Isle Of Wight Council Agrees More Than £6,500 In SEND Compensation Payments

The Isle of Wight Council has agreed to pay more than £6,500 in compensation after a series of complaints relating to its Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) service were upheld by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO).

Since the start of the year, the Ombudsman has found the council at fault on four separate occasions, concluding that service failures caused injustice to children and their families.

The largest payment, £2,500, followed a finding that the council delayed issuing a child's Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) by 10 months.

The child's father said the delay resulted in a significant loss of education during an important stage of their schooling.

In a separate case, the council agreed to pay £900 after a child missed specialist support outlined in their EHCP between April and June 2025.

The payment also recognised the distress and uncertainty experienced by the child's parent.

Another complaint resulted in a £500 payment after the authority failed to ensure all of the support required by an EHCP was in place following a tribunal ruling, meaning the child did not receive their full provision for around two months.

The fourth case saw the council agree to pay £2,625 to a family, including £2,475 for the loss of educational provision and a further £150 to reflect the upset, frustration and uncertainty caused by delays in completing the child's annual EHCP review and communication failures.

An EHCP is a legal document setting out the education, health and care support required by children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities.

Responding to the Ombudsman's findings, an Isle of Wight Council spokesperson apologised where the authority's service had fallen below the standards families should expect.

The council said it has accepted the Ombudsman's recommendations and is either implementing, or has already implemented, the agreed remedies for those affected.

It added that a significant programme of improvements to its SEND service has been underway over the past year, including changes to processes, additional staff training, better communication with families and a greater focus on meeting statutory timescales.

The authority said many of the cases related to periods before those improvements were introduced, but acknowledged that further work is still needed.