A West London council has been ordered to pay a mother more than £5,000 following a damning ruling which uncovered significant failures in its support for a disabled child.
Systemic Failures in SEND Provision
Ealing Council was found to have failed in its legal duties regarding a child's Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), resulting in the child, referred to as Child Y, missing nine months of education and essential speech and language therapy.
The problems began when the mother, identified as Miss X, raised concerns in July 2023 that her child's educational provisions weren't being delivered. She requested the council move her child's classes, conduct a reassessment and carry out an annual review of the EHCP.
Although the council held a review two months later in September 2023 and decided to seek alternative placements, the damage was already unfolding. The child developed severe anxiety and eventually stopped attending school altogether.
Lengthy Delays and Missed Opportunities
Despite identifying the need for home tuition in December 2023, the council failed to arrange any classes until March 2024. Even then, the provision was discontinued shortly after due to a safeguarding incident.
This breach of Section 19 of the Education Act 1996, which requires councils to provide suitable education for children unable to attend school, was a key finding of fault by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO).
The council's handling of the EHCP itself came under particular scrutiny. Between the initial review and the final plan being issued, the process took 32 weeks - four times longer than the statutory 8-week requirement. This delay caused what the Ombudsman described as "unnecessary uncertainty and distress" for both mother and child.
Multiple Service Failures Identified
Further investigation revealed additional shortcomings. In February 2024, the council issued a draft EHCP that Miss X argued was outdated and lacked crucial medical evidence about her child's epilepsy - a concern the council later accepted.
By May 2024, concerns emerged about the lack of speech and language therapy and occupational therapy, with the council unable to secure a provider despite its legal duty to do so.
In a separate incident, the council committed a data breach when an officer contacted Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in November 2023 without obtaining proper parental consent first.
Miss X told investigators that the council's repeated failures caused significant distress, financial pressures, and negatively affected her child's development.
Council Response and Service Improvements
As a result of the investigation, the watchdog ordered Ealing Council to apologise and pay Miss X £5,675 in compensation.
An Ealing Council spokesperson stated: "We sincerely apologise for our failings in this case. Supporting residents with extra needs is a top priority for us."
The council confirmed that since the investigation covering 2023-2024, the team has undergone extensive training in complaint handling, communication skills and data protection. They noted that their improving service was recently recognised in a September Ofsted special educational needs and disability (SEND) report.
The spokesperson added: "We recognise that there is still work to do to ensure all residents receive a consistently high level of service and we are committed to acting on feedback."
