Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about an alleged failure to provide alternative education provision for his child. There is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has failed in its duty to provide alternative education for his child, Y, under Section 19 of the Education Act 1996. He says Y has missed out on education as a result and the matter has caused distress. He wants the Council to apologise, arrange suitable education for Y, provide a financial remedy for the lost education and distress caused and review its procedures.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Section 19 of the Education Act 1996 says a 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.
6. Parents have a right to educate their children at home (Section 7, Education Act 1996). This can include the use of tutors or parental support groups. Elective home education is distinct from education provided by a council otherwise than at school, for example when a child is too ill to attend. In choosing to educate a child at home, the parents take on responsibility for arranging the education and for any costs involved.
7. In November 2025, Mr X asked the Council to provide Y with alternative education under Section 19 of the Education Act 1996.
8. In its complaint response, the Council said it did not agree it had a duty to provide alternative education and set out the reasons for its decision. It said its records showed Mr X and Y’s mother, Mrs X, had decided to de-register Y from the school roll and provide elective home education. It said its education team had received information from Mrs X regarding Y’s home education and was satisfied the home education being provided was suitable. For this reason, there was no duty on the Council to provide alternative education under Section 19.
9. We will not investigate this complaint. Mr X says the decision to home educate was not a free choice, as mainstream education was not suitable for his child. However, regardless of Mr and Mrs X’s reasons, it was a parental decision to de-register Y from the school roll and educate Y at home. The Council then acted as we would expect to satisfy itself that the education provided was suitable. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s decision to warrant an investigation.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman