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Council staff should speak out about discrimination, Ombudsman finds

Hertfordshire County Council has not yet agreed to Ombudsman recommendations to improve its practices after a primary school admitted it had discriminated against a little boy because of his disabilities.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman was asked to investigate by the boy’s parents after the council failed to acknowledge there had been a problem with the support it provided.

The youngster was due to start Reception in September 2020. But on his first day the school told his parents they would have to collect him at 11am because it had not put in place the support he needed according to his Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan.

The boy was entitled to one-on-one support, including specialist speech and language therapy and this could only take place if he attended school full-time. Instead, the little boy was offered a part-time timetable that meant he received about half the hours he should have received.  

Later on, the school expelled the boy because of his behaviour which was linked to his unsupported needs. The boy’s parents asked the council to provide tutoring at home. The Ombudsman found the council took too long to put this in place and did not provide enough hours for a full-time education. The boy did not have full-time education for the whole of his Reception year, receiving about half of the hours he could have expected.

The Ombudsman also found there was no evidence the boy needed a reduced timetable, and the decision was made by the school simply because it did not employ enough staff.

When it became apparent the school was not providing a full-time education for the boy, the council should have investigated why the school could not make all the provision in his EHC plan and found a way to secure this, either in school or elsewhere. Instead, it told the parents their son was only entitled to 15 hours of education, without any reason why this should be the case, and failed to ensure the boy’s Speech and Language Therapy and Occupational Therapy was provided.

Despite the little boy moving to compulsory school age the following term, the council still did not ensure he was provided with the equivalent of full-time education – instead it wrongly continued to suggest the reduced timetable was the family’s choice, despite their complaints.

The Ombudsman also criticised the way the council handled the family’s complaints and found fault with council’s inaccurate responses both to the family and to the Ombudsman.

Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said:

“The school has already admitted that this little boy was treated differently to his classmates purely because of his disability. 

“The parents have told me that because of the council’s failings they have had to take time away from work when their son should have been in school. This has had a significant impact on their daily lives and placed their employment at risk. They have had to pay for support which should have been provided by the council.

“I am disappointed the council has not yet agreed to my recommendations to put things right for the family. I hope they will take a serious look at the service they have offered and make the improvements I have recommended to help prevent others being affected by its poor practice”

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman remedies injustice and shares learning from investigations to help improve public, and adult social care, services. In this case the council should apologise and pay the family £5,000 to acknowledge the boy’s lost education, and a further £3,125 for the private therapy the family paid for when it was not being provided by the council.

The council should also pay £2,500 towards the family’s legal costs incurred because of its faults, £4,650 for the additional care the parents have provided during school hours and £500 to recognise the family’s frustration and distress.

The Ombudsman has the power to make recommendations to improve processes for the wider public. In this case the council should ensure staff are reminded of the council’s duties to:

  • secure the special educational provision in children’s EHC Plans
  • provide full-time education to children of compulsory school age, and
  • make alternative education available as soon as possible that meets the individual’s needs.

The council should also remind staff of its equality duties including what they should do if they suspect a school is discriminating against pupils.

It will also remind staff of the requirement to carry out thorough, impartial complaint investigations based on evidence and the facts of the case.

Original article link: https://www.lgo.org.uk/information-centre/news/2022/oct/council-staff-should-speak-out-about-discrimination-ombudsman-finds

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