SEND assessment delay 'prolonged injustice' for mum

"Significant delays" by a council in assessing a child's special educational needs caused his mother "prolonged injustice", a government watchdog has ruled.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman ordered Slough Borough Council to pay her £1,000 for delays and lack of communication.

Its report said the council's faults had caused her "significant distress and frustration".

The council said it acknowledged the findings of the report and had complied with all of its recommendations.

The mother, named as Ms X in the ombudsman's report, asked the council to update her son B's education health and care plan (EHCP) in March 2024.

This is a legal document reviewed annually that sets out what a council has to do to meet a child's special educational needs.

She wanted the council to update B's EHCP with information from a private occupational therapist's assessment she had sourced, and asked if it could reimburse her for the cost.

Ms X then complained "shortly after" about the time the council had taken to update B's EHCP after a review in October 2023, and asked for a personal budget to pay for his occupational therapy.

The council replied that B's annual review would take place in April, that she could discuss a personal budget then, and that it might need to take 14 weeks to reassess his needs.

The council also said it had "not yet decided" whether to reimburse Ms X for the private occupational therapist's assessment.

B's annual review took place in April and the council wrote to Ms X in June saying it had prepared an amended plan, that it would reimburse her for the occupational therapist's assessment and reassess B's needs.

In response to her complaint, Slough Borough Council said it would consider her request for a personal budget.

It accepted there had been delays in updating B's plan and securing a decision around the private occupational therapist funding.

When the council did issue an updated ECHP in September 2024 the reassessment had still not taken place – and was ongoing at the time of the ombudsman's decision in March this year.

The council 'said waiting for the outcome of the private OT's review, had delayed this consideration'.

The ombudsman ruled this delay was "especially severe" and the the council should pay Ms X £750.

In addition, the ombudsman said there was a "lack of communication! from the council in explaining its decision whether to award Ms X a personal budget, and that there was a delay in deciding whether to reimburse her for the private assessment.

It said the council should pay Ms X a further £250 for these.

The council said: "We are conscious of historic failings and delays within parts of our SEND service and recognise the impact this has had on some families.

"In response, we have taken clear steps to strengthen the service — including increasing staffing capacity, improving oversight, and ensuring Education, Health, and Care (EHC) needs assessments are completed in a more timely and consistent way."

It added: "We remain committed to improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND and to working closely with families to provide the support they need."

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