Norfolk County Council must provide councillors with regular detailed analysis of its special educational needs services.
This follows a ruling by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
County Hall in Norwich, the home of Norfolk County Council
The Ombudsman issued a critical report after investigating, for a second time, the support Norfolk County Council provided to a boy with SEN.
The Ombudsman had previously issued a report in October 2018. This followed the Ombudsman finding the council had not ensured the boy had a suitable education for eight months.
Without proper education
In the most recent case, the mother said the council again failed to provide her son with a suitable education after his school placement broke down. This meant he was without proper education for nearly four months. During that time, the mother had to pay for a personal tutor.
Michael King is the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
He said: “I am concerned Norfolk Council has again failed this boy and not provided him with an education appropriate for his needs, despite being made aware the school he was attending was no longer suitable.
“When we published our last report about the family’s situation, the council made steps to improve its services, but it is clear more could be done to learn from its mistakes.
“I hope that by increasing the level of scrutiny from councillors, a way can be found to ensure other children and their families do not fall through the cracks as has happened in this case.”
Norfolk Council to reimburse mother
The Ombudsman issued the investigation report to the council and the family before the Covid-19 lockdown. It’s thought the council has started to implement some of the report’s recommendations to put things right.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s role is to remedy injustice and share learning from investigations to help improve public, and adult social care, services. In this case the council has agreed to reimburse the mother for the cost of paying for her son’s education for nearly four months.
It will also pay her £1,400 for the seven months the son was without a suitable education. In addition, it will give her £250 for her distress, time and trouble.
Ombudsman’s role
The Ombudsman has the power to make recommendations to improve processes. In this case the council will review its decision-making process. The aim will be to make sure it is able to respond quickly and flexibly to the changing needs of children with special education needs and disabilities.
The council will also review how it communicates internally. This will be to ensure that teams and departments share information about children who may be out of education. The review will also cover information on education that is being provided but is not suitable, or is at risk of breaking down.
The council should also provide its People and Select Committee with regular updates on its performance for two financial years. This should include:
- The number of children out of education
- The average time for arranging alternative educational provision for children who are out of education
- The average time taken to produce final Education Health and Care (EHC) plans and plan reviews compared with statutory timescales and
- The number of upheld complaints about EHC plans and education provision from both the council and Ombudsman’s complaints processes.
Related:
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- Councils told to meet educational duties
- Ombudsman slams mental health care
- Ombudsman slams council’s behaviour
- Councils warned not to delay EHC plans
- Parents urged to fight for therapy
Published: 24 July 2020
