Redbridge parents wait 27 weeks for child's special needs assessment after council initially refuse one

An East London council has been criticised by an ombudsman after they still haven't given a child an education, health and care (EHC) plan 27 weeks after it was supposed to be issued. The Local Government & Social Care Ombusdman has examined the case of parents who requested that Redbridge Council give their child an EHC assessment and was refused.

The parent, referred to in a report available online as Mr F, then took the case to the SEND tribunal, and the council then changed its mind and agreed to do an assessment. A Tribunal order was also made on February 9, 2024.

However, once the council then agrees to carry out an assessment, it must first let the parents know within two weeks that it will undertake the assessment. Following this, the council must provide an EHC plan for the child within 14 weeks of the Tribunal order, the Ombudsman explained.

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But two weeks passed from the Tribunal order being made and the child's parents heard nothing from the council, leading Mr F to complain. The council acknowledged his complaint on February 29, and promised to respond by March 11.

But again, Mr F didn't hear from the council and complained a day after the new deadline. The council responded to Mr F's complaint on April 11 - two months after the Tribunal order was first made.

In their response to the first stage of its complaint process, the council said the child's case had been allocated to a member of the SEN team. They promised Mr F would be contacted by the team as a matter of urgency and begin the assessment as soon as possible.

However, the Ombudsman noted that this response was four weeks late and in their letter, the council spelled the child's name wrong. Another month went by and the council finally responded to the second stage of its complaints process, saying that despite the assurances in its previous complaint response, the child's assessment had not been allocated to a member of the SEN team and had not happened.

The council said the child's case would be allocated to a member of the team that day - May 8, 2024 - and if a plan was issued, that the child's parents would receive it by August 9. On June 27, the council told Mr F that it intended to issue an EHC Plan for the child.

A draft plan was sent to Mr F on August 23, and he was invited to choose a school for his child by the council, but he opted for the child to stay at his current school with the support from the new plan. However, as of October 8, the Ombudsman found that the council had still not issued a full EHC plan for the child.

After examining the case, the Ombudsman found: "Having decided to issue an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan for Mr F’s son, B, the Council should have issued the final Plan by 17 May 2024. The Council has not yet issued the final Plan. We have recommended a symbolic payment to acknowledge the injustice this causes."

Following the report being published, Redbridge Council spokesperson told MyLondon: “We can confirm that an Education, Health and Care Plan is now in place, which will provide the child concerned with the appropriate care and support. The plan has been in place since Thursday 10 October.”

The Ombudsman has recommended that the council pay Mr F £100 per month of delay, from May 17 until the child receives the final EHC plan. Therefore, Redbridge council could owe Mr F and his son £400.

Got a story for us? Email anna.willis@reachplc.com.

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