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Stockton on Tees Borough Council wrote to nearly 100 families of children and young people with education, health, and care plans (EHCP) in the North East about annual reviews that had not taken place, according to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
It was brought to the Ombudsman’s attention when a mother complained that her teenager had missed out on a significant amount of support and had been out of school for an extended period because their EHCP had not been appropriately maintained. This is despite the council sending her letters for two years saying they had carried out a review.
On one occasion, the council untruthfully claimed the review had taken place on a Saturday. The letter also referenced consulting with the teenager’s school before deciding it did not need to change the EHCP when they were not in school at the time.
Council lied about nearly 100 EHCP annual reviews
During the investigation, the council admitted that nearly 100 other children and young people had also received a letter which incorrectly stated annual reviews had taken place.
Annual reviews are designed to ensure EHCP still meet the child or young person’s needs, and measure how they are achieving against their targets. Without conducting an annual review, councils cannot determine whether they are meeting their requirements and information about support becomes out of date.
According to IPSEA, local authorities must complete the first review of an EHCP within 12 months of the EHCP being finalised. Subsequent reviews must be completed within 12 months of the previous review.
Ms Amerdeep Somal, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: “I am alarmed that the council would send such mendacious letters to nearly 100 families of vulnerable children, saying review meetings have taken place when the council was aware they haven’t. The council told me it issued the letters to comply with its statutory duties – but its duty is to carry out the yearly reviews, not to untruthfully say it has done so.
“We recognise councils are under increasing pressure to complete the various stages of the EHC process in the timescales required by law given the significant increase in children and young people with EHC plans. Nevertheless, we must hold councils to account. We welcome the council’s openness to telling us about the letters it sent to other families.
“I hope both Stockton on Tees and other councils can learn lessons from this case and the changes the council has agreed to make will ensure it has a firmer grip on the EHC plan review process in future.”
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Council agreed to pay the family £5,900 due to the impact of missed reviews
The council has now agreed to apologise to the mum and young person in the initial complaint, and pay them £5,900 to recognise the impact of the missed education and the frustration caused by the decision letters that stated the annual reviews had taken place.
The council will also write to the 99 families it has identified as also receiving incorrect letters to invite them to contact the council and consider whether an interim review of the EHCP is necessary.
The Ombudsman has the power to make recommendations to improve processes for the wider public. In this case the council will develop an action plan to ensure every child and young person has an annual review every year.
It will also review its procedures for delivering Education Otherwise Than at School (EOTAS) provision in EHCPs, to ensure it appropriately assesses what provision is required and develops processes to check the provision is in place and it acts on any concerns.
It comes as families await the outcome of a new School White Paper in the autumn, where many fear that EHCPs will be removed from use in mainstream schools.
For more information, check out the Save Our Children’s Rights (SOCR) group, which launched its campaign to protect the legal rights of children with SEND with a letter in The Guardian, signed by over a hundred disability organisations, campaigners, academics, and celebrities.
The SOCR campaign is led by a coalition of organisations and individuals, including Special Needs Jungle, IPSEA, Learning Disability Today, SEND National Crisis, SOS!SEN, SEND Rights Alliance and others who are committed to defending children’s rights.
