96% of the SEND complaints that the LGSCO investigated in this period (the calendar year 2024) were upheld One in four of all complaints that the LGSCO investigated in 2024 were about local authority SEND maladministration And this is a lagging indicator - ThreadSky

captaink77.bsky.social • 19 days ago

96% of the SEND complaints that the LGSCO investigated in this period (the calendar year 2024) were upheld

One in four of all complaints that the LGSCO investigated in 2024 were about local authority SEND maladministration

And this is a lagging indicator

Reposted from Chaminda Jayanetti

NEW: Successful complaints about councils’ special education needs (SEND) services in England have quadrupled in four years, in the latest evidence of the crisis facing the system.

By me, for the Observer www.theguardian.com/education/20...

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captaink77.bsky.social•19 days ago

The LGSCO is normally the last resort. Families usually have to exhaust local complaints processes before turning to the Ombudsman - & their complaint investigations aren't quick either

Most of the cases in Chaminda's article revolve around fuckery that happened in 2022 or 2023, sometimes earlier

captaink77.bsky.social•19 days ago

Outcomes from LGSCO complaints mirror those at the SEND First Tier Tribunal, whose hearings amend 98% of local govt decisions

Case law means there's no overlap between SEND casework examined at LGSCO and SEND casework examined at Tribunal

Just one common denominator: awful LA decision-making

captaink77.bsky.social•19 days ago

The number of SEND complaints that the LGSCO is refusing to look at because parents could have appealed to the SEND Tribunal has also increased sharply - probably several hundred such cases in 2024

But many parents don't have the resources to mount a SEND Tribunal appeal

captaink77.bsky.social•19 days ago

Like everything else that the SEND system touches, the Ombudsman is now swamped, and it's been trying to manage demand for SEND complaints

At the same time, LGSCO wants to extend its remit beyond the school gate, something which will be as popular with the sector as airborne gonorrhoea

captaink77.bsky.social•19 days ago

It might be tempting to see these complaints as compo-driven: they're not. Compensation is often a three-figure sum, & most complainants just want an apology & better practice

The LGSCO remedy tariff for a missing term of education lowballs at £900 https://www.lgo.org.uk/information-centre/staff-guidance/guidance-on-remedies?chapter=6#Special+Educational+Needs+and+Disabilities+SEND

captaink77.bsky.social•19 days ago

The LGSCO remedy payments are almost always far smaller than the cost that the LA would have incurred if they had delivered the provision in the first place

There's no other accountability pressure: Ofsted & CQC's area SEND inspections have never remarked on LGSCO complaints, & probably never will

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