Hampshire Council to pay £2,300 after delays left SEND child without education
Investigation reveals failures in council’s handling of SEND support
A Hampshire family received £2,300 and an apology after a watchdog found the county council made them wait seven months for mediation and failed to properly support their child with special educational needs.
The payment includes £500 for the distress, frustration and uncertainty caused by delays, alongside £1,800 to acknowledge missed education and lost provision under the child’s education, health and care (EHC) plan across two academic terms.
More than two terms of education were missed while the case remained unresolved, according to the watchdog’s report.
Delays in the EHC Plan process, failures to secure suitable education and shortcomings in the handling of the family’s complaint were all identified during the investigation.
Despite mediation typically being expected to take around 30 days, the family waited seven months for the process to take place.
By the time the council became aware the child was not attending school, it should have considered arranging alternative education, the Ombudsman concluded.
Criticism was also directed at the authority’s complaints process, which investigators found had not been handled properly.
As a result of the findings, Hampshire County Council has agreed to apologise and make a financial payment to the family.
The complaint was submitted by the child’s mother, who said her child had gone without suitable education for more than two years while waiting for support.
According to the decision, the council should have acted earlier to ensure appropriate education was in place during the EHC assessment process.
The ruling comes amid continuing scrutiny of SEND services in Hampshire, where previous Ombudsman investigations have also highlighted delays in assessments and difficulties securing support for children with special educational needs.
A spokesperson for Hampshire County Council said: “We acknowledge that the support provided to this family fell below the standard they should rightly expect from us, and we apologise for the frustration and uncertainty this has caused.
“We have accepted the Local Government Ombudsman’s recommendations in full and have carried out the required actions, including formally apologising to the parent and making a compensation payment.
“We remain committed to ensuring children receive support that meets their individual needs and to learning from our families so that we are continually improving our services along the way.”