Summary: Miss B complained that the Council had failed to understand or properly consider its duty under section 19 of the Education Act 1996 to provide alternative education to her daughter, C, since she was unable to attend school from June 2023. We found the Council at fault which caused C to miss out on a significant amount of education and Miss B uncertainty and frustration. The Council has agreed to apologise to them, make a symbolic payment and improve its procedures for the future.

The complaint

1. Miss B complained that Blackpool Borough Council (the Council) failed to understand or properly consider its duty under section 19 of the Education Act 1996 to provide alternative education to her daughter, C, since she was unable to attend school from June 2023. Miss B says this has caused her daughter to miss out on a significant amount of education and herself distress and inconvenience.

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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. 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)
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 the period from March 2024 when the pupil welfare officer visited C at home and witnessed that she was ill and in bed, until the end of September 2024 when we accepted the complaint. I understand C has been out of school since June 2023, but I consider it was reasonable for Miss B to have complained to us sooner about the earlier period.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered evidence provided by Miss B and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
7. Miss B and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.
8. 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

Section 19 duty

9. 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.

Establishing a section 19 duty

10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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.

Guide for practitioners

13. 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)
14. 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.

15. 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.

What happened

Background

16. Miss B’s daughter C stopped attending school in June 2023 due to an undiagnosed health problem which caused her severe pain. During the autumn term an attendance officer from the school maintained contact with the family and said work was available from the school online. But Miss B said it was not accessible.

March 2024 to July 2024

17. On 23 March 2024 a welfare officer from the Council (Officer Z) visited Miss B at home. The case note says he saw that C was in bed and sleeping so he did not speak to her. Miss C told him that C was extremely unwell. There are no notes of any further action or consideration taken by the Council at this point.
18. Towards the end of May 2024, the school provided six weeks of online tuition which C managed to access until early July 2024.

September 2024 to April 2025

19. The school said it decided not to continue with the online provision in September because due to a government rule change it would now only count as an unauthorised absence from school and this would put pressure on the family if the legal route was pursued for attendance.
20. On 11 September Officer Z visited Miss B and C again and agreed to open a case to try and resolve the lack of education, primarily by obtaining medical evidence to confirm C was unfit to attend school. He referred her to the Early Help team at Children’s services and visited again with an Early Help worker, Officer Y. Their main concern was to obtain medical evidence to ensure C’s absence from school could be authorised.
21. Officer Y and Officer Z contacted C’s GP, who they agreed to write a letter to Officer Z about C’s health. The school sent an email to Officer Z on 1 October expressing concern that C had been out of school for over a year but there was no conclusive medical evidence to say she was unfit for school or that she could attend with support. The following day the GP sent a letter saying that they could not provide a professional opinion as they had not seen C recently. Miss C said the GP assured her they did not need to see C.
22. Officer Y called the GP and emailed the school. They said C had been out of school and bed-bound since June 2023 and a multi-agency meeting was needed to discuss her health and education. They said the GP had confirmed C was under investigation at various hospital departments, but no diagnosis had been reached and there was no conclusive evidence that she was too unwell to attend school.
23. A professionals meeting was held on 12 November. The health information was still inconclusive about her fitness for school, but the attendees (including Officers Y and Z) discussed pain management, mental health support and reintegration back into education.
24. In December 2024 Officer Y completed the Early Help assessment and concluded she needed intensive level three support via a support plan. C had attended a GP appointment and received some new medication which was helping with her pain a bit.
25. Throughout January 2025 Officers Y and Z continued their efforts to obtain medical evidence to support a referral to the medical education service for children unfit to attend school due to illness. They also made a referral to the mental health service.
26. By February 2025 there was still no medical evidence to say she was unfit for school, so the school explored a different internal alternative provision adapted to C’s needs and sleep patterns. Miss B said C had tried this the previous year and it was unsuitable. C’s hospital consultant offered her a week in hospital for observation and rehabilitation. C accepted and it took place in March 2025. After this, the consultant told the Council that C’s pain was real but as yet undiagnosed. They suggested home tuition would be a good solution.
27. From April 2025 C began to receive two hours a day of home tuition which has continued. Miss B says this is all she can manage.

Formal complaint

28. In early July 2025 Miss B complained to the Council about C’s lack of education since June 2023. The Council responded on 23 July. It said the school had been liaising with health professionals and Miss C. It went on:

“In accordance with legislation, the school can only and would only be required to request support for alternative education provision from Blackpool Council should medical evidence from a source such as a consultant suggest the student was unable to access mainstream education or the mainstream school is unable to provide a suitable provision.”

29. As the Council had not received a request for alternative provision from the school or a health professional it had not arranged any. It said Officer Z had visited Miss B and C on March 2024 following a request from the school in a safeguarding capacity. He updated the school after the visit but did not have any further involvement until September, when he then became involved focusing on advice and guidance. The Council said appropriate provision had now been arranged and it did not uphold the complaint.
30. Miss B was unhappy with the response and escalated the complaint on 1 August, disputing the Council’s view of its role in arranging alternative provision. The Council replied on 28 August. It referred to some government guidance from 2023 (Arranging education for children who cannot attend school because of health needs), and said this stated that the child’s health needs should be managed by the home school so that they can continue to be educated there with support and without the need for the intervention of the local authority. It repeated its view that the school could only arrange alternative provision with appropriate medical evidence and as none had been provided the Council would not be able to offer alternative provision.
31. Miss B then complained to us.

Findings

32. The section 19 duty clearly places the responsibility for provision of education when a child is absent from school due to exclusion, illness or other reasons, on the Council. The Council is the decision-maker and once it is aware that a child is absent from school for an extended period, it should consider whether its duty is engaged.
33. The Council’s understanding of its duty is incorrect in several respects:
• It is not the school’s responsibility to consider, arrange or request alternative provision from the Council. Once the Council is aware of the absence it should act. This may involve delegating the task to the school, but it needs to make the decision whether or not the section 19 duty is engaged.
• The section refers to three reasons for the absence which may engage the duty: permanent exclusion, illness or other reasons. In its complaint response to Miss B, the Council just referred to illness and did not consider the other reasons category which may have been appropriate in the circumstances.
• The Council does not have to wait for medical evidence before deciding that the section 19 duty is engaged. It has to consider all the available evidence from all sources and reach its own decision based on that evidence.
34. In this case the Council was aware in March 2024 that C had not attended school since June 2023, yet it took no action. This was fault. It should have gathered the available evidence at that point and considered if it had a duty to arrange alternative provision. It did not do so. C received no education beyond six weeks of online tuition arranged independently by the school.
35. From September 2024 the Council did intervene via the pupil welfare service and the early help team. I can see there was frequent communication between these officers, health professionals and the school. However, the focus throughout this period was on obtaining medical evidence to confirm C was unable to attend school and allow her absence to be authorised, thereby avoiding any legal interventions. At no point did the Council consider whether it should be providing alternative education. This was fault. The Council was aware C had been out of school for over a year but did not consider whether alternative provision was appropriate. Given that she had engaged with six weeks of online provision it is highly likely this level of provision or similar could have continued.
36. It was only after C’s consultant suggested home tuition may be appropriate given the pain C was experiencing even though her condition remained undiagnosed, that the school arranged for two hours a day of tuition starting in April 2025. Even then the Council did not intervene or consider if this was appropriate. This was further fault.
37. The Council entirely delegated its section 19 duty, first to the school and then to health professionals, to make the decision whether alternative provision should be arranged. This showed a fundamental misunderstanding of its legal duty under section 19 of the Education Act 1996. It was fault which caused significant injustice to C who missed out on a year of education and to Miss B who was caused uncertainty, stress and frustration in pursuing the matter.
38. Given that C engaged in the six weeks of online provision in 2024 and the home tuition since April 2025, I consider she could have engaged with some part-time provision between September 2024 and April 2025 (two terms of education).

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Action

39. In recognition of the injustice caused to Miss B and C, I recommended the Council within one month of the date of my final decision:
• apologises to Miss B and C; and
• makes a symbolic payment of £2000 (£1000 per term of missed education).
40. I also recommend within three months that the Council:
• reviews and amends its policy on alternative provision to ensure it accurately reflects its legal duty and includes a clear decision-making process to follow once it is aware a child is out of school for an extended period; and
• provides training and/or guidance to relevant staff in the education department on the Council’s section 19 duty to ensure they understand and implement it correctly.
41. The Council has agreed to these recommendations and should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

42. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed actions to remedy injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman