A council has been fined more than £2,500 after failing to offer speech therapy to a vulnerable child.
Somerset County Council provided the seventh grade student, known as W, with an education and health plan (EHCP) in 2021 that included both occupational and speech and language therapy.
However, because W’s mother was off duty for an entire school year, she made a formal complaint to the council.
Somerset Council has apologized for the delays in introducing regulations.
The Ombudsman for Local Government and Social Welfare (LGSCO) ordered the new unitary authority to formally apologize and compensate the family.
Known only as Ms X, W’s mother said she struggled in November 2021 when her son moved to a new school.
W was issued an amended EHCP by the District Council in December 2021 that included the provision of six hours of speech and language therapy per trimester by a therapist who has “experience working with children with complex needs.”
It also included three occupational therapy programs to improve the child’s “coordination, balance, fine motor skills and handwriting.”
When she contacted the Council in late January 2022 to express her concern that neither therapy had started, Ms X made a formal complaint in March 2022, having received no reply in the meantime.
The council finally responded in late May 2022, stating that it was the school’s responsibility to arrange the offer of therapy and that the services run by the council were “unavailable”.
Ms X then identified a number of third parties who could provide the services to her son, but the council said the school had to approach providers directly and it was “not for the council to engage providers itself or to appoint suitable providers.” recommend”.
W. finally began speech therapy in November 2022 after funding to use third-party services was approved, but as of January 2023 he still had not received occupational therapy.
The ombudsman found in his judgment that the council had acted “wrongly”, the council had “a legal obligation to provide care” and that it had to act “immediately” if it became aware of a lack of care.
Somerset Council has been ordered to pay Ms X £2,550 to reflect ‘the impact of lost care’ on her son – with the condition that the money be used to fund private therapy for W.
It was also said it would be required to pay £300 for each month it missed taking occupational therapy for W.
A spokesman said the council “accepts the verdict” and has “apologized to the family for the delays in providing proper accommodation”.
It said staff would now consider that “where schools have funds for additional offerings, the resources will be made available quickly”.
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