a further 14 other teenagers similarly affected by the cuts.
Dr Jane Martin, Local Government Ombudsman, acknowledged that the Warrington case was not an isolated one and said she was aware of similar situations around the UK.
Published: 13 November 2013
