Summary: Mrs X complained that the Council failed to provide her daughter with a suitable education, and delayed identifying the need for an Education, Health and Care plan. Mrs X said her daughter has missed out on education, and it has had a significant impact on her, her daughter, and the wider family. We do not find the Council at fault.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to here as Mrs X, complains that the Council failed to provide her daughter with a suitable education since she stopped attending classes at school in November 2019. She also complains that the Council delayed identifying the need for an Education, Health and Care plan.
2. Mrs X says her daughter has missed education, and this has had a significant impact on her, her daughter, and the wider family.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether an organisation’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), 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. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
6. We cannot investigate complaints about what happens in schools. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5, paragraph 5(b), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered the information and documents provided by Mrs X and the Council. I spoke to Mrs X about her complaint. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on an earlier draft of this statement. I considered all comments received before I reached a final decision.
8. I considered the relevant legislation and statutory guidance, set out below.

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What I found

What should have happened

Providing an education

9. The Education Act 1996 (Section 19) says that education authorities (councils) must make suitable educational provision for children of compulsory school age who are absent from school because of illness, exclusion or otherwise. The provision can be at a school or otherwise, but must be suitable for the child’s age, ability and aptitude, including any special needs.
10. The Courts have said it is for the council to determine what is ‘suitable education’.

Education, Health and Care plans

11. Under the Children and Families Act 2014, when an Education, Health and Care needs assessment is completed by a council and it shows a need for special educational provision, the local authority must prepare and maintain an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan.
12. The Code says the whole process of EHC needs assessment and EHC plan development, from the date an assessment is requested to the final EHC plan being issued, must take no more than 20 weeks.

What happened

13. Mrs X has a daughter, C. In November 2019, C stopped attending classes with her peers at school due to anxiety. After this, C attended school part time but worked in an empty or different room, or a teacher’s office.
14. From March 2020, Mrs X contacted the Council’s Education Welfare Officer with concerns about how much school C was missing out on. At this time, schools shut because of the first national COVID-19 lockdown.
15. In September, C started attending school again. Shortly after, C stopped attending due to her anxiety. Mrs X contacted the Education Welfare Officer again.
16. The school tried different strategies to provide C with an online education. The school did an Early Help Assessment, and made referrals for C for a single point of access and support from a mental health support programme. The school also sent work home.
17. In May 2021, Mrs X complained to the Council.
18. The Council met with Mrs X to discuss her complaint. In its written complaint response, the Council said it had also met with the school. The Council said what efforts the school had made to provide C with an education. The Council said an Education, Health and Care (EHC) assessment was underway.
19. Mrs X then brought her complaint to the Ombudsman.

Analysis

Educational provision

20. Mrs X complains that the Council failed to provide C with a suitable education since she stopped attending classes at school in November 2019.
21. As I have said above, it is for a council to determine what ‘suitable education’ is for a child.
22. In this case, the school told the Council that online learning was in place for C. The Council believed the education provided by the school (online) was suitable for C. This is a decision the Council is entitled to make. For this reason, I cannot find the Council at fault.
23. Mrs X is unhappy about the education the school provided. As I have said above, we cannot investigate complaints about what happens in schools. This includes the suitability of what a school provides. Mrs X has complained to the school, which is the appropriate way to complain about such an issue.

Education, Health and Care plan

24. Mrs X complains that the Council delayed identifying the need for an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan.
25. Mrs X says she contacted the Council’s Education Welfare Officer in September 2020. She says the officer told her to ask for an EHC plan, but he later changed this in an email, saying an Early Help Assessment was needed first. The Council says it has no record of this conversation.
26. I cannot confirm what the officer told Mrs X. However, it is clear that no one asked the Council at that stage for an EHC needs assessment or an EHC plan.
27. I have seen no evidence that anyone asked the Council for an EHC needs assessment for C until the summer of 2021.
28. I find the Council received the request for an EHC needs assessment in July 2021 and issued the final EHC plan in December. This is within the 20-week statutory timeframe.
29. For these reasons, I do not find that the Council delayed identifying the need for an EHC plan. Therefore, I do not find the Council at fault.

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Final decision

30. I have completed my investigation. I do not uphold Mrs X’s complaint because there is no fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman