Summary: the Council accepted it failed to provide Ms M’s son, B, with suitable education from February 2023 until he started at a special school in February 2024. The Council also took too long to issue B’s education, health and care (EHC) plan. The Council has agreed to make a symbolic payment for the injustice caused.

The complaint

1. Ms M complains the Council failed to arrange alternative education for her son, B, when he stopped attending school in February 2023.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused injustice we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
4. Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Ms M and the Council. I invited Ms M and the Council to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

6. Ms M’s son, B, was a pupil at a mainstream secondary school.
7. Ms M says B stopped attending school in February 2023. She says the school was unable to meet his needs and his mental health declined following an incident at the school.
8. I understand the school initially recorded B’s absence as “unauthorised” and was considering legal action.
9. Ms M asked the Council to undertake an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment on 28 April 2023.
10. The Council agreed to undertake the assessment on 8 June 2023.
11. Following the assessment, the Council issued a draft EHC Plan on 8 September 2023.
12. The Council issued a final EHC Plan on 31 January 2024. The Plan said B would attend a special school.

Ms M’s complaints

13. Ms M complained to her MP in December 2023. She said B was currently not attending school and had been without education since February 2023.
14. The Council responded to Ms M’s MP on 1 February 2024 and explained it had found a special school for B. The Council apologised for the delay identifying a suitable school for B.
15. Ms M also complained to the Council. The Council responded at both stages of its complaints process. The Council said it had:
• accepted it failed to provide B with a suitable education from February 2023;
• promised to review policies and procedures and remind staff of its duties under law and guidance to provide alternative provision when a child of statutory school age is out of school for reasons of illness, or otherwise.
• drafted a process to ensure it can identify when a child is not able to attend school, and if there is a duty for the Council to provide suitable education, arrangements will be made at the earliest opportunity.
16. Unhappy with the Council’s response, Ms M complained to us. She wants compensation for the education B missed and the impact of having him at home when he should have been at school.

My findings

17. The Council accepted it failed to provide B with suitable education from February 2023 until he started at a special school in February 2024.
18. Where we find fault, we consider the impact on the complainant. We refer to this as the injustice.
19. B missed a whole year of school. This is a significant injustice.
20. We may recommend a remedy for injustice that is the result of fault by the Council. My recommendations are at the end of this statement.
21. The Council also took too long to issue B’s EHC Plan.
22. The procedure for assessing a child’s special educational needs and issuing an Education, Health and Care Plan is set out in legislation and Government guidance. The Council must complete the process and issue a Plan within 20 weeks. The Council took 39 weeks. If the Council had completed the process on time, it is possible B would have started special school in September 2023, not February 2024.

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Agreed action

23. We have published guidance to explain how we recommend remedies for people who have suffered injustice as a result of fault by a council. Our primary aim is to put people back in the position they would have been in if the fault by the Council had not occurred. When this is not possible, as in the case of Ms M and B, we may recommend the Council makes a symbolic payment. We do not award compensation.
24. I recommended the Council:
• apologises for the faults I have identified; and
• offers a symbolic payment of £6,000 to acknowledge the education B missed, and the impact of his absence from education.
25. The Council accepted my recommendations. The Council should send us evidence it has complied with the above actions within six weeks of my final decision.
26. We can also make recommendations to ensure similar faults do not happen in the future. The Council has already taken action following Ms M’s complaint, including re-writing its alternative education policy. I welcome the Council’s action. I have not, therefore made further recommendations.

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Final decision

27. I have ended my investigation as the Council accepts my recommendations.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman