Summary: Ms X complained the Council did not provide her child with full time education since 2022. Ms X says this impacted her child’s education and emotional wellbeing. The Ombudsman finds the Council at fault which caused injustice. The Council will apologise, make a payment to Mrs X and take service improvement action.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about the Council’s handling of her child, B’s education. Specifically, she complains the Council:

1. Has not provided B with a full-time education since 2022;
2. Has not properly consulted specialist provisions to meet B’s Education Health and Care Plan; and
3. Communicated with her poorly.

2. Ms X says this impacted B’s education and emotional wellbeing. She says it has also impacted her emotional wellbeing and caused her wider family distress.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
5. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

Back to top

What I have and have not investigated

6. Ms X complains about matters from 2022. She brought her complaint to the Ombudsman in November 2024. As I have said above, we cannot investigate late complaints unless there is good reason. I consider Ms X could have complained sooner to the Ombudsman about matters in 2022 and therefore I do not consider it appropriate to exercise discretion to investigate matters from 2022. The Council became aware B was on a part time timetable in July 2023. I consider there is good reason to exercise discretion to investigate from July 2023.

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

7. I considered the information and documents provided by Ms X and the Council. Ms X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision. I considered all comments received before making this final decision.
8. I also considered the relevant statutory guidance, and our published “Principles of Good Administrative Practice” guidance, as set out below.
9. Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).

Back to top

What I found

What should have happened

Full time education (part a of the complaint)

10. 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. The EHC Plan is set out in sections. We cannot direct changes to the sections about their needs, education, or the name of the educational placement. Only the Tribunal or the council can do this. 
11. The council must arrange for the EHC Plan to be reviewed at least once a year to make sure it is up to date. The council must complete the review within 12 months of the first EHC Plan and within 12 months of any later reviews. The annual review begins with consulting the child’s parents or the young person and the educational placement. A review meeting must then take place. The process is only complete when the council issues its decision to amend, maintain or discontinue the EHC Plan. This must happen within four weeks of the meeting. (Section 20(10) Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 and SEN Code paragraph 9.176) 
12. Councils must arrange suitable education at school or elsewhere for pupils who are out of school because of exclusion, illness or for other reasons, if they would not receive suitable education without such arrangements. The provision generally should be full-time unless it is not in the child’s interests. (Education Act 1996, section 19). We refer to this as section 19 or alternative education provision.
13. The DfE guidance (Working together to improve school attendance) states all pupils of compulsory school age are entitled to a full-time education. In very exceptional circumstances there may be a need for a temporary part-time timetable to meet a pupil’s individual needs. For example where a medical condition prevents a pupil from attending full-time education and a part-time timetable is considered as part of a re-integration package. A part-time timetable must not be treated as a long-term solution. 
14. Schools should notify the local authority of any cases where a child is accessing reduced/part-time education arrangements. Our focus report, “Out of school…out of mind?”, says councils should keep all cases of part-time education under review with a view to increasing it if a child's capacity to learn increases.
15. 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.
16. 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 2019 guidance says the primary responsibility remains with the parent, but councils have a social and moral duty to ensure that a child is safe and being suitably educated.

Consultation with specialist provisions (part b of the complaint)

17. The Code (9.132) says a council is only relieved of its duty to secure the special educational provision in the EHC Plan, including securing a place in a school or college named in the Plan, if the child’s parent or the young person has made suitable alternative arrangements for special educational provision to be made, say in an independent school or at home. A council can lawfully issue a final EHC Plan with a type of school or no school named. The council must make the placement in Section I available, where one is named.

Communication (part c of the complaint)

18. The Ombudsman’s published guidance states councils should be open and clear about policies and procedures and ensuring information, and any advice provided, is clear, accurate and complete. It also says councils should maintain transparency in the light of complex service delivery arrangements.

What happened

19. In July 2023, the Council reviewed B’s EHC Plan. B was attending mainstream school on a part time timetable of three hours per day. The Council decided B’s needs would be best met in a specialist provision.
20. In February 2024, the Council issued B’s finalised EHC Plan. Section I in B’s plan named a specialist placement. The Council consulted with one specialist placement.
21. In early March, the Council chased the specialist placement and updated Ms X.
22. In late March, Ms X contacted the Council for an update. She told the Council B was only accessing two hours of education per school day.
23. Two days later, the specialist placement told the Council it could not offer B a place.
24. From March to June, Ms X contacted the Council multiple times for an update. The Council did not respond to her.
25. In late June Ms X made a formal complaint.
26. In early July, the Council upheld Ms X’s complaint. Ms X escalated her complaint to stage two.
27. In August, the Council responded to Ms X’s complaint. It upheld her complaint, apologised for its poor communication and offered her a financial remedy of £1750 in recognition of its delay providing suitable education provision for B from January 2024 to July 2024 and £500 for the distress caused to Ms X.
28. In October, Ms X decided to education B at home until a specialist school placement was found.

Analysis

Full time education (part a of the complaint)

29. The Council upheld Ms X’s complaint that it did not provide B with a full-time education. It accepts it was aware B was on a part time timetable in July 2023. It accepts every child is entitled to a full-time education. It accepts it was at fault for not liaising with B’s school to work towards a B accessing full time education. It has remedied the loss of education from January 2024 to July 2024. It has agreed to further remedy for the loss of education from July 2023.
30. Ms X decided to educate B at home from October 2024. The statutory guidance says councils are not responsible for a child’s education when a parent decides to educate them at home. Therefore, the Council is not responsible for B’s education from October 2024. The statutory guidance says councils should check that children being educated at home are safe and suitably educated. The Council has requested such information from Ms X, and I am satisfied it has met its duty.

Consultation with specialist provisions (part b of the complaint)

31. The Council upheld Ms X’s complaint about the lack of proper consultation with specialist placement for B. It accepted it only consulted with one placement, and it should have consulted with others when that was not available. The delay in consulting other specialist placements further delayed B’s access to full time education. This loss of education has been remedied by the Council as I have detailed above. The delay in consulting specialist placements also caused Ms X unnecessary and avoidable distress and uncertainty. The Council has offered Ms X £500 to remedy the distress caused by the loss of education. I am satisfied this amount is appropriate and proportionate for the level of injustice caused.

Communication (part c of the complaint)

32. The Council upheld Ms X’s complaint about its poor communication with her regarding B’s education. It apologised and accepted the standard of communication fell below the standard it expected. I consider the poor communication caused Ms X unnecessary and avoidable distress and uncertainty. I am satisfied the Council’s offer of £500 in recognition of the distress and frustrated it caused her appropriately remedies the level of injustice caused.

Back to top

Action

33. Within four weeks of my final decision, the Council has agreed to:
1. provide a written apology to Ms X for the unnecessary and avoidable distress and uncertainty caused to her by not providing B a full-time education from July 2023 until October 2024.
2. make a payment of £1332 to Ms X to recognise the provision B missed out on between July 2023 and January 2024, and July 2024 and October 2024. In arriving at this figure, I considered our published guidance on remedies. I consider this amount is appropriate and proportionate to the level of injustice caused.
3. tell us what steps it is taking to ensure it considers its Section 19 duty once it has identified children with a long-term part-time education timetable.
34. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended in my findings.
35. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

Back to top

Decision

36. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to Ms X and take service improvement action to remedy injustice.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman