Decision Report 201301126

Summary

Mrs C complained on behalf of a family member (Mrs A) about the council's actions in relation to pre-school contact with Mrs A's son, who has special educational needs. Mrs C complained that the pre-school home visiting service did not reasonably attempt to contact Mrs A after a referral from a speech and language therapist, and that the educational psychology service did not undertake actions in line with an agreement with Mrs A.

Following investigation we did not uphold the complaint about contact as we found evidence that they did try to contact Mrs A. We did uphold the complaint about the educational psychology service, as we found significant differences between a handwritten agreement provided by Mrs A and the typed version that was subsequently referred to by the council, as well as more general issues around communication.

Recommendations

We recommended that the council:

• apologise to Mrs A that the educational psychology service did not provide a reasonable service in relation to the early years assessment process for her son; and
• revise relevant procedures and guidance to ensure that unsuccessful attempts at contact are recorded, that cover letters are provided with copies of reports or assessments sent to parents as part of the early years assessment and that there is consistency in all records made of discussions with parents.