Summary: there was delay issuing Ms M’s son B’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan, and problems with the tuition arranged by the Council when he did not attend school. The Council has completed a thorough investigation and offered a satisfactory remedy.

The complaint

1. Ms M complains about her youngest child B’s education. She complains he has been out of school for more than three years.
2. Ms M complains about delay by the Council finalising B’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan.
3. Ms M complains about home tuition. In particular, she complains:
• the tutor was unreliable and dishonest and behaved inappropriately, sending gifts for B and sharing personal information with Ms M;
• the tutor did not plan B’s lessons and he made no progress;
• she was not supported by the Council to manage the tutor; and
• the Council agreed too much tuition;
4. Ms M complains she has been unable to claim free school meal vouchers because B’s EHC Plan does not name a school.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

5. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. 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)
6. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
7. 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

8. I have 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

9. Ms M’s son, B, attended a mainstream primary school. The school requested an Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment in March 2022. The Council undertook the assessment and agreed to issue an EHC Plan. The Council issued a draft Plan on 22 August 2022.
10. The Council arranged alternative provision for B from 27 February 2023.
11. The Council issued a final Plan on 4 July 2023. The final Plan said B would receive education other than at school (EOTAS).
12. The Council agreed to fund 25 hours of home tuition per week and commissioned a national agency to provide a tutor.
13. Ms M complained to the Council, and the agency, on 31 October 2023.
14. The Council responded at all three stages of its complaints process.
15. Ms M’s complaint, and the Council’s response, were detailed. I have not included every complaint here. The Council upheld many of Ms M’s complaints.
16. The Council accepted it had taken too long to finalise B’s EHC Plan. The Council said that home tuition had been agreed with Ms M until B could start secondary school, and it had responded to problems as soon as she reported them. The Council acknowledged it was responsible for the tutor and had not managed the tuition properly. The Council apologised for its mistakes and offered Ms M £200 to cover the money she had spent on resources, and £500 for the distress caused by the tutor.
17. Ms M is unhappy with the Council’s response. She wants the Council to pay compensation for the impact on her family and B’s education.

Consideration

18. Ms M says B has been out of school for more than three years.
19. Complaints to us must be made promptly, and normally within 12 months. The longer an investigation takes place after the events complained about, the harder it is to establish exactly what happened, and the less likely we will be able to put people back in the position they would have been if we find fault.
20. I will begin with the school’s request for an EHC needs assessment in March 2022. Events before this are too old.

Delay issuing B’s EHC Plan

21. The procedure for assessing a child’s special educational needs and issuing an EHC Plan is set out in regulations and government guidance. The Council must complete the process and issue a Plan within 20 weeks.
22. The Council took more than 15 months. This is 10 months too long. The Council did not comply with the regulations and government guidance. This is fault. The Council should have issued a final Plan in August 2022.
23. Where we find fault, we consider the impact on the complainant. We refer to this as the injustice. We may recommend a remedy for injustice that is the result of fault by the Council.
24. The Council issued a draft Plan in August 2022. I understand Ms M wanted B to attend special alternative provision, but this was not available until he was secondary school age. The Council says the only school that said it could meet B’s needs was his current mainstream primary school. However, B refused to attend. Instead, it was agreed the school would arrange a tutor. The Council arranged alternative provision from the end of February 2023.
25. In these circumstances, the Council should probably have issued B’s EHC Plan and named his current school. This would have given Ms M a right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal if she disagreed.
26. The Council’s failure to issue the final Plan meant Ms M did not have a right of appeal. But other than this, it probably had little impact. B would not attend the school, so he received tuition instead. This was initially arranged by the school, and from February 2023 it was arranged by the Council. There was no change when the Council issued B’s final EHC Plan in July 2023.
27. I note from the complaint correspondence that the Council attempted to comply with Ms M’s requests concerning the location, hours and duration of the tuition.
28. The Council has apologised for the delay issuing B’s EHC Plan. I consider this a suitable remedy.

Home tuition

29. The Council acknowledged there were problems with its commissioning of the tutor and the support it provided Ms M. The Council offered a symbolic payment of £500. I consider this a suitable remedy.
30. Ms M complains about the impact on B. We do not investigate complaints about the quality of teaching or curriculum. We only consider the quantity of provision, and provision specifically to deliver B’s EHC Plan.
31. In terms of quantity, Ms M complains the Council commissioned too much provision. However, the number of hours of provision delivered was less than the number commissioned. Ms M complains that while the Council commissioned too much provision, the quality of the tuition that was actually delivered was poor.
32. We look to see what the Council did when Ms M raised her concerns.
33. The Council ended the tutor’s involvement straight away and attempted to arrange tuition with a new provider. A new package was in place in early March 2024, five months after Ms M first raised concerns about B’s tuition.
34. In its complaint response, the Council acknowledged the difficulties it faced because of high demand for alternative provision. It also referred to difficulties outside its control, including Ms M’s holidays, family illness and the times Ms M was available for B’s tuition. It appears the Council and its providers worked with Ms M to arrange a suitable programme as quickly as possible.

Free school meals

35. I understand the Council has agreed a payment.

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Final decision

36. I am satisfied the Council responded appropriately to Ms M’s complaint.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman