More than £6,500 in compensation has been agreed by the Isle of Wight Council after a watchdog found failings in the way the local authority handled the special educational needs provision of several children.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) has found ‘fault causing injustice’ on 4 occasions relating to special educational needs (SEN) since the start of the year.
The cases include delays in issuing plans, failures to provide specialist support and education, missed legal timescales and communication shortcomings.
An Isle of Wight Council spokesperson has apologised for instances where the authority’s service has fallen below the standards that ‘families rightly expect’.
In February, a 10-month delay in issuing a child’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) plan resulted in the council agreeing to pay a £2,500 remedy.
The child’s father said a significant amount of education had been missed at a crucial stage of their schooling.
Responding to the case previously, the council said County Hall was taking ‘firm steps’ to strengthen its SEND processes, improve the timeliness and quality of assessments and reviews, and ensure better communication with families.
Another complaint was upheld the following month, with the council agreeing to pay £900 to a woman in recognition of her child’s loss of specialist provision and support set out in an education, health and care plan (EHCP) between April 2025 and June 2025.
The Ombudsman said the payment also recognised the ‘distress and uncertainty’ caused to the woman by the council’s ‘failings’.
EHCPs are for children and young people aged up to 25 who need more support than is available through standard special educational needs support. They set out a person’s educational, health and social needs and identify the additional support required.
In another case, decided in early May, the council agreed to pay £500 to a woman after delays in ensuring all of the provision in her child’s EHCP was put in place following a tribunal order.
The LGSCO found that the delay meant the child did not receive all of their provision between June and July 2025.
A further complaint concluded by the Ombudsman during May resulted in the authority agreeing to pay a man £2,475 to acknowledge the ‘harm’ caused by the loss of his child’s educational provision.
An additional £150 was agreed to reflect the ‘upset, frustration and uncertainty’ caused by the council’s ‘failure’ to complete an annual review of the child’s EHCP within legal timescales, as well as communication failures.
The Ombudsman said the council must arrange for an EHCP to be reviewed at least once a year to ensure it remains up to date.
Together, the remedies agreed across the 4 cases total £6,525.
An Isle of Wight Council spokesperson has said:
“We recognise the impact that delays and service shortcomings can have on children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, and on their families.
“The Isle of Wight Council accepts the findings and recommendations made by the LGSCO in these cases and has worked, or is continuing to work, to implement the agreed remedies for the families concerned.
“Over the past year we have been undertaking a significant programme of improvement across our SEND service. This has included reviewing processes, strengthening staff training, improving communication with families and partners, and increasing our focus on delivering statutory responsibilities within required timescales.
“Many of the issues identified in these decisions relate to periods before a number of these improvements were introduced, but we recognise there is more to do.”
The spokesperson added that where the Ombudsman has identified areas for further improvement, the council will continue to address them as part of its ongoing service development.
