New children and education complaint decisions

View online A weekly update on children and education complaint decisions Please note: our decisions are published six weeks after they are issued to councils, care providers and the person who has made the complaint. The cases below reflect the caselaw and guidance available at the time of issue and the individual circumstances of each case. London Borough of Wandsworth (20 008 334) Summary: Mr X complained about the Council's involvement with his family between 2016 and 2019, and how the Council handled his complaint. There was fault in how the Council investigated Mr X's original complaint which caused avoidable distress, time and trouble to him. While the Council apologised to Mr X and offered a financial remedy this did not properly recognise the effects on him. The Council agreed to make a larger financial payment to Mr X and to complete the service improvements it previously agreed to. We were satisfied this remedy was suitable, so we completed our investigation. Torbay Council (20 009 390) Summary: Mr X complains about the Council's response to his concerns about the care of his son and about aggressive behaviour by a social worker. Based on the evidence seen to date, the Council is at fault. It has agreed to make an apology and improve its service. Bristol City Council (20 010 071) Summary: Ms D complains about several interconnected matters involving the Council's children's services and the support offered to her and her disabled child. We have discontinued our investigation as the Council has agreed to further investigate the complaint via a statutory procedure for complaints about children's services. Wiltshire Council (21 000 922) Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council left a foster child's property in the complainants home for 18 months and that the Council unfairly deducted costs for school transport from her fostering allowance. This is because the events happened too long ago, and I see no reason why she could not have complained sooner. Gloucestershire County Council (21 001 340) Summary: We cannot investigate Miss X's complaint that the Council has breached her family's legal and human rights. She has started court proceedings about the matter. Herefordshire Council (20 002 612) Summary: The Council failed to provide suitable full-time education for Mr and Mrs B's son, J, after he stopped attending school. It also delayed starting the process of amending J's Education, Health and Care plan. We have recommended and the Council has agreed to apologise, make a payment and take action to prevent similar failings in future. Kent County Council (20 003 409) Summary: We did not uphold a complaint by four parents about the Council's decision not to refund the cost of travel passes they bought for their children to get to school. The parents say they were unable to use the passes from March to July 2020 when schools were closed because of COVID-19. There was no evidence of fault in the Council's decision to offer a goodwill payment instead of a refund. Kent County Council (20 003 756) Summary: We did not uphold a complaint by four parents about the Council's decision not to refund the cost of travel passes they bought for their children to get to school. The parents say they were unable to use the passes from March to July 2020 when schools were closed because of COVID-19. There was no evidence of fault in the Council's decision to offer a goodwill payment instead of a refund. Kent County Council (20 004 533) Summary: We did not uphold a complaint by four parents about the Council's decision not to refund the cost of travel passes they bought for their children to get to school. The parents say they were unable to use the passes from March to July 2020 when schools were closed because of COVID-19. There was no evidence of fault in the Council's decision to offer a goodwill payment instead of a refund. Kent County Council (20 004 564) Summary: We did not uphold a complaint by four parents about the Council's decision not to refund the cost of travel passes they bought for their children to get to school. The parents say they were unable to use the passes from March to July 2020 when schools were closed because of COVID-19. There was no evidence of fault in the Council's decision to offer a goodwill payment instead of a refund. Essex County Council (20 004 818) Summary: the complainant, Mrs X complained the Council failed to provide any education for her son for a full year leading to him falling behind his peer group. Mrs X complained the Council delayed passing all relevant records to the new authority when she moved into another area delaying her son from gaining help more quickly. We found the Council acted with fault and it has agreed to a payment and other measures in recognition of those faults. London Borough of Camden (21 000 314) Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X's complaint about the Council's children services actions in providing information to a Court. And it is unlikely we could achieve the remedy Mr X seeks for the rest his complaint. Suffolk County Council (21 001 162) Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about inaccuracies in a social work assessment. This is because it is unlikely we could add anything to the Council's investigation. Kent County Council (20 002 399) Summary: Mrs X complained about the Council's failure to provide her son, D, with suitable education for several months, including support for his special educational needs. The Council already accepted it was at fault for some of this time, apologised and offered a financial payment to remedy the injustice caused. We have also found the Council was at fault for the earlier period because it should have been aware that D was unable to attend school for medical reasons. To remedy this injustice, the Council has agreed to make an additional payment to Mrs X. Suffolk County Council (20 003 486) Summary: The Council failed to provide J with suitable full-time education and delayed making the specialist provision set out in his Education, Health and Care plan when his school placement ended. The Council also failed to follow the statutory guidance when it refused Mr and Mrs B's request for a personal budget. We have recommended and the Council has agreed to apologise, make a payment and take action to prevent similar failings in future. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (20 007 649) Summary: Mr X complains of delays, poor standards and poor communication by the Council during the production of his son's Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). The Council is at fault, has caused injustice and has agreed financial remedies. Portsmouth City Council (20 009 922) Summary: Ms X complained about the Council's actions in respect of the elective home education which she has been providing to her two children. We are discontinuing our investigation because a group of parents have leave to pursue a judicial review of the Council's policy and procedures. Ms X's complaint is inextricably linked to this legal action. Worcestershire County Council (20 011 980) Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X's complaint about his son's special educational needs as decided by a Tribunal. The matters complained of are not separable from the conduct of the Tribunal. Nottingham City Council (21 001 656) Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X's complaint about an unsuccessful appeal for a school place. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the panel, and so we cannot question the merits of its decision. Kent County Council (21 003 023) Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about an unsuccessful schools admissions appeal. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault in how the appeal was considered. Staffordshire County Council (20 006 912) Summary: Mrs B complains the Council did not consider her statutory children's services complaint correctly. She also complains the Council did not update her about its implementation of the recommendations it agreed to. We found fault with the Council. It delayed the complaint investigation and did not update Mrs B about the actions it took to complete the stage 3 recommendations. These faults caused Mrs B frustration. The Council will apologise to Mrs B and pay a financial remedy. Kent County Council (21 000 994) Summary: We will not investigate Ms B's complaint that the Council produced an inaccurate children and family assessment. The complaint is late and there is no good reason to consider it now. Devon County Council (20 005 633) Summary: Mrs B complained the Council delayed arranging a residential placement for her son. Mrs B says the delay led to her son being at risk of harm and caused their family distress. We found fault with the Council causing injustice. The Council delayed assessing C for a residential placement and failed to meet the statutory timescales for reviewing his Education, Health and Care Plan. This caused the family significant injustice. The Council will make a financial remedy to the family for the distress caused, and issue C's Education Health and Care Plan. Bracknell Forest Council (20 007 057) Summary: Mr X complains the Council failed to provide full time education for his son. He also complains the Council failed to find his son a school place and delayed in completing an EHC assessment. We find fault with the Council for not issuing the final EHC plan within the statutory deadline. However, the fault did not cause any significant injustice. We also find fault with the Council for not properly considering whether part time education was more suitable for the child. We have made recommendations. Norfolk County Council (20 007 409) Summary: There was no fault in the way the Council dealt with Y's education provision during and immediately after the first lock down. There was a delay of about three months in issuing an amended Education, Health and Care Plan for Y following a review of the plan. This was fault, but it did not cause significant injustice requiring a remedy for reasons given later in this statement. The Council will apologise for the delay in informing Mrs X of her appeal rights. Cumbria County Council (20 011 877) Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X's complaint the Council has failed to arrange contact with 'child A', who is in care, and has refused to deal with her complaint about the matter. The Council has accepted it was at fault for not dealing with the complaint and has agreed to do so. Mrs X can return to the Ombudsman if she disagrees with the Council's conclusions on the complaint. Buckinghamshire Council (21 000 679) Summary: We will not investigate Ms B's complaint that the Council has failed to amend a Children and Family Assessment. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault on the Council's part. Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council (21 000 763) Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council considered the complainants request to pay for a car to transport a looked after child in her care. This is because it is unlikely, we could add anything further to the Council's response. Dorset Council (21 000 874) Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about a report that a social worker wrote for the court. This is because the law says we cannot investigate any matter that forms part of legal proceedings. Lancashire County Council (20 011 140) Summary: Mr R has a bought a complaint about the school admissions appeal panel's decision to refuse his Child Z admission to his preferred school. However, the panel properly followed the School Admissions Appeal Code and we cannot question the merits of a decision made properly. The Ombudsman has not found any evidence of fault by the panel or Council. Kent County Council (21 002 972) Summary: We cannot consider Mrs X's complaint about an unsuccessful school admission appeal for her daughter. This is because the law prevents us from considering complaints about admission appeals for academy schools. St James' Catholic High School, Cheadle (21 003 017) Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that an independent appeal panel did not properly consider the complainants appeal for a place at a school for her daughter. This is because the Council has now offered the complainant a fresh appeal and therefore it is unlikely further investigation would lead to a different outcome. Norfolk County Council (20 007 190) Summary: Miss X complained about the Council's actions and decision when her children went into foster care between February and June 2018 after a court made them subject to an interim care order. The Council was at fault. It delayed carrying out relevant assessments on family members which meant the children stayed in foster care for longer than necessary. It further failed to adequately communicate with Miss X, promote contact with the children or consider her views. It then delayed dealing with her complaint into the matter for over a year. The Council agreed to pay Miss X a total of £1550 to remedy the distress, uncertainty and time and trouble caused by the Council's faults. Derbyshire County Council (20 008 556) Summary: Mr X complained about flaws in the Council's investigation of his complaint under the Children's Statutory Complaints procedure. He said the errors caused him distress and financial loss. The Council appropriately investigated his complaint under the statutory procedure so we will not re-investigate. The investigation found the Council was at fault. It has apologised to him for the upheld parts of the complaint and offered an appropriate financial remedy for the injustice caused. It also accepted it did not send him a copy of the stage 3 panel report within the statutory timescales. This was fault but the Council has apologised to him which is an appropriate remedy. The Council has agreed to re-confirm its financial remedy offer to Mr X for the upheld complaints and remind staff of the statutory process for the sharing of the stage 3 report. Brighton & Hove City Council (21 000 238) Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X's complaint that the Council failed to assess him to care for his children when they left their mother's care in 2017. The matter was considered during court proceedings, and we have no discretion to consider it. Buckinghamshire Council (20 006 549) Summary: The complainant, Mrs X, complained the Council failed to comply with the transition plan set out in the EHC Plan set by the SEND Tribunal delaying her son's provision. This delayed her son's preparation for and transition to a new educational placement. The Council accepted it made mistakes leading to the delay. We found the Council at fault and the Council accepted our recommendation that it should provide a payment recognising the impact on the family. Swindon Borough Council (21 000 578) Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X's complaint about the Council's adoption support for her family. The remedy offered by the Council is suitable for the injustice caused by fault in matters that are within our jurisdiction. We cannot investigate other matters, as they are ones it would have been reasonable for Mrs X to raise when she took court action. Reading Borough Council (19 017 230) Summary: We have discontinued our investigation into Ms X's complaint that the Council failed to provide adequate educational and special educational provision for her son. This is because Ms X had appeal rights to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal which she exercised. Surrey County Council (20 003 475) Summary: Mr X complained about lack of support for his son under his Education Health and Care Plan during the COVID-19 lockdown. We find there was some fault by the Council which is likely to have contributed to the lack of support provided by the school. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment of £300 to Mr X. 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