Council to pay out £12,800 over education failings

A council has been told to pay a father £12,800 after failing to provide specialist therapy and tuition to his child for more than two years.

He complained about Slough Council to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGO) after the child did not receive the care designated in a plan, including speech and language therapy, between January 2024 and April this year.

The council will need to continue paying the child's father £600 every month, for a maximum of six months, until the appropriate tuition is put in place.

A council spokesperson said it was sorry and recognised the "significant impact" the problems have had on the child's education and development.

The child has autism and "significant" speech, language and communications difficulties, the LGO said.

"The lack of therapy and tuition provision has had a significant impact on [the child] and the wider family," it added.

The council spokesperson said the authority "sincerely apologises to the child and their family for the failings identified".

They said: "We are actively working with the family to secure suitable tuition that meets the child's specific and complex needs. This is being progressed as a priority, with a focus on ensuring the right support is identified and sustained.

"We recognise that there were shortcomings in both the availability of specialist provision and in our oversight of this case.

"Since then, we have strengthened our processes, including enhanced senior oversight, improved tracking of Education Other Than at School (EOTAS) packages, and a renewed focus on commissioning sufficient specialist tutors and therapists."