The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has called for more powers to be able to close “an accountability gap” by being able to investigate how education, health and care plans (EHCPs) are implemented in schools.
A major review carried out by the ombudsman service has also said it should be able to investigate cases where pupils with additional needs are excluded from, or have issues with, the support they are offered from school.
SEND in schools is key priority
Its triennial review has said that special educational needs (SEND) in schools will be a key priority over the next three years.
The ombudsman can currently investigate cases into the actions of local authorities, but does not have the power to investigate schools.
MPs have previously called on the government to grant the ombudsman these powers in a scathing report in 2019 on the SEND system.
The ombudsman calls for more powers on SEND comes after the National Audit Office issued a damning report last month into the level of support for young people for SEND, warning that an urgent solution was needed to make the system financially sustainable.
A recent Tes investigation highlighted how problems with the implementation of EHCPs are at the heart of all the SEND area inspection reports where council areas have been given the lowest rating.
Issues highlighted in Ofsted and Care Quality Commission reports included plans being out of date, variability in the quality of the documents - with outcomes not being specific enough - and barriers and confusion around the process of how to request an EHCP.
Local government and social care ombudsman Amerdeep Somal said: “As the last port of call for complaints about local government and social care services, we play a vital role in the oversight of these services and in improving services for everyone in England.
“But the landscape we operate in is changing at an ever-increasing pace, and we need our powers to reflect this so we can provide a better service to those who come to us for redress when things go wrong.”
Recommendations ‘should close accountability gaps’
Ms Somal said that the recommendations “should close some of the accountability gaps we know exist for people, and ensure we operate as a modern ombudsman service in the years to come”.
In a highly critical report about the SEND system in 2019, the Commons Education Select Committee called for the ombudsman to be able to look at complaints at school-level from parents.
The report said: “Two select committees have independently identified a problem with the current extent of the powers of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman: it is now up to the government to act.
It added: “The department should, at the earliest opportunity, bring forward legislative proposals to allow the ombudsman to consider what takes place within a school, rather than - in his words -only being able to look at their ‘everything up to the school gate’.”
This recommendation was made when the post of local government and social care ombudsman was held by Michael King. Ms Somal was appointed to the post in February this year.
In its review published this week, the ombudsman service has also asked for it to be made a statutory duty to monitor compliance with its new Complaint Handling Code, due to be implemented by councils from April 2026. It is designed to make the handling of complaints more consistent across all local authorities.
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