Woman Paid £3k Compensation For Delay In Daughter's Education

Wednesday, 6 September 2023 06:00

By Karen Dunn, Local Democracy Reporter

West Sussex County Council has paid more than £3,000 to a woman following problems with her autistic daughter’s education.

The woman, known as Mrs X, complained to the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman that the council had failed to ‘provide support for her daughter’s special educational needs’ after a delay in preparing an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

Mrs X said her daughter failed to return to school following the first 2020 lock-down due to her anxiety and because the school ‘did not meet her needs’.

The mother asked for an EHCP to be drawn up as she wanted her daughter to attend a special school.

While the council initially refused the request, it was eventually approved at appeal but there was a delay in the process and it was not completely ready until August 2022, one month before the child was due to start at her new school.

The ombudsman found the council to be at fault for the delay and said it had failed to provide alternative education for the girl for two terms.

There was also criticism of the way the council had communicated with Mrs X, with records showing that several letters and phone calls went unanswered, adding to the mother’s frustration ‘at an already difficult time’.

As well as apologising to Mrs X, the council paid her £2,900 in recognition of it failure to provide the child with a suitable education between December 2021 and July 2022.

Another £300 was paid in recognition of the poor communication and the distress and frustration caused by the delay in preparing the ECHP.

A council spokesman said:

“We accept the ombudsman’s findings and have apologised to the family involved.

“We acknowledge that we are at fault for the assessment delay and understand the distress that this caused.

“We have taken action to address the resource issues highlighted by this case to reduce the risk of similar incidents occurring in the future.”