Summary: the Council acknowledges it should have done more to ensure G received suitable education when she was unable to attend school. The Council said it will apologise to Mrs M and offered a payment to recognise the impact on G’s education.

The complaint

1. Mrs M complains the Council failed to provide education for her daughter, G, between 17 October 2022, when her school placement broke down, and 3 April 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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered information provided by Mrs M and the Council. I invited Mrs M and the Council to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

5. Mrs M’s daughter, G, was a pupil at a mainstream primary school. Things started to go wrong in September 2021. G had a breakdown in March 2022. She spent 12 weeks at a short stay school where things seemed to go better. She returned to mainstream primary school in October 2022, but quickly received a fixed-term exclusion. G returned to school briefly following the exclusion but was then ill. Following her illness, G was unable to return to school because of anxiety. After a team around the family meeting in late November 2022, G’s school approached the Council for help.
6. Mrs M complained to the Council on 13 January 2023. She asked the Council to make alternative arrangements for G’s education under s19 of the Education Act.
7. The Council responded on 30 January 2023. The Council said it was undertaking an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment, but in the meantime G’s school remained responsible for her education. The Council said it only made alternative arrangements for children who were medically unfit for school.
8. Unhappy with the Council's response, Mrs M asked the Council to respond at the second stage of its complaints process.
9. The Council responded on 30 March 2023. The Council had agreed to issue an Education, Health and Care Plan, but said G’s education remained her school’s responsibility until the final Plan was issued.
10. The Council issued G’s final Education, Health and Care Plan on 27 March 2023. The Plan said she would attend an independent special school.
11. G transferred to the independent special school on 3 April 2023.
12. Unhappy with the Council’s response to her complaint, Mrs M complained to the Ombudsman.

Education for children who do not attend school

13. Parents, schools and councils all have responsibilities to ensure children receive a suitable education.
14. The Council has a duty, outlined below, to arrange suitable education for children who would not otherwise receive suitable education. The Council is – in effect – a “safety net”.
15. The Education Act 1996 says every council shall “make arrangements for the provision of suitable education at school or otherwise than at school for those children of compulsory school age who, by reason of illness, exclusion from school or otherwise, may not for any period receive suitable education unless such arrangements are made for them.” (Education Act 1996, section 19(1))
16. Suitable education means efficient education suitable to a child’s age, ability and aptitude and to any special educational needs he may have. (Education Act 1996, section 19(6))
17. The Government has issued statutory guidance which Councils must follow unless they have good reason. (Ensuring a good education for children who cannot attend school because of health needs, issued by the Department for Education in January 2013)
18. Government guidance says Councils must work closely with schools to identify children who need the Council to make alternative arrangements for their education. Councils must consider the individual circumstances of each particular child and be able to demonstrate how they made their decisions.
19. The Local Government Ombudsman has also issued guidance to councils on how we expect them to fulfil their responsibilities to provide education for children who, for whatever reason, do not attend school full-time. (Out of school… out of sight? Ensuring children out of school a good education, published in July 2022)

Consideration

20. Between Mrs M’s complaint to the Council and her complaint to the Ombudsman, we investigated another complaint from a parent about education for a child who was unable to attend school. Following our investigation, the Council recognised it had not previously done enough to ensure it met its duties to children unable to attend school. The Council agreed to make changes, including reminding staff of the Council’s duties. This happened after the Council responded to Mrs M’s complaint.
21. I asked the Council whether the learning from our investigation changed its view of Mrs M’s complaint. The Council said that it did.
22. The Council acknowledged it should have done more to ensure G received suitable education. The Council said it became aware G was not attending school in December 2022, and the school confirmed it was not sending work home in early January 2023. Mrs M says the Council was aware G was unable to complete work sent home by the school in November 2022.
23. The Council said it would apologise to Mrs M and offered a payment of £2,000 to recognise the impact on G’s education.
24. The Council said it had engaged outside support and was developing a plan to improve alternative provision.

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Agreed action

25. 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 G, we may recommend the Council makes a symbolic payment.
26. The Council should have done more to ensure G received suitable education from early January 2023, when it learnt the school was not sending work home, until 3 April when she started at a special school. G did not receive suitable education for almost a whole term. The Council acknowledges its mistakes and said it will apologise and offer a symbolic payment of £2,000 to recognise the impact on G’s education. I welcome the Council’s offer. The Council’s proposals are in line with our published guidance on remedies.
27. I recommended the Council sends the apology and payment within six weeks of my final decision, and provides us with evidence it has done so. The Council accepted my recommendation.
28. We can also make recommendations to ensure similar faults do not happen in the future. The Council has already agreed to our recommendations following an earlier investigation and confirmed action is underway to address the faults we found. I will not, therefore, make further recommendations.

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Final decision

29. I have completed my investigation as the Council offered a suitable remedy and accepted my recommendations.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman