Newham Council has “taken on board” the findings of an ombudsman review into the case, reports Nick Clark, Local Democracy Reporter

A mother has been paid £850 by Newham Council for delays in finding her child a school placement.

The council accepted that it had delayed considering the child’s special educational needs (Send) assessment, in consulting schools when searching for a place, and in responding to the mother’s complaint.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman said the delays meant the mother had “experienced distress” and was “left with some uncertainty”.

The mother – named in the ombudsman’s report as ‘Ms X’ – applied to the council for an education health and care plan (EHCP) for her son in December 2022. This sets out what a council has to do to meet a child’s special educational needs.

The council initially declined to issue an EHCP in October 2023, but a tribunal overturned this decision in May 2024.

Ms X’s son also spent several months being tutored at home as she and her son’s assigned school disagreed with the council that it could meet her needs.

The council issued an EHCP in August 2024 and began consulting schools to find her son a place.

However, the ombudsman’s report says Ms X asked why the council “only consulted three schools” and that the council only later agreed to consult more.

A place was eventually found for Ms X’s son in October 2024, and the school agreed for him to repeat a year.

After she complained, the council accepted it had delayed considering the ECHP assessment, had delayed consulting schools in 2024, and also delayed responding to the complaint.

It apologised and offered her £850. The ombudsman said this was “an appropriate remedy”.

The ombudsman also recommended that the council produce guidance to offers setting out the need to consult schools even during the holidays, and to consult them all at the same time.

The council agreed. A spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We have taken on board the ombudsman’s findings and accept that in some areas we did not meet the standards we expect and for that we apologise.

“Since this time we have improved the timeliness of response to families who are seeking help and how we manage consultations with schools to ensure this does not happen again.”

They added: “These improvements form part of our wider work to continue strengthening special educational needs and disabilities services ensuring children, young people and their families receive the right support at the right time.”

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