Shropshire Council 'failed to support' armed forces SEN child

Shropshire Council failed to adequately support a child from a  military family with special educational needs, according to a watchdog.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman said the local authority left the boy without specialist support for five months.

Shropshire Council has agreed to apologise to the child, known as Y, and his mother, Mrs X.

They also have to pay £3,000 to reflect the missed provision.

Other recommendations include the council reviewing its Armed Forces Covenant Action plan and ensure it implements changes to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) procedures.

This is so that service children with SEND, regardless of whether they have Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans do not have any gaps in their education when they move to Shropshire.

The child had a SEN and ECH plan which was maintained by a different local authority. Shropshire Council was informed of this two months before him and his family moved to the county in February 2025.

The Ombudsman said the council had ample time to prepare for the move and ensure the child’s educational provision was in place without a gap.

“The transfer should have been smooth and seamless for Y,” said the Ombudsman.

“Instead, it was poorly managed with ineffective liaison with the outgoing council.

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“There are around six military bases in Shropshire and so the need to follow the principles set out in the Covenant is crucial because more local families are going to be disproportionately affected.

“The council did not secure a school placement until July 2025 with Y not starting until September, and the council did not put in place interim provision in the meantime. The delay was fault causing Y a loss of special educational provision

“Communication with Mrs X was woefully inadequate and this was a fault causing avoidable frustration, which the council has accepted in its complaint responses.

“We accepted the complaint for investigation at the end of June 2025 because the council had provided one complaint response. It did not provide a final response until October 2025 which was an unacceptable delay, not in line with our Principles of Good Administrative Practice and was at fault, causing avoidable frustration.

“Neither of the council’s complaint responses offered an adequate remedy for the loss of educational provision and they did not consider the Armed Forces Covenant.

“The Covenant recognises children in Y’s position are often at a disadvantage when compared with their non-military peers as they may face regular short notice moves which are likely to interrupt their schooling and academic progress. This was a fault causing avoidable distress and uncertainty.”

A Shropshire Council spokesperson said: “We acknowledge the ombudsman’s findings, accept the recommendations in the report and apologise to Mrs X and Y.

“The council could and should have done more to ensure that Y received the educational provision in his Education, Health and Care Plan between February and July 2025.

“The ombudsman’s report notes that the council has already acted to improve practice in this area. However, as the report recommends, we will be writing to Mrs X and Y to formally apologise, and making a payment to Mrs X to reflect Y’s missed special educational provision.

“We are also reviewing our Armed Forces Covenant Action Plan to ensure that we implement changes to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) procedures, so service children with SEND do not have any gaps in their education when they move into Shropshire.”

The ombudsman’s report and its findings will also be considered by Cabinet.

“As a signatory to the Armed Forces Covenant, we are committed to ensuring that those who serve or have served in the armed forces, and their families, are treated fairly – and to supporting children and young people from service families,” added the spokesperson. 

“We are determined that this case will not be repeated, and have already taken action. As the report acknowledges, the council has recently introduced a communication protocol for the EHC team, and we have recently delivered training on the Armed Forces Covenant to key staff.”