Mrs A complained about the action taken by Monmouthshire County Council regarding her child’s additional learning needs provision. She raised concerns about the processes followed, including that the Council had delayed taking responsibility for her child’s individual development plan (“IDP”). Mrs A also raised concerns about the communication received from the Council and the way it handled her complaint. In addition, Mrs A complained about the Council’s management of education otherwise than at school (“EOTAS”) provision for her child.
The Ombudsman’s assessment found that the Council had provided Mrs A with a response to her complaint, within the expected timeframes. However, it had not provided a full response, including an explanation and apology for the delay in agreeing to take responsibility for the IDP. The Ombudsman found that Mrs A’s complaint about EOTAS provision was premature for an investigation by the Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman sought and gained the Council’s agreement to provide an explanation and apology for the delay to take responsibility for the IDP. It agreed to provide a full response to Mrs A’s complaint about the correspondence provided when it agreed responsibility for the IDP. It also agreed to provide a full response to the concerns raised by Mrs A about the Council’s decisions, action and communication concerning EOTAS provision. The Council agreed to complete these actions within 4 weeks.