Tag: Local Government Ombudsman
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What the Cases Reveal: Failure, Fragmentation, and the Absence of Scrutiny
These cases were identified because published documentation contained recognisable indicators of educational failure. They are not the totality of such cases – they represent only what is visible in the public record. It is the view of this report that where there is evidence that a statutory duty was engaged – the death of the…
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Children Died. The System Looked Away. Today the Government Will Call This Reform.
An investigation into the suicide of neurodivergent children failed by the SEND system – and a system that answered with no learning, no accountability, and as of today, no recourse.
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A National Picture of Harm: Families speak out on SEND
Measure What Matters. National Database: Indexed Testimony on SEND Maladministration · Volume 3 · 22 February 2026 Volume 3: National Database: Indexed Testimony on SEND Maladministration The largest published qualitative primary source dataset on the lived experience of families navigating the SEND system in England — now containing 1,253 testimonies from 134 Local Authorities across…
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Open Letter to Rt. Hon. BRIDGET PHILLIPSON MP, Secretary of State for Education
Re: Urgent concerns over unlawful conduct, maladministration, and breakdown of accountability at Surrey County Council in the management of their statutory SEND responsibilities. June 2025 Dear Rt. Hon. Bridget Phillipson, MP, We are writing to you today not as professionals, politicians, or campaigners — but as parents and carers of children with Special Educational Needs…
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The Cost of Silence: A Closer Look at Surrey’s Approach to Complaint Handling and Accountability
We’re taking a slight departure from our usual data analysis work to address some growing, urgent concerns regarding reported changes in Surrey County Council’s approach to managing complaints that have emerged since our last analysis reports were published. Firstly, we make no apologies for our relentless focus on the management of complaints in Local Government.…
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A Forensic Review: Breakdown in Governance at Surrey County Council’s Audit and Governance Committee
Data Extracted from; Local government complaint reviews – Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (‘Complaints Decided’ by Local Authority, 2021-2024) At Measure What Matters, our mission is to track local government performance, simplify key metrics, and promote transparency and accountability. Following our previous analysis of Surrey’s Troubling Education Complaint Crisis; this forensic review of Surrey…
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Navigating the Fog: Understanding Misinformation, Disinformation, and the Quest for Clear Data in Local Government
Misinformation. It’s not always a matter of deliberate falsehoods. In the context of local government performance—particularly in complex reports about Special Educational Needs (SEN) provision—misinformation can be accurate but incomplete, out of context, or even just plain wrong. In the case of Surrey County Council, we believe this is not simply an issue of data…
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A snapshot of the performance of Surrey County Council’s Education Services for vulnerable children with SEND
Measure what matters. Executive Summary This report delivers a brief, deep-dive analysis of the performance of Surrey County Council’s (SCC) Children, Families, and Lifelong Learning (CFLL) team in its duty to provide education services for vulnerable children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). This report will describe how, despite significant additional investment and strategic…
Measure what matters. 