Summary: Miss X complained the Council failed to provide a full-time education to her daughter and that it incurred delays following an Education, Health and Care needs assessment. Miss X also said the Council mishandled her complaint. She said her daughter lost out on education she should have received which negatively impacted her emotional wellbeing. Miss X also said she lost out on employment as she had to collect her daughter from school at midday. We found fault by the Council. The Council has agreed to provide an apology and a financial remedy to Miss X and make service improvements.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council failed to provide a full-time education to her daughter, Child Y. Miss X also complained about delays in the Education, Health and Care needs assessment process. She also said the Council mishandled her complaint about the matter. Miss X said Child Y lost out on education she should have received, and her emotional wellbeing suffered greatly as a result. Miss X said she also lost out on employment due to having to collect Child Y at midday from school for a whole academic year.

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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 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)
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(1), as amended)

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What I have and have not investigated

4. I have investigated Miss X’s complaint for the period June 2024 (when the Council received a request for an Education, Health and Care needs assessment) to the end of May 2025 (when Miss X brought her complaint to us).

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered evidence provided by Miss X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
6. Miss X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.
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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What I found

Education, Health and Care Plans

8. A child or young person with special educational needs (SEN) may have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. This sets out the child’s needs and what arrangements should be made to meet them. The EHC Plan is set out in sections. We cannot direct changes to the sections about their needs, education, or the name of the educational placement. Only the Tribunal or the council can do this. 
9. Statutory guidance ‘Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years’ (‘the Code’) sets out the process for carrying out EHC assessments and producing EHC Plans. The guidance is based on the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEN Regulations 2014. It says the following: 
• Where the council receives a request for an EHC needs assessment it must decide whether to agree to the assessment and send its decision to the parent of the child or the young person within six weeks. 
• The process of assessing needs and developing EHC Plans “must be carried out in a timely manner”. Steps must be completed as soon as practicable. 
• If the council goes on to issue an EHC Plan, the whole process from the point when an assessment is requested until the final EHC Plan is issued must take no more than 20 weeks (unless certain specific circumstances apply).
10. As part of the assessment, councils must gather advice from relevant professionals (SEND Regulation 6(1)). This includes the child’s educational placement and psychological advice and information from an Educational Psychologist (EP).
11. The council has a duty to make sure the child or young person receives the special educational provision set out in their EHC Plan (Section 42 Children and Families Act). The Courts have said the duty to arrange this provision is owed personally to the child and is non-delegable. This means if the council asks another organisation to make the provision and that organisation fails to do so, the council remains liable (R v London Borough of Harrow ex parte M [1997] ELR 62), (R v North Tyneside Borough Council [2010] EWCA Civ 135)  

Alternative education provision

12. Councils must arrange suitable education at school or elsewhere for pupils who are out of school because of exclusion, illness or for other reasons, if they would not receive suitable education without such arrangements. (Education Act 1996, section 19). We refer to this as section 19 or alternative education provision.
13. This applies to all children of compulsory school age living in the local council area, whether or not they are on the roll of a school. (Statutory guidance ‘Alternative Provision’ January 2013).
14. A child becomes of compulsory school age on either 31 December, 31 March or 31 August following their fifth birthday, whichever comes first.
15. Suitable education means efficient education suitable to a child’s age, ability and aptitude and to any special educational needs they may have. (Education Act 1996, section 19(6))
16. The Department for Education guidance (Working together to improve school attendance) states all pupils of compulsory school age are entitled to a full-time education. In very exceptional circumstances there may be a need for a temporary part-time timetable to meet a pupil’s individual needs. For example, where a medical condition prevents a pupil from attending full-time education and a part-time timetable is considered as part of a re-integration package. A part-time timetable must not be treated as a long-term solution. 
17. Schools should notify the local authority of any cases where a child is accessing reduced/part-time education arrangements. Our focus report, “Out of school…out of mind?”, says councils should keep all cases of part-time education under review with a view to increasing it if a child's capacity to learn increases.
18. The law does not define full-time education but children with health needs should have provision which is equivalent to the education they would receive in school. If they receive one-to-one tuition, for example, the hours of face-to-face provision could be fewer as the provision is more concentrated. (Statutory guidance, ‘Ensuring a good education for children who cannot attend school because of health needs’)

Principles of good administrative practice

19. In 2018 the Ombudsman published a guidance document (updated in January 2025), setting out the standards we expect from bodies in jurisdiction “Principles of Good Administrative Practice”. This includes:
• Stating the criteria for decision making and giving reasons for decisions
• Keeping proper and appropriate records
• Explaining clearly the rationale for decisions and recording them

What happened

20. This chronology includes key events in this case and does not cover everything that happened.
21. Miss X’s daughter, Child Y has a diagnosis of autism. In June 2024, the Council received a request for an EHC needs assessment for Child Y.
22. The Council says it requested advice from relevant professionals in June 2024 and assigned an EP to Child Y’s case in mid-October 2024.
23. In mid-November 2024, an EP carried out an assessment regarding Child Y’s needs at school. At this time, Child Y attended a mainstream school, School A, on a part-time basis with one-to-one support. The EP recorded that Miss X considered Child Y should be attending school on a full-time basis.
24. The Council says the EP submitted their advice in late November 2024.
25. On 6 December 2024, the Council told Miss X it had completed the EHC assessment and decided that Child Y needed an EHC Plan. The Council sent a draft EHC Plan to Miss X shortly after.
26. The Council issued the final EHC Plan on 11 February 2025, specifying the provision to be made for Child Y and naming School A as the placement.
27. Miss X appealed to the Tribunal as she disagreed with the content of the EHC Plan.
28. On 14 March 2025, the Council held a Team around the Family meeting. The Council said it would seek advice about providing alternative provision and the school would finalise the costings for it.
29. Child Y became of compulsory school age on 31 March 2025.
30. The Council says it received notification from School A in late April 2024 to say Child Y was attending on a part-time basis.

Miss X’s complaint

31. On 21 May 2025, Miss X complained to the Council. She said although Child Y attended School A on a part-time basis, she had not agreed to this, and the Council had not reviewed the matter. Miss X said School A was unable to meet Child Y’s needs and it had used a part-time timetable to manage Child Y’s behaviour. Miss X said the Council had talked about alternative provision at the meeting on 14 March, but nothing had changed since then. Miss X also said the Council had delayed issuing the final EHC Plan because of delays in obtaining advice from an EP. Miss X told the Council she wanted Child Y to have full-time access to a school or alternative provision.
32. The Council responded on 29 May 2025. It said it had made enquiries with its SEND and Inclusions Team and considered Miss X should raise her concerns about Child Y’s timetable directly with School A. The Council said because of this, it could not take Mrs X’s complaint at that time.
33. Mrs X remained dissatisfied with the Council’s response and brought her complaint to us.

What happened next

34. The Council agreed for additional funding to be made to School A from September 2025 to provide alternative provision for Child Y.

Analysis – part-time education and provision

35. Miss X complained the Council failed to provide a full-time education to Child Y. The Council says it first became aware that Child Y was accessing school on a part-time basis in late April 2025, when School A notified it. The Council said that prior to a child’s fifth birthday, schools can agree a reduced timetable with parents due to them not being of statutory school age.
36. The Council said it received an email from Miss X in May 2025, to which it replied, confirming that a part-time timetable should be agreed with parents, and should be reviewed every six weeks by the school.
37. In its response to our enquiries, the Council said a lead officer was away from work at about this time, and an alternative officer was asked to attend a Team around the Family meeting in their place. The Council said although a representative from its Inclusions Team could not attend a meeting in June 2025, the Council was instead represented by an officer from its SEND Team.
38. I acknowledge the Council’s comments that it became aware in April 2025 that Child Y was attending School A on a part-time basis. However, the evidence shows the Council was aware of this from at least mid-November 2024. This is the date of the EP assessment which recorded Child Y’s part-time attendance.
39. I also acknowledge the Council’s comments that a part-time timetable should be agreed with parents and should be reviewed every six weeks. However, Miss X says she did not agree to a part-time timetable. This is supported by the EP assessment in mid-November 2024 which stated Miss X considered Child Y should be attending full-time.
40. As previously stated, councils should keep all cases of part-time education under review with a view to increasing it if a child's capacity to learn increases. I have seen no evidence to indicate how/if the Council reviewed Child Y’s case regarding her part-time timetable prior to June 2025. In addition, I have seen no evidence to indicate how/if the Council considered whether the part-time timetable constituted a suitable education for Child Y.
41. As well as its section 19 duties, the Council has a duty under section 42 of the Children and Families Act to make sure Child Y received the special educational provision set out in her EHC Plan. The courts have said this duty is owed personally to the child and is non-delegable.
42. As part of our enquiries, we asked the Council to explain how it made sure the provision outlined in the EHC Plan was delivered. The Council said it named School A in the plan and provided it with funding to enable the school to put in place appropriate provision.
43. We accept it is not practical for councils to keep a ‘watching brief’ on whether schools and others are providing all the special educational provision in section F for every pupil with an EHC Plan. However, we consider councils should be able to demonstrate appropriate oversight in gathering information to fulfil their legal duty. At a minimum we expect them to have systems in place to: 
• check the special educational provision is in place when a new or amended EHC Plan is issued or there is a change in educational placement; 
• check the provision at least annually during the EHC review process; and 
• quickly investigate and act on complaints or concerns raised that the provision is not in place at any time. 
44. I acknowledge the Council’s comments that it named School A in the EHC Plan and provided funding. However, this is not evidence of appropriate oversight, especially as the Council said it increased funding from September 2025 so School A could commission additional support to provide all the provision it was previously unable to implement. This indicates a lack of provision prior to September 2025.
45. In addition, I have seen no evidence to indicate the Council checked the provision specified by the new EHC Plan was in place after its issuance on 11 February 2025.
46. As stated at paragraph 18 above, we expect councils to keep proper and appropriate records. As such, we would expect to see evidence of how the Council reviewed the part-time timetable, the suitability of the education provided to Child Y and the provision made following the issue of the first EHC Plan. The Council said it has no case notes on file and acknowledged this is not an acceptable position to be in.
47. The lack of case notes/records to demonstrate how the Council satisfied itself that the part-time education provided to Child Y met its section 19 and section 42 duties is fault. This caused an injustice to Miss X, namely avoidable frustration and uncertainty regarding how the Council considered her concerns. Miss X also said the Council’s actions caused distress to Child Y as she wanted to attend School A on a full-time basis.

Delays in the EHC Plan process

48. The whole process from the point when an EHC needs assessment is requested until the final EHC Plan is issued must take no more than 20 weeks (unless certain specific circumstances apply). In this case, the Council took more than 35 weeks.
49. The Council says the delay was due in part because of delays in the EP assessment. Whilst I acknowledge the Council’s comments regarding the reasons for the delay, the delay is fault.
50. Miss X says the Council’s actions regarding this matter caused avoidable distress to her and to Child Y due to the delay in specifying the required provision. In addition, the delay in issuing the final EHC Plan frustrated Miss X’s right to appeal to the Tribunal.

The Council’s complaint handling

51. Miss X complained to the Council about delays following the EHC needs assessment, her disagreement with the part-time timetable, her concerns that School A could not meet Child Y’s needs and a lack of alternative provision. The Council declined to take Miss X’s complaint and advised her to raise her concerns with School A.
52. In its response to our enquiries, the Council acknowledged Miss X’s complaint included concerns about the Council’s section 19 duties. It acknowledged it should have therefore accepted these concerns as a complaint, and it apologised for its actions.
53. It is positive the Council has now acknowledged it should have accepted Miss X’s complaint. However, the failure to do so at the time is fault causing additional frustration, distress and time and trouble to Miss X.
54. When someone has suffered an injustice, we try to put them back in the position they would have been had that error not occurred. Our focus is on restoring services that have been denied and taking practical steps to put things right. Where that is not possible, we will try to think of remedies that acknowledge the impact of the fault identified.
55. When we decide an organisation needs to learn from this fault to prevent likely injustice to others in the future from similar fault, we can recommend actions it needs to take. We call this a service improvement.
56. I acknowledge the Council’s SEND service is undergoing a significant transformation programme. Whilst I have made some service improvement recommendations below, I have not made further recommendations because we are overseeing the Council’s wider SEND transformation programme, which includes actions on the issues identified in this decision statement.

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Action

57. To address the injustice identified, the Council has agreed to take the following action within one month of the final decision:
1. Provide an apology to Miss X. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended in my findings;
2. Make a symbolic payment of £400 to Miss X in recognition of the frustration and uncertainty caused to the family by the delay in issuing the Education, Health and Care Plan. This equates to £100 per month for the period of delay and is in accordance with our published guidance on remedies;
3. Make a further symbolic payment of £1,800 to Miss X in recognition of the harm caused by the missed provision for the period mid-February to the end of the summer term 2025. This equates to £1,200 per term for a period of one and a half terms. This amount is in accordance with our published guidance on remedies and takes into account the part-time education provided to Child Y, the delay in appeal rights and the fact that this was Child Y’s first year at school, and
4. Make a further symbolic payment of £150 in recognition of the time and trouble incurred to Mrs X as a result of the fault identified regarding the Council’s complaint handling.
58. The Council has also agreed to take the following additional action within three months of the final decision:
1. Provide training to relevant staff regarding the principles of good administrative practice, in particular, keeping proper and appropriate records, and
2. Provide training to relevant staff regarding the Council’s complaints procedure to ensure the Council responds to complaints appropriately.
59. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

60. I have found fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed to take the above action to remedy the injustice, and I have therefore concluded my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman