City council to pay compensation to family for ‘failing to provide suitable education’ special needs child

Peterborough City Council will award £1,500 in compensation to the parents of a young person with Special Educational Needs (SEN), it's been revealed.

It comes after an investigation by The Local Government Ombudsman found that it “failed to provide suitable education” for their child.

The initial complaint made by the parents, about their son in 2019, claimed that the education provided for him was unsuitable and “did not adhere to the SEN Code when reviewing their son’s Education and Health and Care Plan (EHCP).”

The EHCP plan is for children and young people, aged up to 25, with complex needs who need more support than what is available through Special Educational Needs support.

The parents also complained that “there were failings in the consultation with schools” and that the council “failed to properly respond to their complaint”.

The Local Government Ombudsman investigated the complaint and found that the council was at fault.

It authorised total payments of £1,500 to be made to the family to reflect the “distress” to the parents caused by the "uncertainty about the lack of provision, the delay, and the failure to act in late 2019”.

It also covers the “time and trouble” they spent pursuing the complaint and “impact” and “distress” caused to their child due to the “lack of Education, Health and Care (EHC) provision” he received while excluded.

On the back of the recommendation of The Local Government Ombudsman, the council will also apologise to the parents for failing to provide suitable education.

A Peterborough City Council spokesperson said: “We fully accept the outcome of the Local Government Ombudsman’s findings and will be awarding compensation to the family as they have recommended.

“Following this case, we are actively working to improve the way we review EHCPs and are producing a plan to ensure that similar incidents do not occur again in future.”