Council told to pay £9k after failing to ensure child received all provision set out in EHCP for almost three years

Miss X had complained that the council failed to ensure her child, Y, received all the provision set out in his Education, Health and Care Plan (ECHP), and failed to provide holiday free school meals support.

Y has Special Educational Needs (SEN) and his education is supported by an EHC Plan. Y’s EHC Plan provided for small group learning and teaching from staff experienced in working with pupils with Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD.

Y’s EHC Plan provided for 15 sessions of direct input from a qualified Speech and Language Therapist (SALT) in the first year, then eight sessions in subsequent years if Y achieved success in the first year of the programme.

Y’s EHC Plan also provided for 10 sessions of direct Occupational Therapy (OT).

According to the Ombudsman, Y’s EHC Plan states that the OT needs to be Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) registered, have postgraduate training and experience in sensory processing, ASD, ADHD and must have worked with a number of children/adolescents that have been out of school and have had difficult educational histories.

Y had been receiving the provision named in his EHC Plan in school, including the SALT and OT provision.

However, the SALT and OT provision stopped and the council was not notified of this.

As a result, it was not in place when Y began back at school for the start of term in September 2022, said the report.

In early 2024, Miss X became aware Y was not receiving the SALT and OT set out in his EHC Plan and complained to the council.

Miss X also explained she had not been receiving free school meal vouchers in the school holidays, which she believed she was entitled to.

The council explained it had commissioned Y’s SALT and OT in school, but was not notified when this came to an end.

The council offered to make a payment equivalent of the missed sessions at a rate of £115 per session, and with the assumption Y’s SALT would have reduced to eight sessions per year after the first year. The council also said it would now source and fund the therapies. The council said as Y was attending an out of borough school, Miss X would need to contact that borough’s council to request free school meal vouchers in the school holidays.

According to the Ombudsman, the council made several referrals to therapists but could not find one who could meet the provision set out in Y’s EHC Plan.

Analysing the complaint, the Ombudsman said: “The council owes Y a duty to ensure he receives all the provision set out in his EHC Plan. This duty is owed personally to Y and is non-delegable. That the council did not ensure Y received all SALT and OT provision from September 2022 is fault.

“As a result, Y did not receive the provision he was entitled to across the period I have investigated. This is injustice.”

The report acknowledged that the council said the provision was previously in place, but was stopped without it being informed.

“However, the council was under a duty to maintain oversight of the provision and check this at least annually and failure to do so remains fault,” said the Ombudsman.  

The Ombudsman continued: “I also understand the council’s point that it has been difficult to source a therapist who meets the training and experience requirements specified in Y’s EHC Plan.

“However, this does not change the Council’s duty to secure the provision as it is set out in Y’s EHC Plan and failure to do so remains fault. As a result of these faults, the injustice was allowed to continue across the timeline I have investigated.”

Turning to the issue of holiday free school meals support, the Ombudsman said: “Having looked through correspondence between the council and Miss X, there appears to have been confusion around what Miss X was referring to when she queried why she was not receiving holiday free school meals support.

“I cannot see that Miss X was ever given a full explanation about this entitlement or how to claim it, and she appears to have been given conflicting advice, which amounts to fault and would have caused confusion and uncertainty, which is injustice.”

To remedy the injustice caused, the council was recommended to take the following actions:

• Write to Miss X to apologise for failing to ensure Y received all the provision set out in his EHC Plan between September 2022 and July 2025 and for the confusion around communicating her holiday free school meal entitlement.
• Pay Miss X £9,000 to recognise the impact of the loss of SALT and OT provision between September 2022 and July 2025.
• Ensure the SALT and OT provision for the 2025/26 academic year is secured and offer Miss X additional sessions to address any shortfall for the year to now, or a payment equivalent to the rate set out above to cover the period Y was without this.
• Write to Miss X setting out how she can make a claim for holiday free school meals support and whether this can be backdated to September 2022.

According to the Ombudsman, the council has agreed to the recommendations.

The Royal Borough of Greenwich has been approached for comment.

Lottie Winson