A 10-month delay in issuing a child’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) plan has resulted in the Isle of Wight Council being fined £2,500.
‘Fault causing injustice’ was found by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) after a father complained about delays by County Hall in assessing his child’s special educational needs and issuing a related plan.
The man, who has not been named, said his child missed a significant amount of education at a crucial stage in their schooling.
Council acknowledges shortcomings
A council spokesperson 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.
An LGSCO report said the legal timescale for completing an Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment and issuing a final EHC plan is 20 weeks.
What is an EHC plan?
An EHC plan is for children and young people aged up to 25 who need more support than is available via special educational needs support. It sets out educational, health and social needs and determines additional support to meet them.
LGSCO said in this instance, the process started on 5th February 2024 – requiring the council to issue the final plan by 24th June 2024.
The timeline of delays
County Hall instead issued the plan on 23rd April 2025 – a ten-month delay beyond legal timescales.
There were significant waits in both the assessment process and the issue of the final plan, the watchdog concluded, and the local authority has agreed to remedy the injustice with a symbolic payment of £2,500 to the father and evidence of service improvements.
Educational Psychology delays
LGSCO said some of the delay was due to the wait for Educational Psychology (EP) advice.
The council requested input from a psychologist on 4th June 2024, but the EP did not complete their report until 2nd October 2024, taking 120 days rather than the statutory six weeks.
Council response
A council spokesperson said,
“The Isle of Wight Council accepts the findings of the (LGSCO) in this case and is committed to implementing all learning and actions arising from the decision.
“We recognise that, in this instance, aspects of our statutory Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) processes did not operate as effectively or as promptly as they should have. This falls short of the standard we want for children and families on the Island.
“We are taking firm steps to strengthen our SEND processes, improve the timeliness and quality of assessments and reviews, and ensure better communication with families.
“Our priority remains ensuring that every child and young person with special educational needs receives the right support at the right time, and we are fully committed to making the necessary improvements.”
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
