Wandsworth Council Told to Review 'Flawed' SEND Policy
Staff barred from giving emergency medicine on school transport
Wandsworth Community Transport handles taking many SEND pupils to school. Picture: Facebook
February 24, 2025
A Wandsworth Council has been told to review a ‘blanket ban’ on staff giving disabled children emergency medication on school transport. A watchdog slammed Wandsworth Council’s ‘flawed’ policy concerning the issue after investigating a mother’s concerns.
The woman, named Ms D in the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman report, originally complained about the council’s ‘inconsistent’ arrangements for taking her disabled child to school. The authority provided a school bus for her child, referred to as J, some days a week and Ms D took J herself using a travel budget on the other days.
J needs emergency medication if they have a seizure, but the council’s transport policy for children with special educational needs (SEND) says staff will never administer emergency medication. The council offered J a bus space for the whole week in response to Ms D’s complaint, and said passenger assistants would be trained to recognise the signs of J having a seizure and call an ambulance if needed. Ms D complained to the ombudsman as she was unhappy with this.
The ombudsman found that while councils do not have to administer emergency medication on school transport, they must consider each case individually and show why the arrangements they have made are suitable. The report said, “When making decisions about a child’s transport arrangements, statutory guidance says that councils need to take an individual approach to decision making on a case-by-case basis. The council’s policy of never providing emergency medication on transport is in conflict with this position.
“In each individual case, the council should decide whether it is appropriate to do so, rather than saying it will never do so. It has adopted a blanket approach with an overly rigid policy which does not allow for wider consideration of each specific case on its own merits. This is fault as the council is fettering its discretion and this could cause injustice to others.”
It added, “I am not satisfied the council has had proper consideration of J’s specific needs and circumstances or provided clear reasoning as to why its transport offer was appropriate given Ms D’s specific concerns about emergency medication and risks when it wasn’t administered. This is fault causing uncertainty and frustration to Ms D. This may also stem from its flawed position about medication in its SEND transport policy.”
The ombudsman told the council to apologise to Ms D and review its decision on J’s school transport. It also ordered the authority to amend its SEND transport policy to follow guidance.
Labour councillor Kate Stock, cabinet member for children, said, “We take children’s safety and wellbeing incredibly seriously, and we work hard to meet the needs of all children, particularly those with SEND. We accept the ombudsman’s findings in this case and we are fully committed to working in partnership with families to address the issues raised. We are constantly improving the services we provide to our community to ensure every child receives the support they need to thrive.”
Charlotte Lillywhite - Local Democracy Reporter