Councils have been reminded to stick to strict timetables when creating special educational needs support plans for children by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
An investigation into a complaint about Cornwall Council found it had taken too long to produce and amend an EHC plan for a boy when moving to a mainstream secondary school, which led to him being home schooled.
‘Significant delay was one of the key issues in last year’s focus report and this is a prime example of the effect this can have on families when lengthy delays occur,’ said Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
‘Transfers from Statements to EHC plans must be carried out in a timely manner, and in line with Statutory Guidance. Councils should adhere to statutory timeframes for EHC plan processes.’
The council has agreed to apologise to the mother and pay her £1,000 for the delay. It will also review how it audits compliance with timeframes for EHC plan processes.
A statement from the councils said: 'Cornwall Council apologises for the delays experienced by the family in this case. We’ve continued to work with the family and we’ve put lots of improvements in place.
'Since September 2016, we have completed 95% of assessments within 20 weeks. Overall, 84% of education health and care plans have been issued within 20 weeks. This compares favourably to the England average of just under 60%.
'Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said in July 2017 that we were managing the process well and we have now converted all statements of special educational needs to meet the March 2018 deadline.
'The changes we’ve made since what happened in 2015 mean our focus is on working with a range of agencies and professionals to tailor plans to individuals, which deliver better outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and means there are very few appeals or mediation needed.'
