Family to be paid thousands by Hertfordshire County Council for special educational needs failings

Hertfordshire County Council apologised to the family but said demand was increasing. Credit: PA

A council has been ordered to pay £2,300 to a parent for failing to ensure her child was provided with a suitable education outside of school.

Where a child cannot attend school – due to exclusion, medical reasons or otherwise – the local education authority should arrange alternative provision.

But in this case the child was offered no – or limited – alternative provision by Hertfordshire County Council for eight months, between April and July 2022 and between September and December 2022.

After an investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, the council has now agreed to pay the parent £250 for each month of missed provision and a further £300 for "time and trouble".

A timeline of events

  • According to the report, the child – who has complex needs – had not been attending school since May 2021

  • In March 2022 the school reported that it could not meet her needs.

  • By May the council had agreed to provide a tutor for up to 15 hours a week - but a disagreement about the provision meant the tutoring was put on hold until September.

  • Although the council confirmed a tutor was required in August, the tutoring service could not then provide a tutor for September.

  • According to the report, a tutor has been in place since January 2023.

The ombudsman found that the child’s education, health and care plan (ECHP) – which sets out the provision required – was not updated quickly enough.

It also highlighted the missed education from March 2022, when the council had become aware the child was not attending school.

The ombudsman directed the council to apologise in writing to the parent – as well as paying her £300 "for her time and trouble in pursuing the complaint".

He also told the council to pay the parent £2,000 in recognition of the missed provision – calculated at £250 per month between April and July 2022 and September to December 2022.

A spokesman for the county council pointed to the increasing requests for support for specialist provision, adding that the council took the findings seriously and apologised to the family involved.

“We are committed to working in partnership with young people, parents, carers and schools to ensure that all children with SEND and EHCPs in Hertfordshire receive the support they need and deserve," he said.

“In common with many local authorities, we are experiencing an unprecedented increase in requests for specialist provision, with a 47% increase in pupils with EHCPs since 2019, as well as the additional challenges due to Covid-19.

"We are making new investments into the SEND system and are fully committed to making sure that all children with SEND and EHCPs in Hertfordshire receive the support they need and deserve.”

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