Council pays compensation for persistent failures in SEND support

Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council has admitted it failed to act upon three complaints made by the mother of the boy to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman between 2016 and 2018.

As a result it has agreed to pay her £1,000 in place of missed behaviour therapy support and the distress caused to herself and the child, and to review its procedures for monitoring SEND provision.
 
A report into the investigation revealed that in 2016 the council failed to deliver speech and language therapy and occupational therapy the boy had been assessed as needing, because it included this information in a "delegated funding agreement" rather than his statement of special educational needs.

This was resolved when the mother complained to the ombudsman, but the council again failed to deliver the occupational therapy set out in the boy's amended statement, and only partly provided the speech and language therapy.

In 2018, the mother complained for a third time when the council continued to fail to deliver elements of support, resulting in months of delay to his therapy.

The report concluded: "The council failed in its duty to meet the tribunal's order or meet our recommendation in a timely manner."

Ombudsman Michael King said the repeated failure by the council to provide the boy with support had resulted in a "significant, cumulative effect on his education".

"At no time since 2015 has the boy had all the support he needs, and this has led to the mother losing faith in the council and the support it will offer her son both now and in the future," he said.

"While I welcome the council's readiness to accept the recommendations laid out in our report, it should not have taken the mother to complain to my office three times to get that support put in place.

"I hope the council will reassess the service it offers to families and put in place measures that will prevent this sort of situation happening again.

"I want to encourage councils to have a mature and reflective attitude to complaints and use the learning gained to improve local services."
 
Kirklees Council service director for learning and early support Jo-Anne Sanders, said the council acknowledged the findings of the ombudsman, and accepted it "failed to make sure that the child in question received the support they were entitled to for a significant period of time".
 
"In recognition of the increased pressure on our resources the council has agreed to include an additional £500,000 in the budget for the SEND team to improve how we deliver services to children with SEND," she said.
 
"The council has also been working closely with parents, listening to their concerns, and developing ways we can improve our services for children and families."
 
In January, the Department for Education appointed Leeds City Council to take over the running of Kirklees children's services for three years.

Ofsted rated the council "inadequate" in November 2016, after inspectors found instances of poor social work and cases of abuse not being spotted.