Tower Hamlets (Parliament Politics Magazine) – A mother from Tower Hamlets is awarded £1,100 after the Ombudsman finds the council at fault for son with SEN missing therapy and activity sessions.
According to an Ombudsman report, the mother, identified as Ms. B, had voiced issues over the therapy and exercise sessions that were provided as part of her son’s Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP).
Since it was part of her personal budget, the council considered her to be at fault for claiming she was in charge of setting up the activity sessions. The Ombudsman decided that the council should have acquired those sessions during a time when her son, who was identified in the report as D, was not enrolled in school or college.
Why did Tower Hamlets fail to provide timely support for special needs children?
A council representative apologised to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) for any inconvenience Ms. B and her family may have had and acknowledged that there were problems and delays in delivering the agreed-upon support.
The EHCP for Ms. B’s son, who has special needs, comprised weekly activity sessions, occupational therapy, and speech and language therapy in September 2020.
The EHCP identified a school and a personal budget that includes 16 occupational treatment appointments, 12 speech and language therapy sessions, and 45 weekly activity sessions.
The school verified that as part of the placement, occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists would be available to assist.
However, the child’s mother pulled him out of that school since it didn’t provide a sixth form, and she later pulled him out of a college because she didn’t like the contact and return home arrangements.
She protested that between September 2020 and July 2022, the council had not been able to provide her son a suitable educational placement.
In March 2024, she took her complaint to the Ombudsman because she was dissatisfied with the way the council handled it. The watchdog found that Ms. B had submitted bills for 11 activity sessions between April and May of 2022, which the council had paid back.
However, the child missed out on 15 more lessons during the roughly seven months that he was out of school, and Ms. B attempted to resolve the issue. The child did not receive 26 lessons during this period.
The council will review its processes regarding the withdrawal of a personal budget and has agreed to reimburse Ms. B £1,165 to cover the cost of D’s missing activity sessions. A representative for the Tower Hamlets Council stated: “We acknowledge the findings of the report and accept that there were delays and issues in providing the agreed support. We apologise for any frustration caused to Ms B and her family.
In response to the Ombudsman’s recommendations, the council is reviewing its processes to ensure clear communication and better management of personal budgets. We are committed to learning from the findings in the report and improving our service to ensure all children and young people receive the support they are entitled to.”
What steps is Tower Hamlets taking to tackle SEN challenges and rising demands?
The number of children and young people in Tower Hamlets having Education, Health, and Care Plans (EHCPs) increased from 3,016 in 2020 to 3,464 in 2022. With 5.4% of school-age children having EHCPs, which is higher than the national average, this constitutes a section of the local community.
In Tower Hamlets, the most prevalent primary needs among children with EHCPs are speech, language, and communication difficulties and autism spectrum disorder (1,009 instances in 2022). Nearly one in four boys with SEN get support, making them over-represented in the population.
Family Services had a 2017 Ofsted inspection rating of ‘inadequate’; however, Tower Hamlets has since improved. By 2019, Ofsted rated the borough’s ‘Good’ children’s services, pointing to efficient service targeting and reconfiguration.