East Riding of Yorkshire Council (24 017 988)

Statement Upheld Alternative provision 29-Sep-2025

Summary: Ms X complained the Council did not complete an Education, Health and Care needs assessment for her daughter within statutory timeframes. She also said it did not provide alternative provision to her daughter when she stopped attending school. We did not find the Council at fault for the time taken with the assessment. We found fault for some of its actions and not properly evidencing decisions made on its alternative provision duty, causing some uncertainty. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a symbolic payment to remedy the injustice caused.

Lancashire County Council (24 002 668)

Statement Upheld Alternative provision 29-Sep-2025

Summary: The Council was at fault. It did not complete Miss X’s child, Y’s annual review in 2023 and delayed completing Y’s next annual review. It failed to make a decision on amendments to Y’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan and subsequently delayed issuing it. The Council also failed to monitor Y’s alternative provision package. These faults caused Miss X frustration, distress and uncertainty and impacted on Y’s education. The Council will apologise to Miss X and make a symbolic payment to her. The Council has already put in place actions to improve its service.

Hampshire County Council (24 012 589)

Statement Upheld Alternative provision 29-Sep-2025

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council delayed putting alternative provision arrangements in place when her child Z stopped attending school and did not fully secure the provision in Z’s EHC Plan. Mrs X also complained the Council delayed deciding an application for transport assistance, and about the Council’s communication and complaints handling. We have found the Council at fault. We find Z’s missed education provision is likely to be offset by future provision, mitigating this injustice. However, there is a shortfall in therapy provision yet to be addressed. We also find Mrs X experienced avoidable distress and uncertainty because of the Council’s faults. The Council has agreed to provide a written apology and pay a symbolic financial remedy to recognise Mrs X’s avoidable distress. The Council has also agreed to decide Mrs X’s application for transport assistance and set out a proposal to offset Z’s lost therapy provision over upcoming academic years.

City of Doncaster Council (24 017 977)

Statement Not upheld Alternative provision 28-Sep-2025

Summary: Mrs X complains the Council failed to properly consider its Section 19 duty towards her child, Y and provide alternative education. Mrs X also says the Councils complaints handling has been poor. Mrs X says this caused her and her family distress. We have not found fault in the actions of the Council.

Hertfordshire County Council (24 020 297)

Statement Upheld Alternative provision 28-Sep-2025

Summary: Miss B complained about the education service provided to her son, C, who has special educational needs. We upheld the complaint, finding some fault by the Council when it delayed arranging a review of C’s Education, Health and Care Plan and in issuing a final plan following the review. This caused injustice as avoidable distress to Miss B and C. The Council has accepted these findings and at the end of this statement we explain what action it has agreed to take to remedy that injustice.

Surrey County Council (24 022 149)

Statement Upheld Alternative provision 28-Sep-2025

Summary: Miss X complained the Council failed to arrange alternative provision for Y after he was excluded from school and failed to review his Education, Health and Care Plan in line with statutory guidance. The Council was at fault for not securing alternative provision for Y, causing uncertainty and frustration. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to recognise the uncertainty.

Warwickshire County Council (24 017 210)

Statement Upheld Alternative provision 25-Sep-2025

Summary: Ms X complained the Council failed to provide suitable education for her child since September 2023. We found fault with the Council failing to provide suitable education for Ms X’s child from 22 November 2023 to 3 July 2024. The Council agreed to apologise to Ms X and pay her £3,600 for her child’s missed education. The Council also agreed to pay Ms X £150 for the avoidable distress and inconvenience the Council’s fault put her to. The Council agreed to provide guidance and training to staff about the importance of alerting the relevant department if a child’s is absent from school for more than 15 days and about timeliness in arranging Alternative Provision of education.

Essex County Council (24 020 999)

Statement Upheld Alternative provision 24-Sep-2025

Summary: The Council was at fault for not providing suitable education to a child when they were out of school. This meant the child missed out on education they should have received. The Council agreed to apologise and make a payment for the loss of education to the child.

Cornwall Council (25 004 326)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Alternative provision 23-Sep-2025

Summary: We will not investigate Ms M’s complaint about arrangements for her daughter G’s education because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

Surrey County Council (24 019 139)

Statement Upheld Alternative provision 21-Sep-2025

Summary: The Council failed to consult sufficient school placements for Ms X’s child, Y, when they stopped attending school. The Council also failed to properly consider whether the alternative provision it offered Y was reasonably accessible to them and failed to ensure Y received key therapies in their Education, Health and Care Plan. The Council’s faults have caused Y and Ms X uncertainty and caused Y to avoidably miss out on special educational provision for eleven months. The Council has paid Ms X £3,250 to recognise the injustice caused by these faults. We have also recommended that the Council make service improvements.