Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to provide her child Y with alternative educational provision and the specialist provision in their Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan when they stopped attending school full-time between May-July 2025. The Council was not at fault as it did not have the opportunity to provide this prior to the summer holidays commencing.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council failed to provide her child Y with alternative educational provision and the specialist provision in their EHC Plan when they stopped attending school full-time. Mrs X says as a result Y has missed out on a suitable education.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. 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)
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 considered evidence provided by Mrs X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
5. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Relevant law and guidance

EHC Plans

6. 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. 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.
7. The EHC Plan is set out in sections which include:
• Section B: Special educational needs.
• Section F: The special educational provision needed by the child or the young person.
• Section I: The name and/or type of educational placement. 
8. The First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) considers appeals against council decisions regarding special educational needs. We refer to it as the Tribunal in this decision statement.

Alternative provision

9. 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. [The provision generally should be full-time unless it is not in the child’s interests.] (Education Act 1996, section 19). We refer to this as section 19 or alternative education provision.
10. 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)

Part-time timetables

11. The DfE 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. 
12. 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.

What happened

13. Mrs X has a child Y with special educational needs and an EHC Plan in place. For the 2024/2025 school year, Y attended a mainstream school.
14. In January 2025, a clinical psychologist met with Mrs X and Y to complete a report to understand Y’s needs and the support required. The report set out the following:
• Y experiences substantial anxiety related to attending school, which was significantly higher than the levels of stress typically experienced by boys of his age;
• This anxiety related to school attendance has escalated over the years; and
• The school said he generally manages well at school with support.
15. In February 2025, an annual review was held which reiterated that Y had school-related anxiety.
16. In mid-May 2025, the school placed Y on a part-time table. The school submitted the part-time timetable request to the Council in mid-June 2025.
17. There are records to show the Council advised the school this would need formalising the same month. It asked the school to answer the following questions:
• Why has the school put in place a part-time timetable?
• What are the current arrangements for Y’s education?
• Do the parents support the part-time timetable?
• Are there any gaps in Y’s provision and if so, are there any alternative arrangements in place?
18. In July 2025, Mrs X made a stage one complaint saying the following:
• Y is currently unable to attend school full-time and is only attending three hours a day;
• The Council had not provided suitable full-time alternative educational provision;
• Y’s section F provision cannot be delivered within a three-hour day; and
• Consequently, the Council had failed to secure the provision set out in Y’s EHC Plan.
19. In mid-July 2025, the school responded to the Council’s enquiries saying the following:
• Mrs X requested a part-time timetable due to Y’s mental health declining. This was implemented mid-May and initially set up until the end of June 2025;
• The school agreed to extend the part-time timetable until the end of term as Mrs X felt this helped Y’s mental health and wellbeing;
• Y attends school in the mornings, accesses core subjects and then goes home at 12pm; and
• Y is currently missing afternoon sessions so there are gaps in his provision.
20. The school closed for the summer holidays the following week. At the end of July, the Council issued a final complaint response not upholding Mrs X’s complaint.
21. In August 2025, the Council issued Y’s final amended EHC Plan naming a special school. Mrs X did not appeal the Plan.
22. Mrs X was dissatisfied with the Council’s handling of the matter and complained to us.

The Council’s response to our enquiries

23. The Council has provided Y’s attendance records from January-July 2025. The records show Y had good attendance prior to the part-time timetable in May. Between May and July 2025, Y attended every morning in line with his part-time timetable except for one day which was coded as illness.

My findings

24. Whilst it was raised in January and February 2025 that Y had anxiety related to attending school, no concerns were raised at the time about his actual school attendance. The attendance records also show that his school attendance was good prior to the part-time timetable being put in place in May.
25. Whilst the school put in place a part-time timetable in May at Mrs X’s request, the school did not notify the Council of this until mid-June and did not provide a response to the Council’s enquiries until mid-July, a week before the summer holidays. We would not expect the Council to consider its section 19 duty and implement alternative provision in this short timescale. Neither would we expect it to consider the specialist provision Y was missing and implement this outside of school in this short timescale. Therefore, the Council was not at fault.

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Decision

26. I find no fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman