18th February 2025 • My Family Our Needs

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) claim that pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) could be better served if the LGSCO had its powers extended to investigate schools.

In the LGSCO’s plan for the next three years, it recommends extending its jurisdiction to handle complaints related to SEND, enabling it to handle a wider number of cases.

The LGSCO’s flagship Triennial Review found that over the past three years, cases have steadily risen in four areas, including SEND. Due to these findings, the LGSCO has called for the power to investigate the way Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) are implemented in schools across the country.

Additionally, it wants to be able to investigate cases of children and young people with SEND being admitted or excluded from schools, alongside issues they may have with the support they are offered in school.

Ms Amerdeep Somal said, ‘[The LGSCO] 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.’  

Currently, the LGSCO can launch an investigation into the application, assessment or delivery of an EHCP. However, it cannot investigate how SEND provision is delivered in schools whether or not there is an EHCP in place. Thus, leaving parents at a loss for who they can turn to when their child does not receive the extra support they require.

Whilst the LGSCO does receive complaints in the delivery of SEND provisions in school, there is little they can do and often rule that the case is out of their jurisdiction.

In the last year, 77% of complaints the LGSCO investigated about Education and Children’s Services, a high percentage of which concerned children or young people with SEND, were found to be at fault.

The LGSCO said, ‘This is consistently a high area of concern for us, with families sometimes having no route for redress, and a large amount of confusion about who to go to and when.’

Many parents requesting an EHC Needs Assessment want one due to their child’s SEND needs not being supported by the school. The LGSCO argues that if it had power to investigate SEND provisions in schools it could potentially cut the number of parents applying for an assessment.

We will publish evidence of any progress as and when it is achieved.

In other news, high street clothing giant Primark has launched a clothing range for people with disabilities.