Over £6,500 in compensation has been agreed by the Isle of Wight Council after a watchdog upheld several special educational needs (SEN) complaints since the start of the year.
‘Fault causing injustice’ has been found by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) on four occasions relating to SEN.
An Isle of Wight Council spokesperson apologised for where the local authority’s service has fallen below the standards that ‘families rightly expect’.
Ten-month delay costs council £2,500
In February, a ten-month delay in issuing a child’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) plan resulted in the local authority agreeing to pay a £2,500 remedy.
The child’s father said a significant amount of education was missed at a crucial stage in their schooling.
In response to the incident, a council spokesperson previously said County Hall is taking ‘firm steps’ to strengthen its SEND processes, improve the timeliness and quality of assessments and reviews and ensure better communication with families.
Loss of provision leads to further payouts
With another upheld complaint the following month, it was agreed £900 would be paid out to a woman in recognition of her child’s loss of specialist provision and support set out in an education, health and care plan (EHCP) between April 2025 and June 2025.
The LGSCO said this payment also includes the ‘distress and uncertainty’ caused to the woman by the council’s ‘failings’.
An EHCP is for children and young people aged up to 25 who need more support than is available through special educational needs support.
EHCPs set out educational, health and social needs and identify the additional support to meet those needs.
In a case decided in early May, the local authority settled to pay £500 to a woman after it delayed ensuring all of the provision in her child’s ECHP was in place following a tribunal order.
The LGSCO said this meant the child did not receive all their provision between June and July 2025.
Fourth complaint upheld in May
Another complaint concluded by the Ombudsman during the same month saw the authority agree to pay a man £2,475 to acknowledge the ‘harm’ caused by the loss of his child’s educational provision.
A further £150 payment was settled to reflect the ‘upset, frustration and uncertainty’ resulting from the local authority’s ‘failure’ to complete the annual review of the child’s EHCP within legal timescales and its ‘communication failures’.
LGSCO said the council must arrange for the EHCP to be reviewed at least once a year to make sure it is up to date.
Council’s response
In a statement, the council said,
“We recognise the impact that delays and service shortcomings can have on children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, and on their families.
“The Isle of Wight Council accepts the findings and recommendations made by the LGSCO in these cases and has worked, or is continuing to work, to implement the agreed remedies for the families concerned.
“Over the past year we have been undertaking a significant programme of improvement across our SEND service. This has included reviewing processes, strengthening staff training, improving communication with families and partners, and increasing our focus on delivering statutory responsibilities within required timescales.
“Many of the issues identified in these decisions relate to periods before a number of these improvements were introduced, but we recognise there is more to do.”
The spokesperson added that where the Ombudsman has identified areas for further improvement, the council will continue to address those as part of its ongoing service development.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may have been made by OnTheWight. Ed
