Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to provide her child, Y, with alternative educational provision and support when they struggled with attending school. There was no fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council:
• failed to provide her child, Y, with alternative educational provision when they were unable to attend their school due to health matters between September and November 2024; and
• failed to provide Y with support with their reintegration plan on their return to school.
2. Mrs X said as a result, Y missed out on educational provision. It also caused Mrs X distress and frustration. She wants the Council to acknowledge it was at fault and apologise to her and Y.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. 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(1), as amended)

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What I have and have not investigated

5. I have investigated Mrs X’s concerns between September 2024, when Y did not return to school and February 2025, when the Council provided Mrs X with its final complaint response.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I spoke with Mrs X and considered information she provided.
7. I considered information provided by the Council.
8. Mrs X and the Council had the opportunity to comment on the draft version of this decision. I considered their comments before reaching a final decision.

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What I found

Inability to attend school due to health needs

9. Under section 19 of the Education Act 1996 councils have a duty to make arrangements for the provision of suitable education, at school or otherwise, for children who, because of illness or other reasons, may not receive suitable education unless such arrangements are made for them.
10. Statutory guidance ‘Ensuring a good education for children who cannot attend school because of health needs’ says the duty to provide a suitable education applies to all children of compulsory school age resident in the council area, whether or not they are on the roll of a school, and whatever type of school they attend. Suitable education means efficient education suitable to a child’s age, ability and aptitude and to any special educational needs they may have.
11. The education provided by the council must be full-time unless the council determines that full-time education would not be in the child’s best interests for reasons of the child’s physical or mental health.
12. The Courts have found that it is a judgement for the council to decide whether a child’s health needs prevent them from attending school and to decide what weight to give medical evidence. (R (on the application of D (by his mother and litigation friend)) v A local authority [2020])

‘Out of school, out of sight?’ July 2022

13. Our focus report provides 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. Our recommendations include councils should:
• work with parents and schools to draw up plans to reintegrate children to mainstream education as soon as possible, reviewing and amending plans as necessary.
• put the chosen action into practice without delay to ensure the child is back in education as soon as possible.
• keep all cases of part-time education under review with a view to increasing it if a child’s capacity to learn increases.

Education, Health and Care Plan

14. A child or young person with special educational needs may have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. This document sets out the child’s needs and what arrangements should be made to meet them.

Background

15. Mrs X’s child, Y, attended a secondary mainstream school. Between January and February 2024, the School suspended Y on several occasions due to Y’s behaviour. This resulted in the School arranging for Y to attend another secondary mainstream school for a temporary period between April and July 2024. Y was expected to return to their permanent school in September 2024.

What happened

16. Y did not return to school in September 2024.
17. In mid-October 2024, the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) wrote to Mrs X and confirmed Y had a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. CAMHS said it would share a copy of its report with Y’s school. The report did not state Y was unable to attend school, however, it recommended the School make some adjustments to support Y to access their education. These included:
• a structured classroom routine;
• the use of visual timetables;
• emotional regulation strategies; and
• staff training in communication and de-escalation techniques.
18. Around the same time, Mrs X spoke with the Council. The Council’s records show Mrs X said:
• Y was not attending school and at the beginning of September 2024, she had given the School a note from Y’s General Practitioner (GP) to authorise Y’s absence however, the note was due to expire;
• CAMHS had recently diagnosed Y with autism. Mrs X later shared a copy of its report with the Council;
• the School was not supporting Y to access their education. Mrs X said the School was disciplining Y for their behaviour which had stemmed from their autism. Mrs X did not want to send Y back to the School;
• the School had offered to produce a reintegration plan for Y to return to school and it had arranged a meeting with Mrs X to take place later in October 2024 to discuss Y’s return. The Council told Mrs X it would also attend the meeting. Mrs X did not want to attend the meeting because it was not making the reasonable adjustments she had requested for Y in relation to their behaviour related to their autism. The meeting was rearranged to take place in November 2024.
19. Shortly after, Mrs X contacted the Council and said Y had not attended school since September 2024 because the School was unable to meet their mental health needs as well as their needs related to their recent diagnosis. The School had only given Y a short amount of schoolwork to complete at home. Mrs X asked the Council for support and said it had a duty under Section 19 of the Education Act to arrange alternative provision.
20. In mid-November 2024, the Council responded to Mrs X and said:
• it did not believe it had a duty to arrange alternative provision for Y as the School was considering making reasonable adjustments for Y. It was revising Y’s learning support plan;
• there was a delay in arranging Y’s reintegration to school due to a dispute between Mrs X and the School regarding its behaviour policy;
• its specialist attendance team would continue to support Mrs X and the School in reaching a resolution regarding Y’s return to school; and
• a meeting was due to take place later in the month to discuss Y’s return to school.
21. In mid-November 2024, the meeting took place between Mrs X, the Council and the School. During the meeting, a discussion took place about the School’s behaviour policy, a reintegration plan for Y to return to school and the School making reasonable adjustments for Y such as:
• providing Y with a key adult in the mornings to give Y a checklist of what was needed throughout the day;
• Y to have visual timetables;
• emotional regulation strategies; and
• teachers to use a calm voice during tense situations.

The School agreed to update Y’s learning support plan.

22. Later, the Council contacted Mrs X and said it could refer Y to an outreach service which supported children and families. The outreach service would work with the School through class-based observations to identify strategies and support which could be implemented into the School’s setting. Mrs X told the Council it would not work for Y as Y was not attending school.
23. Y returned to school towards the end of November 2024 on an initial two-week reintegration plan which consisted of short days. However, Y remained on the reintegration plan for a longer period of time. The Council’s records show it kept Y’s reintegration plan under review and communicated with both Mrs X and the School whilst Y remained on the plan.
24. Mrs X told the Council and the School she was unhappy with how the School was managing Y’s reintegration and as a result, Y was not consistently attending school. She said the School:
• was not adhering to the reintegration plan;
• was not checking Y’s homework or giving Y any academic work which included core subjects; and
• had placed Y in a classroom with other children to just sit and draw or talk.
25. The Council responded to Mrs X and said it reviewed all cases of part-time education with a view to increasing them. The Council proposed a review of the plan. The School told Mrs X it would review Y’s reintegration plan to include learning of core subjects.
26. Y stopped attending school and in December 2024, the School referred Y to another school, School B, for Y to access alternative provision temporarily to help Y to re-engage with their education. The placement started in February 2025. To support Y to access this provision, the Council funded Y’s travel expenses.
27. During 2024, Mrs X applied for an education, health and care needs assessment for Y to have an EHC Plan. The Council issued Y with an EHC Plan in March 2025. This named School B and Y now attends School B on a permanent basis.

Mrs X’s complaints to the Council

28. Between October and November 2024, Mrs X complained to the Council and as part of her complaint, she said:
• she did not believe there was a dispute with the School regarding its behaviour policy and instead, it was unable to meet Y’s needs; and
• the Council had breached its duty under Section 19 of the Education Act as it had failed to provide Y with alternative provision.
29. In December 2024, the Council responded to Mrs X and said:
• when a parent requests alternative provision under Section 19 of the Education Act, it must assess the evidence it has and decide whether it has a statutory duty to make other arrangements. It may decide alternative provision is not appropriate and so will provide support in other ways;
• it had worked with Mrs X and the School to produce a suitable reintegration plan for Y, supporting a return to school with reasonable adjustments which was the focus and priority;
• it had offered to refer Y to an outreach service to identify strategies and support which could be implemented into the School’s setting which Mrs X had declined; and
• it remained committed to supporting Y and was pleased Y had attended school. It did not believe there was a duty to arrange alternative provision.
30. Mrs X remained unhappy and asked the Council to investigate her complaint further.
31. The Council investigated Mrs X’s concerns further and did not uphold her complaint. It responded to Mrs X in February 2025 and said:
• Y was medically able to attend school. There was no supporting evidence which suggested Y had a health condition which prevented them from attending;
• the School had reviewed its policies to support Y, reviewed Y’s learning support plan in line with their needs and had considered Mrs X’s views when making reasonable adjustments for Y. The School was open to further discussions regarding support for Y. The Council was satisfied the School could offer Y education which they could reasonably access. Section 19 of the Education Act therefore did not apply in Y’s case; and
• Y now had an EHC Plan in which Mrs X could name a specific placement.

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Findings

32. Mrs X told the Council in October 2024 that Y had not been attending school since September 2024. The Council was not at fault for not taking any action sooner as it was not aware Y was absent from school until October 2024.
33. Mrs X told the Council Y was unable to attend school due to their mental health needs and their needs related to their diagnosis. She gave the Council a copy of the report from CAMHS. The Council considered the report which did not state Y was not able to attend school. The Council was not at fault.
34. The report suggested the School should make reasonable adjustments for Y to access their education. In response, the Council worked with the School and Mrs X to make some adjustments for Y with a reintegration plan for Y to return to school as soon as possible. The Council therefore considered the School remained appropriate for Y. The Council was not at fault.
35. The Council kept Y’s reintegration plan under review. It responded to Mrs X’s concerns about the School not being able to properly manage Y’s reintegration. It liaised with the School to review the plan and supported Y’s temporary move to another school. This is what we would expect it to do. The Council was not at fault.

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Final Decision

36. I have now completed my investigation. There was no fault by the Council.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman