Summary

Complaint from a woman that the council failed to provide suitable alternative education for her son when he was out of school.

The complaint

Complaint from a woman that the council failed to provide suitable alternative education for her son when he was out of school. The council failed to take a coordinated approach to the boy's education, failed to inform the woman of its decisions and it failed to fulfill its duties to provide the boy with suitable education. The boy missed out on education as a result.

Finding

The Ombudsman upheld the complaint and found fault causing injustice.

Recommendations

The council should pay the woman:

• £2,400 to recognise the loss of education for her son for two terms;
• £1,000 to recognise the son's lost opportunity to go to college in September 2014; and
• £250 to recognise her time and trouble in pursuing the complaint.

The £2,400 and £1,000 should be used for the benefit of the boy's education and training.

The council has accepted our recommendations to remedy the complaint. It has also confirmed that since the events of the complaint it has introduced a new policy and procedure document on children missing and at risk of missing education. We hope this will provide better coordination between different parts of the council's service and help prevent the faults identified in this complaint occurring again.

 

Ombudsman satisfied with council's response: 18 February 2016

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