William Eichler 04 July 2024

Council pays family £1,500 after school transport failure

Council pays family £1,500 after school transport failure  image
Image: alexfan32 / Shutterstock.com.

A family in Surrey has been paid £1,500 in compensation after the county council failed to provide school transport for a child with complicated medical needs.

An investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman found that the child missed 27 days of school and special needs assistance, causing his mother and family ‘avoidable’ pain.

A spokesperson for the council apologised for any distress caused before adding that a lack of suitable providers meant that some children have had to ‘wait longer for appropriate arrangements than we would like.’

They added: ‘Whilst we always do our utmost to process home to school transport applications in a timely manner, we have seen a 64% increase in education, health and care needs assessment requests across Surrey since 2020, which has naturally had a knock on effect with a year on year increase in demand for Home to School Travel Assistance (HTSTA) (as many children and young people with an education, health and care plan require HTSTA). This has resulted in a predicted overspend for this service.’

The cost of school transport for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) has increased from £727m in 2019 to £1.4bn in 2024.

SIGN UP
For your free daily news bulletin
Highways jobs

Educational Psychologist

The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea Council
£57072 - £58072 per annum
We are looking for qualified and HCPC registered Educational Psychologists or Year 3 Trainee Educational Psychologists to join our thriving, progressi England, London, City of London
Recuriter: The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea Council

Senior Educational Psychologist

The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea Council
£66555 - £67555 per annum
As a result of internal promotions within our service we are looking for committed Senior Educational Psychologists to join us in our work to shape th England, London, City of London
Recuriter: The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea Council

Principal Accountant

Durham County Council
£47,181 to £51,356 p.a. (Grade 13)
Durham County Council is the largest council in the North East, we have a budget of around £1.3 billion which helps us provide services to more than 5 Durham
Recuriter: Durham County Council

Mechanical Foreman

Durham County Council
£35,412 to £39,152 p.a. (Grade 9)
A vacancy has arisen within Building and Facilities Management for a Mechanical Foreman working full time 37 hours.   WHAT IS INVOLVED?    Within a co Durham
Recuriter: Durham County Council

Occupational Health Physiotherapist

Durham County Council
£40,777 to £45,091 p.a. (Grade 11)
An exciting opportunity has arisen with Durham County Council to join our well established ‘in house’ Occupational Health Service in making a positiv Durham
Recuriter: Durham County Council
Linkedin Banner