A council’s failure to ensure speech and language therapy remained in place after changing its provider left hundreds of children with special educational needs without legally entitled support, an investigation has found.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman examined the case of two brothers in Buckinghamshire who went without therapy for more than a year. One missed more than half his speech and language therapy and almost all his occupational therapy between September 2023 and December 2024. His brother also went without speech therapy, and the council repeatedly delayed updating his Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan.
The investigation revealed the problems stemmed from a decision by the council’s therapy provider to end its contract with a sub-contractor in early 2024. The change potentially affected nearly 400 children across Buckinghamshire.
The Ombudsman found the council failed to properly consider the impact of withdrawing the contract, had no back-up plan, and did not step in quickly enough to ensure children continued receiving the help they were owed.
‘This is not simply a case of two children falling between the cracks of an overstretched service,’ said Mrs Amerdeep Clarke, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. ‘Instead the council made wholescale changes to the way it provided support without ensuring it could meet the needs of these children and many others.’
Every child with an EHC plan has a legal entitlement to the support set out in it. The Ombudsman said the case highlighted what can go wrong when councils do not exercise sufficient oversight of the services they commission.
‘When a provider struggles to meet demand, it is the council’s responsibility to step in – not to wait and hope the situation improves,’ Clarke added.
Buckinghamshire Council has agreed to apologise to the boys’ mother and pay £1,000 in recognition of the failures. It will also create a plan to address any shortfall in meeting children’s needs through the therapy service and develop a protocol for cases where provision cannot be delivered in line with EHC plans.
The Ombudsman said she hoped the report would serve as a reminder to councils across the country of their duties to children with special educational needs.
Leave a Reply