Summary: Ms F complained about how the Council dealt with her child’s education when she was unable to attend school since 2022. Part of Ms F complaint was late, the Council accepted fault for this period and offered an appropriate remedy. We found some fault by the Council from Autumn 2024 to Summer 2025 for delayed complaints handling, some poor communication, and a failure to properly consider or evidence its decision making for Y’s reduced alternative provision for a school term. The Council will apologise and make payment to acknowledge the injustice this caused.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Ms F, said the Council failed to:
• organise suitable education for her child, Y, when she struggled to or became unable to attend school from September 2022 to September 2024;
• organise suitable education for Y between October 2024 and July 2025 when she was unable to attend her school placement; and
• communicate with her effectively and respond to her complaint on time.
2. Ms F said, as a result, Y experienced a loss of education, and it caused them distress and uncertainty.

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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 there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
5. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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. 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

8. I have investigated Ms F’s complaint about the Council’s handling of Y’s education for the 2024/25 academic year, including its complaints handling and communication with Ms F.
9. I have not investigated Ms F’s complaint about Y’s education between September 2022 to September 2024. This is because:
• the events or education complained about occurred more than 12 months before she brought her complaint to our attention. These parts are therefore late. I have not seen good reasons why this could not have been brought to our attention sooner; and
• the Council considered Ms F’s complaint, accepted faults, and proposed a remedy which had regard to our Guidance on Remedies. I am not satisfied an investigation for this period would lead to a different outcome.

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How I considered this complaint

10. I considered evidence provided by Ms F and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
11. Ms F and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.
12. 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

Alternative provision

13. Section 19 of the Education Act 1996 says that the council must arrange suitable alternative educational provision when it finds that a child is unable to attend school because of a permanent exclusion, an illness, or for any other reason which make the school inaccessible to the child. The alternative educational provision must be suitable to the child’s age, ability and aptitude, and any special educational needs they have.
14. If a council discovers a child is absent from school for an extended period, it should consider the reasons for this, and take account of evidence from relevant parties (such as the child’s school, parents, and medical professionals). It must then decide whether it has a duty to make alternative educational provision.
15. If a council wants to see medical or other evidence, it should ask for it at the earliest opportunity. The council should account for any challenges a parent might have in obtaining evidence, and review its position based on any new evidence it receives.
16. Councils should consider any attempts the school is making to support the child. This might involve sending work home for the child to complete, arranging disability related support, placing the child on a reduced timetable, or providing online education as a short-term measure. If there is a clear, effective, and time-bound plan for reintegration then there may be no immediate role for the council in providing alternative education.
17. If the council decides it must arrange alternative provision, it needs to arrange provision based on the child’s individual needs. It should also have a review process to ensure the provision remains in the child’s best interests. Councils can decide a child cannot cope with full-time provision, especially where the reason for their non-attendance is medical. When this happens, the Council should provide reasons for the amount of provision it arranges.
18. We publish good practice guidance on how we expect councils to fulfil their responsibilities to identify and arrange alternative educational provision: Supporting children out of school (October 2025)
19. Our guidance says that councils should:

• consider all the reasons for a child’s absence from school, and make a written evidence-based decision about whether it will arrange alternative education provision;
• communicate this decision as a matter of good practice to parents and where it decides not to arrange alternative education tell parents the expectations about school attendance, and the potential consequences for continued absences;
• ensure the provision meets the individual needs of the child where it decides to arrange alternative education and explain its reasons for providing a part-time education if it decides the child cannot cope with full time provision;
• keep all cases of part-time education under review with a view to increasing when the child is able;
• work with parents and schools to draw up plans to reintegrate children to their normal educational setting as soon as possible, reviewing and amending plans as necessary; and
• ensure effective channels of communication between parents, internal teams, and external bodies (such as schools, and the NHS) so that issues are dealt with promptly by the right people, and that any complaints are identified and responded to under the relevant policy.

20. Where councils arrange for schools or other bodies to carry out their functions on their behalf, the council remains responsible. Therefore councils should retain oversight and control to ensure their duties are properly fulfilled.

Council policy on alternative provision

21. The Council has since September 2024 put in place a new process for how alternative provision arrangements is monitored and reviewed.
22. Where a child, or young person, is on roll with a school, the Council expects the school to monitor the suitability and effectiveness of the educational provision, including identifying any changes which may be required. If changes are needed, a school can refer the case for it medical panel’s consideration.
23. The Council will continue to commission alternative provision and undertake monitoring and oversight of a child’s access to the provision offered.

Council’s complaints policy

24. The Council has a two stake complaints process. It says it will:
• acknowledge complaints within five working days;
• respond to stage one complaints within a further 10 working days; and
• respond to stage two complaint within a further 20 working.
25. If it needs longer than these timescales it will let the complainant know.

Background

26. Ms F’s daughter, Y, has since 2022 struggled to attend her secondary school placement due to mental health challenges. The school put support and adjustments in place in attempts to help Y. Ms F made complaints to the school about the support it offered.
27. Y increasingly struggled to engage or attend her education and stopped attending in late 2023. A referral for support from the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) was made, and the support started in Summer 2024.
28. Y received some limited alternative provision in the Summer term of the 2023/2024 academic year, but she remained unable to attend school despite some attempts.
29. In 2025 Ms F complained about the Council’s handling of Y’s education between September 2022 to September 2024. In response the Council accepted it had failed to arrange appropriate transition planning, to keep proper oversight of attendance issues, and did not action alternative provision as soon as it should have. It proposed a remedy totalling £8,200 to acknowledge the loss of education Y experienced and the impact its faults caused.

What happened

30. From September 2024 Y remained unable to attend school. The Council worked with her school to arrange alternative provision.
31. By late September 2024 the School had arranged alternative provision through a provider. The offer was a mix of online provision and a hub totalling 10 hours of provision per week. She also had access to her school placement should she be able to attend.
32. Shortly after, the Council’s medical tuition panel considered Y’s case and the alternative provision offer. It found the offer was an appropriate to Y’s personal circumstances and what she was likely to be able to engage with at the time.
33. Ms F had some communication with the school about the provision up to late 2024. This included some issues with sessions being cancelled and rescheduled.
34. In Spring 2024 Ms F and the school discussed Y’s pathway to exams and matters relating to an Education, Health, and Care plan application. The school made it clear Y needed her alternative provision, which was particularly important during the Summer Term due to the stage of her education.
35. However, in April 2025 the alternative provision provider in place for Y reduced the provision to less than 4.5 hours per week. There was also a change of provider at the time. There had been no review of the arrangement. In addition, the CAMHS support in place also stopped around this time.
36. Ms F told the school about the reduction of provision for Y. The school made a referral for the Council to reconsider Y’s alternative provision arrangements.
37. Ms F also complained to the Council. Her complaint included:
• the Council’s handling of Y’s education from September 2022 to September 2024; and
• Y’s education since September 2024. She said all Y had been offered was the 10 hour per week alternative provision of which she could only access 7 hours online provision. This had now been reduced to 4.5 hours. She said neither was a full-time education, and Y could engage with more.
38. In Summer 2025 the Council provided its complaint response. This addressed its handling of Y’s education up to September 2024. However, it did not comment on Ms F’s concerns about the alternative provision offer for the 2024/25 academic year and the recent reduction in hours. It only explained it was reviewing and intending to enhance the education offer with the alternative provision provider.
39. Ms F shared further frustrations with the Council in Summer 2025 as it remained unclear what alternative provision Y would have to the end of the Summer term, and for the start of the next academic year.
40. Ms F asked the Ombudsman to consider her complaint. She said the Council had since put in place suitable alternative provision for the 2025/26 academic year.
41. In response to our enquiries the Council explained:
• Alternative provision had been put in place for Y from late September 2024. While this did not amount to a full-time education, this was in its view what was suitable and appropriate for Y’s circumstances at the time. Its medical tuition panel had also reached this view in October 2024;
• It had not received any referrals or concerns from the school or Ms F regarding issues or need for additional provision. It was first in April 2025 the school made such referral, which was due to Ms F’s concerns about the reduced alternative provision. The Council did accept its confirmation to Ms F did not detail how the arrangement would be monitored or the reasons for its decision; and
• its medical tuition panel had considered Y’s case in May 2025 but did not identify gaps in the provision that required further escalation at the time. It had since enhanced the alternative provision offer during Summer 2025 which was available to Y from the 2025/26 academic year.

Analysis and findings

Y’s alternative provision from October 2024 to April 2025

42. The Council ensured alternative provision was arranged for Y in late September 2024. This was an offer of 10 hours per week of provision of which most was online. Y was unable to access the hub provision on offer and the school placement available to her.
43. It is clear the Council’s offer was not full-time provision. However, this does not mean the Council was at fault. The Council should consider each individual child, or young person’s, circumstances and decide what level and type of provision is suitable for the individual. In reaching its decisions it should consider the information available to it from schools, parents, and health or other professionals.
44. I have not found fault by the Council for how it considered Y’s alternative provision between October 2024 to April 2025. This is because it arranged the 10 hours of provision, and its medical tuition panel agreed this was appropriate for Y. I also note it received no concerns or referrals from the school, or by Ms F at the time.
45. However, it should have informed Ms F in Autumn 2024 how the alternative provision arrangements would be monitored, and its reasons for why its alternative provision offer was believed to be suitable for Y. I found it was at fault for failing to do so, which caused some uncertainty for Ms F.

Y’s alternative provision from April to July 2025

46. The Council was unaware of the alternative provision providers reduction in hours until it was told by the School and Ms F during April 2025. However, I have found fault by the Council in how it handled Y’s alternative provision during the Summer term 2025.
47. The Council was entitled to delegate its responsibilities for the provision and oversight of Y’s education. However, it remains ultimately responsible for what was available, delivered, and received.
48. I acknowledge the Council reconsidered Y’s alternative provision offer following the school’s referral and an Education, Health, and Care needs assessment was being progressed. However, I have seen no evidence, decision making, health concerns, or other justification for the reduction in the alternative provision offer available to Y during the term.
49. On the contrary, Y had engaged fully with the online education available to her and the Summer term was particularly important for her due to the stage of her education, as identified by the school. I have also not seen any justification or reasoning why Y should not have received an increased offer of alternative provision. I therefore found the Council failed to properly consider the alternative provision arrangements for Y in the Summer term.
50. I cannot say what level of provision Y may have been able to engage with in addition to the educational offer in place prior to April 2024. This may not have amounted to a full-time education, however, I am satisfied:
• Y experienced a loss of 2.5 hours per week of alternative provision from May 2025 to the end of the Summer term. This would equal the provision she had been able to engage with; and
• a loss of opportunity to have her provision increased during an important stage of her education when she had consistently showed she was able to engage in the online provision. I also had regard to Y has engaged with the enhanced alternative provision offer which the Council arranged from September 2025.

The Council’s communication and complaints handling

51. Ms F had limited communication with the Council until her complaint in April 2025. However, as identified the Council failed to inform her how Y’s alternative provision offer would be monitored and its reasons for the level of provision offered in Autumn 2024 and in May 2025.
52. I also found fault in the Council’s complaints handling, which caused Ms F some frustration and time and trouble. This is because:
• it took over 10 weeks for it to respond to her stage one complaint, which was far longer than set out in its policy. While I acknowledge the Education, Health and Care needs assessment process was ongoing during this time, this should not delay complaint responses; and
• its responses largely did not address her complaint about Y’s alternative provision from October 2024. However, it did address the period up to September 2024 and how it communicated with her.

Service improvements

53. Although I have found fault by the Council, I have not made service improvements. This is because during the period of Ms F’s complaint, action has been taken which addressed any service improvements I would have made. This includes:
• it has put new processes in place for how it manages alternative provision for children and young people such as how it monitors arrangements, transition planning, works with other bodies and schools, and it provided some training to staff; and
• we have made recommendations on other cases relating to how it makes and stores records regarding section 19 decision making for children unable to attend school, and delayed complaints handling.

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Action

54. To remedy the injustice the Council caused to Ms F and Y, the Council should, within one month of the final decision:
1. apologise in writing to Ms F to acknowledge the injustice its faults and service failure caused her and Y;

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. pay Ms F £1,000 to acknowledge the loss of educational provision, or loss of educational opportunity, Y experienced between May 2025 to July 2025; and
3. pay Ms F a symbolic payment of £150 to acknowledge the time and trouble she experienced as a result of the Council’s poor complaints handling and communication.

In total the Council should pay Ms F £1,150.

55. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

56. I have completed my investigation with a finding of fault which caused Ms F and Y an injustice. The Council agreed to apologise and make payment to acknowledge the impact this caused them.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman