Ombudsman recommends council pay £6k after failure to implement tribunal findings in SEN case

The woman behind the complaint, Miss X, complained about the council’s failure to implement the Tribunal's findings. She said that some educational provision had only been provided to her child after a delay, while the council had not provided other provision at all.

In its report the Ombudsman said in May 2025, the Tribunal found the council should finalise an Educational Health and Care (EHC) plan for Miss X’s child. It made changes to section B and F of the plan.

The council had until June 2025 to put in place the special educational provision set out in the plan.

The council issued a draft plan at the end of June 2025 and a final plan the following month.

Miss X said the council failed to put in place the provision at the time. She added that no hydrotherapy provision had been provided at all by the council.

Miss X also said the council did not put in place Speech and Language Therapy (SaLT) until the end of April 2026. Furthermore, she confirmed that Physiotherapy provision started in October 2025 and Occupational Therapy was also delayed.

The council said it has offered to provide catch-up sessions for the provision missed by Miss X’s child. However, it reported that Miss X’s child had stopped attending school.

Analysing the case, the Ombudsman said: “The council has a non-delegable duty to provide the educational provision set out in the EHC plan. After the Tribunal hearing, the plan and provision should have been in place by June 2025. However, most of the provision was not secured until 2026 and some has yet to be provided. I consider both the delay in securing provision and the failure to provide some provision at all, to be fault by the council.”

The Ombudsman added: “Our guidance sets out that we should consider the severity of the child’s Special Educational needs and whether the period missed, was a significant one for the child such as in an examination year. Miss X has confirmed that her child was taking GCSE’s and because of the failure to provide provision, has had to drop some subjects and will retake English.

“The EHC plan provided lists Miss X’s child’s needs which are extensive. The failure to provide the provision would have therefore greatly impacted Miss X’s child.”

Within four weeks of the decision, the council agreed to:

• Provide Miss X with an apology for the unnecessary and avoidable distress caused by the failure to secure suitable special educational provision.
• Pay Miss X £6,000 for the failure to secure full special educational provision from June 2025 through to the summer term of 2026.

Cllr Helyn Clack, Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Lifelong Learning at Surrey County Council, said: “While we cannot comment on the circumstances of individual children, we recognise that pressures on the SEND system are being felt nationwide, and there is an urgent need for funding and reform across the country. In Surrey, it is our absolute priority to ensure every child with additional needs and disabilities receives the support that they need.

“More than 19,000 Surrey children have Education, Health and Care Plans, a number that has risen significantly in recent years. We have implemented an extensive SEND improvement plan since 2023, investing £211 million to expand specialist provision and support in mainstream schools, £4.9 million on additional staff, with 90% of EHCPs issued on time in 2025 compared to 46% nationally. We are also improving communications arrangements to provide a more reliable and timely service.

“Families’ experiences matter. We are committed to listening and improving, and to building a SEND system that delivers better outcomes for every child and family in Surrey.”

Lottie Winson