Summary: We upheld Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s failure to organise alternative education for her child, Y, when their school closed because the Council upheld the complaint, offered Mrs X a symbolic payment of £3,040, apologised, and explained service improvements it made. This is in line with the Ombudsman’s Guidance on Remedies and therefore we decided not to investigate.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council failed to organise education for her child, Y, between September 2024 and July 2025 after Y’s school closed.
2. Mrs X said the matter caused her distress and uncertainty. She said the issues impacted on Y’s academic progression.

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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 provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
4. 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

5. I considered information provided by the complainant.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

Background

7. Mrs X has a child, Y, whose school closed. Mrs X complained to the Council in summer 2025. She said the Council failed to organise alternative education for Y between September 2024 and July 2025.
8. In its complaint response the Council upheld the complaint. It apologised to Mrs X. It offered Mrs X a symbolic payment of £3,040 to acknowledge Y’s loss of education and for the frustration and uncertainty this caused.
9. The Council also explained it had improved its processes to ensure the same issues do not reoccur when a school closes.

Decision

10. We uphold this complaint because the Council upheld the complaint, offered a remedy in line with the Ombudsman’s Guidance on Remedies, and explained about service improvements it has made to ensure the fault is not repeated in the future.
11. Consequently, although we uphold the complaint, we will not investigate because an investigation is unlikely to achieve anything further.

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Final decision

12. We upheld Mrs X’s complaint because the Council upheld the complaint and offered a suitable remedy.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman