Croydon Council has apologised after a watchdog found multiple failings in its handling of the EHCP for a child with special educational needs
A family’s fight for the right SEND support has resulted in an official finding against Croydon Council after officers refused to attend a meeting despite signing an agreement.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has ordered the council to apologise to the family for the uncertainty and distress caused by its repeated failures. However, the council described the incident as an “unusual case”, suggesting that the parents’ actions also contributed to the failures.
The watchdog upheld a complaint from a family, referred to as Mr and Mr Y, concerning their child, Z, who has special educational needs. The decision, finalised in May, found that the council had committed several administrative failings, including failing to hold a dispute resolution meeting agreed during mediation, and delaying the child’s annual Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) review.
An EHCP is a legal document that sets out a child or young person’s special educational needs, health and care requirements, and the support they should receive at school.
The dispute began after Croydon Council issued a final amended EHCP for Z in May 2024. Following this, the family requested a mediation meeting with the council to discuss concerns about gaps in Z’s education and progress in English.
According to the report, these learning gaps were caused by illness and attendance issues over several years, while the parents also wanted to establish whether the school’s end-of-year report accurately reflected Z’s needs and progress.
A mediation meeting took place in July 2024, resulting in a signed agreement between the parents and the council. As part of that agreement, the council committed to discussing the child’s school report and arranging a dispute resolution meeting to consider potential amendments to the EHCP.
However, the meeting never took place. Instead, the council later told the family it did “not deem this course of action to be suitable” and had “no intention of pursuing it further”, arguing that the process “may not lead to a productive or satisfactory outcome for all parties involved”.
Following an official complaint by the family, the Ombudsman found the council at fault, ruling that it had failed to comply with Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations by not honouring the signed mediation agreement.
According to the Ombudsman, Croydon’s actions caused the family avoidable frustration, as the issues identified during mediation remained unresolved. However, while the family’s representative argued the council’s actions affected their mental health and contributed to Z being unable to sit GCSEs as planned, the Ombudsman said it could not conclude that the mediation failure directly caused this, noting that the family retained the right to appeal to the SEND Tribunal.
The investigation also found that Croydon Council delayed Z’s statutory annual EHCP review. Z’s next review was due in December 2024, but the council did not issue a final amended EHCP until late October 2025 – it was supposed to be issued by March 2025, three months after the review.
This led the Ombudsman to conclude that the family faced around seven months of unnecessary uncertainty over the child’s educational provision.
Croydon Council argued that the delay was partly due to the parents declining to comment on the existing EHCP before the review.
While the Ombudsman acknowledged that the family’s actions contributed to some of the delay, they rejected this explanation, finding that there is no legal requirement for parents to submit comments before an annual review can take place.
Z’s father had initially refused to take part in the annual review until the earlier dispute had been resolved and argued that historical issues with the EHCP needed to be addressed first.
Finally, the council was criticised over its handling of the family’s complaint. After informing the family it would not hold the agreed dispute resolution meeting, the council sent what the Ombudsman described as an unclear letter.
When the parents later asked for their complaint to be escalated, the council refused, citing a missed three-month deadline. The Ombudsman found this was also a fault, as earlier correspondence had not clearly explained the council’s position, unfairly denying the family access to the second stage of the complaints process and prompting them to take the matter directly to the Ombudsman.
The council has since agreed to apologise to the family for the frustration, uncertainty, confusion and lost opportunity caused by its actions.
A Croydon Council spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We are committed to making sure children with special educational needs get the education, opportunities and support they need.
“We accepted the Ombudsman’s recommendations and have apologised to the child’s parents for the delays. We did not arrange a dispute resolution meeting because the parents did not suggest any further changes to their child’s EHCP. However, we accept that the meeting should have taken place.
“The parents requested that the annual review be postponed, as acknowledged by the Ombudsman. Although we always want parents to be fully involved in reviewing their child’s EHCP, we accept that the council remained responsible for ensuring the review took place within the statutory timescale. The annual review has since taken place.
“This was an unusual case because of these circumstances, and the Ombudsman agreed that these significant factors contributed to what happened. The Ombudsman is satisfied with our apology and has now closed the case. We have reflected on its findings and will ensure that the learning from this case informs how similar matters are handled in future.”
If you have had any experiences regarding SEND education in Croydon and wish to share it, email [email protected].
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