Cheshire East Council (25 011 030)

Statement Not upheld Alternative provision 05-May-2026

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.

Suffolk County Council (25 000 534)

Statement Upheld Alternative provision 04-May-2026

Summary: Mrs X complains on behalf of Miss Y that the Council did not deal properly with education causing avoidable distress. The Council failed to communicate properly, did not provide alternative education, did not communicate outcomes about services and did not respond to the complaint fully. Mrs X suffered avoidable distress. The Council should apologise, make a symbolic payment to Miss Y and provide guidance to staff.

Buckinghamshire Council (25 019 851)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Alternative provision 04-May-2026

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint. This is because part of the complaint is late with no good reasons to exercise our discretion to investigate and the remaining issues are too closely linked to the Council’s decisions on Mr X’s daughter’s Education, Health and Care Plan, which it would have been reasonable for Mr X to appeal.

Dorset Council (24 018 745)

Statement Upheld Alternative provision 30-Apr-2026

Summary: On the evidence available to us, we cannot draw a conclusion whether the Council met its duties, to offer support to a young person in maintaining his educational placements. However, we are satisfied this would not have changed the outcome either way, and further investigation would therefore not be proportionate. The Council was at fault, because it did not arrange a meeting when it said it would, but this did not cause an injustice. We have therefore completed our investigation.

Worcestershire County Council (25 006 449)

Statement Upheld Alternative provision 30-Apr-2026

Summary: Miss X complained the Council has failed to provide her daughter with alternative full time education since she stopped attending school due to ill health in April 2024. We found the Council’s failure to provide a suitable education since October 2024 is fault. The Council has taken appropriate action to remedy this fault.

Slough Borough Council (24 006 010)

Statement Upheld Alternative provision 29-Apr-2026

Summary: The Council is at fault for giving confusing information about education otherwise than at school (EOTAS) and raising Ms X’s expectations that it would provide this to her son. The Council accepted and apologised for poor communication and delay in the Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan process. The Council should make a payment for the distress it caused.

Gloucestershire County Council (25 007 808)

Statement Upheld Alternative provision 29-Apr-2026

Summary: Mr F complained the Council failed to provide his son (X) with an education for over a year, act of serious school transport concerns, and respond to his complaints appropriately. The Council accepted fault in how it handled transport concerns and it had caused X a loss of education. It apologised, proposed a remedy, and took action to improve services. We agreed with the Council’s overall findings, but it was also at fault for some delayed communication and complaints handling. It agreed to provide an increased remedy to Mr F to acknowledge the injustice its faults had on X and Mr F, and to carry out a service improvement recommendation.

Suffolk County Council (25 025 745)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Alternative provision 29-Apr-2026

Summary: Ms G complains health and children’s services in her area failed to appropriately monitor and support her child during his early years. We will not investigate the complaint because it is late and we have not found a good reason to use discretion to investigate it now. And, because Ms G is seeking sizeable financial compensation for avoidable harm, it would be appropriate for her to pursue a remedy through the courts.

Sheffield City Council (25 018 451)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Alternative provision 27-Apr-2026

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of Mrs X’s daughter’s special educational needs and the delivery of her Education, Health and Care Plan. This is because it is unlikely we could achieve any worthwhile outcome for Mrs X and because it would have been reasonable for Mrs X to appeal against the content of the Plan.

London Borough of Haringey (25 008 544)

Statement Upheld Alternative provision 26-Apr-2026

Summary: Ms X complained about the Council’s failures with alternative provision when her child could not attend school. We found the Council at fault for not properly considering its duties and poor complaints handling. Ms X sourced private provisions at her own expense. The Council has agreed to apologise, reimburse Ms X’s costs and make a symbolic payment to recognise the injustice caused. It also agreed to take action to prevent future recurrence of the faults.