Councils value Ombudsman recommendations on SEND provision but often lack resources to improve, study finds

The report, led by the University of Manchester’s Professor Robert Thomas and funded by the Nuffield Foundation, acknowledges the SEND system as being in crisis due to “demand exceeding available resources”.

It notes: “This pervasive feature conditions how councils deliver their SEND services, the faults that arise and how they respond to the LGSCO’s service improvement recommendations.”

The LGSCO investigates complaints of maladministration or service failure in England by local authorities, adult social care providers, and some other public authorities.

According to the study, SEND complaints make up 27% of the complaints received by the Ombudsman and 48% of the cases that it upholds.

Common issues include delays in carrying out Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) assessments, and failures to deliver the support to which children are legally entitled.

The report also warned of a significant gap in the LGSCO’s jurisdiction owing to its “outdated” statutory framework.

Currently, the Ombudsman can only investigate complaints against councils, not schools. This is despite schools being responsible for delivering SEND provision and councils lacking levers over them.

In the Ombudsman’s 2024 triennial review, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman Amerdeep Clarke called for the power to investigate “beyond the school gate” to look at the actions of state schools in fulfilling EHC Plan requirements, as well as the support given to those children with additional needs who don’t meet the bar for an EHC Plan.

Proposing changes to strengthen the system, the report recommends that the LGSCO’s remit is extended, enabling it to investigate complaints against schools.

"This would strengthen accountability, provide families with a clearer route to redress, and help ensure that statutory responsibilities are met consistently across the system. It would also enable the LGSCO to issue service improvement recommendations to schools. Without this change, serious shortcomings in support will continue to go unaddressed."

The report also calls for better publicity of the joint investigations undertaken by the LGSCO and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) concerning the performance of health bodies in SEND delivery.

"The small number of such investigations to date suggest that there is a low public awareness of this complaint route. Greater awareness could both enhance redress for families and provide the vehicle by which the LGSCO could issue service improvement recommendations," the report says.

The report meanwhile says Government plans for a greater emphasis on children being in mainstream educational settings would reinforce the need to consider extending the LGSCO’s jurisdiction to include complaints against schools.

There was no mention of the Ombudsman in the recent SEND white paper, however.

The report suggests the Ombudsman consider producing an updated Focus Report to provide guidance on SEND. "This report could collect together its principal findings and service improvement recommendations on SEND over recent years, highlighting learning for councils and the principal qualities of an effective SEND system."

There is also a recommendation that the LGSCO reissue its suggested scrutiny questions for councillors.

The report emphasises that, fundamentally, meaningful reform must address underlying pressures on the SEND system, including funding shortages and workforce gaps.

Ash Patel, Programme Head for Justice at the Nuffield Foundation said: “This research comes at a key moment for SEND system reform. The Government’s intention to improve complaints and mediation processes - enabling faster and more collaborative, resolution of disagreements and reducing the need for appeals to the SEND Tribunal - is welcome.

“However, the proposals are silent on the role of the LGSCO, and it remains frustratingly unclear how disputes will be avoided or how routes for appeals and complaints will operate.”

The Department for Education has been approached for comment.

Lottie Winson