West Sussex County Council ordered to pay £2,000 to the mum of a child with special needs

Saturday, 2 July 2022 07:56

By Karen Dunn - Local Democracy Reporter

West Sussex County Council has paid £2,000 to the mum of a child with special needs after being found at fault for failures involving the boy’s  Education, Health & Care Plan.

The mum – known as Ms C – complained to the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman that the council had not ensured her son received the help and education which had been set out in his plan.

The plan specified that the child should “access 1:1 and small group work with differentiated activities as required”.

Concerned that this was not happening, Ms C complained to the council in September 2020. But, after months of back and forth, she turned to the ombudsman for help.

In a report into the case, the ombudsman advised the council should apologise to Ms C, pay her £1,250 to recognise the loss of education provision to her son, and pay her £750 for her distress, time and trouble and to help cover the costs of her having taken on the services of an advocate.

The report said: “We upheld the complaint, finding the council failed to adequately address Ms C’s repeated concerns over several months.

“There was also unnecessary confusion and delay following a review of the Education, Health & Care Plan.

“The faults caused injustice to Ms C in the form of distress, expenses and time and trouble and resulted in some loss of provision for her son.”

A council spokesman said: “We accept the findings from the ombudsman’s report and have apologised to the family.

“We have carried out all the recommendations in the report, including making a total payment to the family of £2,000.

“We have reminded all relevant staff of the protocol around Education Health and Care Plans and their role in ensuring this work is carried out effectively.”
 

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