Summary: Mr X complained about poor communication and a lack of education for his son, F, between March and July 2023 after F moved to the area to live with him. There was evidence of poor communication by the Council and a failure to signpost Mr X to appropriate school admission information causing the matter to drift. It also caused Mr X frustration and uncertainty.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council failed to ensure his son, F received an education between March and July 2023 when he moved to live with him from outside the Council area. Mr X said he asked the Council for help finding him a mainstream school place however it failed to assist.
2. Mr X said F remained out of school with no education during this period which caused distress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
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(i), as amended)
5. 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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How I considered this complaint

6. I spoke to Mr X about his complaint and considered information he provided.
7. I considered the Council’s response to my enquiry letter.
8. Mr X and the Council had the opportunity to comment on the draft decision. I considered comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

EHC Plans

9. A child or young person with special educational needs may have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. This document sets out the child’s needs and what arrangements should be made to meet them.
10. Statutory guidance ‘Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years’ (‘the Code’) sets out the process for carrying out EHC assessments and producing EHC Plans.

Changing schools in-year

11. The Government website outlines how people can apply for a child to move schools during the academic year. This is known as an in-year move. The process usually requires a parent/carer to complete an in-year application to either the Council or directly to the school. The website says councils will provide information about in-year applications and are required to provide advice on vacant school places in the area when requested.
12. When an application is submitted the admission authority or council must notify the applicant of the outcome in writing within 15 school days.
13. The Council’s website provides information about how parents/carers in its area can apply for a school place for child in year. The website states parents/carers should contact and visit any schools they are interested in. The website provides an application form which parents/carers can complete to apply for any state-funded mainstream schools. Parents must contact private and independent schools directly to obtain an application form and return it to them.

Elective home education

14. 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 financial responsibility for any costs involved, including examination costs.
15. Councils do not regulate home education. However, the law requires councils to enquire about what education is being provided when a child is not attending school full-time.

The Council’s complaints policy

16. The Council’s complaints policy is available on its website. It says when someone makes a complaint it will aim to investigate and reply within 10 working days. If the complainant remains unhappy it will carry out a review and provide a further response within 20 working days.

What happened

17. Mr X has a child, F who moved to live with him in early 2023. F has special educational needs (SEN) and prior to this F lived outside of England and had the equivalent of an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan.
18. F moved in with Mr X permanently in April 2023. Towards the end of April Mr X contacted the Council’s school admission department. Mr X said F had a diagnosis of autism but he wanted F to increase his social interactions by going to school and also to continue working towards his GCSEs. Mr X asked the Council for advice on how to enrol F into school and whether there was anything he could do to support him. The Council referred him to its SEND team and asked him to forward any relevant paperwork.
19. Mr X forwarded information from F’s previous schooling at the start of May 2023 including reports linked to his SEN. Mr X asked whether this was the equivalent of an EHC Plan. Mr X did not receive a response despite chasing the Council throughout May.
20. At the end of May the Council wrote to Mr X and allocated him a SEND caseworker and said they would be in touch shortly.
21. The case worker did not contact Mr X so he emailed admissions and the SEND department again at the end of June 2023. Mr X expressed his concern and disappointment that nobody had helped him in enrolling F into education. Mr X said he had contacted schools in the area who had all said they needed involvement from the Council. Mr X said he asked his local MP to contact the Council which they did without response.
22. In mid-July Mr X contacted the Council again and said he had found a college program for F which was specifically for home schoolers. However, it needed evidence Mr X was home educating F before it would fund the place.
23. Mr X contacted the Council again in August 2023 asking it to help him obtain the college place as without confirmation from the Council about F’s education he was a risk of losing the place. Towards the end of August the Council emailed Mr X confirming F was currently being home educated.
24. Mr X complained to the Council in August about its lack of assistance and poor communication with regards to F’s education.
25. F began the funded college course in September 2023.
26. The Council responded to Mr X’s complaint in September 2023. It said Mr X had chosen to home educate F but advised Mr X to request an EHC needs assessment if he wanted it to consider providing F with EHC Plan. It provided information about how Mr X could apply for a mainstream school via its online admissions application form.
27. Mr X asked the Council to escalate his complaint as the initial response had not addressed his concerns. Mr X said he only ‘home educated’ F as a last resort so he could enrol at the college. Mr X said he felt this was the only option after a lack of help and communication from the Council.
28. The Council issued a final response to Mr X’s complaint in November 2023. The Council apologised Mr X did not receive adequate responses from the SEND team. The Council said it failed to address and understand why Mr X felt home educating F was his last resort and accepted it did not address this fully in the initial complaint response.
29. Mr X remained unhappy and complained to us. Mr X asked us to address the issue of failing to provide F with an education between April and July 2023. Mr X said he would raise a separate complaint around F’s need for an EHC Plan and about other issues which occurred after August 2023.

My findings

30. F moved to live with Mr X from outside of the Council’s area and therefore did not have a school to attend. Mr X was clear in his initial communications that he wanted to get F into a mainstream school. It is a parent/carers responsibility to apply for a school place and ensure the child attends. However, in this case, Mr X, in good faith approached the Council for help and assistance, referring it to F’s SEN and that he had the equivalent of an EHC Plan from his previous schooling.
31. Instead of signposting Mr X to school admission information, it passed Mr X to the SEND department and despite Mr X chasing it did not respond until the end of May. The SEND department then allocated him a caseworker however there is no evidence the case worker contacted Mr X. All of this is poor communication and fault. The Council’s handling of the matter gave Mr X an expectation that it was assisting. The poor communication contributed to the matter drifting and F remained out of school for the rest of the academic year. I cannot say, even on the balance of probabilities whether earlier advice from the Council would have resulted in F enrolling in school before the end of the school year. It did however cause Mr X frustration and uncertainty
32. During August 2023 Mr X and the Council came to an agreement that F was being home educated in order for Mr X to access funding for a college place. While it is likely on balance, that Mr X took this route to ensure F gained at place at college I am unable during this investigation to assess whether this has caused F or Mr X an ongoing an injustice because the scope ends before F began his placement at the college. Mr X has already made a new complaint to the Council about events from August 2023 onwards. If Mr X is unhappy with the outcome of the new complaint, he can complaint to us again and we can then consider injustice caused since August.

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Agreed action

33. Within one month of the final decision the Council agreed to take the following action:
1. pay Mr X £200 to acknowledge the frustration and uncertainty caused by the Council’s poor communication between April and July 2023 when he asked it for advice on how to admit his child into a school after he had moved into the area.
2. Remind relevant SEND and school admission officers to appropriately signpost people to information about how to apply for a school place when such queries are made.
34. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

35. I completed this investigation. I found fault and the Council agreed to my recommendations to remedy the injustice caused by the fault.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman