Derby City Council (25 020 073)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Alternative provision 12-May-2026

Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about missed tuition. We are unlikely to achieve more than the £250 offered by the Council.

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (25 009 544)

Statement Upheld Alternative provision 11-May-2026

Summary: Mrs X complained about the Council’s response to her request for support for her son (Y) who could not attend school because of his health needs. Mrs X also complained about the Council’s failure to keep the statutory timescales for Y’s Education Health and Care needs assessment. We found fault with the Council’s failure to check the suitability of educational arrangements made by Y’s school despite regular communication from Mrs X. We also found fault with the Council’s delays with Y’s Education Health and Care needs assessment, with its communication with Mrs X and its record-keeping. The Council’s fault caused injustice to Y and Mrs X. The Council has agreed to apologise, arrange a meeting to discuss Y’s education and issue Y’s final Education Health and Care Plan. The Council has also agreed to make payments to recognise injustice caused to Y and Mrs X and carry out service improvement.

Essex County Council (25 006 388)

Statement Upheld Alternative provision 10-May-2026

Summary: We have found the Council at fault for its poor communication in response to Ms X’s request for Education Other Than At School for her son, Y. The Council also failed to consider it Section 19 duty when Y stopped attending school. This fault caused Ms X and Y avoidable distress and caused Y to miss out on alternative provision. The Council has agreed to take action to remedy this injustice.

Surrey County Council (25 006 942)

Statement Not upheld Alternative provision 10-May-2026

Summary: Ms X the Council failed to provide her son with alternative provision and a full-time education when he was unable to attend school. We have found no evidence of fault in the way the Council considered these matters. So, we have completed our investigation.

Surrey County Council (25 007 409)

Statement Upheld Alternative provision 07-May-2026

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to provide her child, Y, with suitable education when they were unable to attend school from April 2024. We find the Council at fault for failing to consider its section 19 duty between September 2024 and February 2026. This caused Y and Mrs X distress, uncertainty and frustration. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a symbolic payment and complete service improvements to remedy the injustice caused.

Birmingham City Council (25 008 459)

Statement Upheld Alternative provision 07-May-2026

Summary: Miss X complained the Council failed to provide alternative education for her child, Y after they were permanently excluded from school. We found the Council at fault for a delay in making alternative provision for Y resulting in a loss of educational provision and distress. The Council agreed to apologise and make a symbolic payment to Miss X to remedy the injustice caused. It also agreed to carry out service improvements to prevent reoccurrence of the fault.

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.