Summary: Miss X complained the Council failed to find a suitable school place for her child, Y, and did not secure enough alternative provision for Y. The Council was at fault for failing to find Y a suitable school place and failing to secure suitable alternative provision. The Council was also at fault for delaying issuing Y’s EHC Plan. This caused Miss X distress and uncertainty and meant Y did not receive a suitable education for around nine months. The Council should apologise and make a payment to Miss X.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council failed to find a school place for her child, Y, who has ADHD and autism and had been out of education since September 2024. Miss X said the Council could not find a school that met Y’s needs and had not secured tuition or enough alternative provision to help Y catch up with missed education. Miss X was also unhappy with the Council’s communication.
2. Miss X said this affected Y’s emotions and education, and she had to give up her job to care for Y. Miss X said this has impacted on her finances, mental health and physical health. Miss X would like the Council to secure a school place for Y and pay for Y to have private tuition to catch up.

Back to top

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. Service failure can happen when an organisation fails to provide a service as it should have done because of circumstances outside its control. We do not need to show any blame, intent, flawed policy or process, or bad faith by an organisation to say service failure (fault) has occurred. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1), as amended).
5. 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(1), as amended).
6. When considering complaints we make findings based on the balance of probabilities. This means that we look at the available relevant evidence and decide what was more likely to have happened.
7. 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 have and have not investigated

8. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the organisation knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the organisation of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5), section 34(B)6).
9. Miss X told the Ombudsman in March 2026 that Y started school in October 2025 but is now on a part-time timetable. The Council responded to Miss X’s previous complaint in August 2025 and Miss X complained to the Ombudsman at that time. The Council has not had an opportunity to respond to Miss X’s complaint about events after August 2025. I have investigated events between September 2024 and the end of the school year in July 2025.

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

10. I considered evidence provided by Miss X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
11. Miss X and the Council have had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I have considered any comments before making a final decision.

Back to top

What I found

The Law

Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans

12. 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.
13. 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. The guidance is based on the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEN Regulations 2014. It says the following: 

• If the council goes on to carry out an assessment, it must decide whether to issue an EHC Plan or refuse to issue a Plan within 16 weeks.
• If the council goes on to issue an EHC Plan, the whole process from the point when an assessment is requested until the final EHC Plan is issued must take no more than 20 weeks (unless certain specific circumstances apply).

14. The council has a duty to make sure the child or young person receives the special educational provision set out in section F of an EHC Plan (Section 42 Children and Families Act). The Courts have said the duty to arrange this provision is owed personally to the child and is non-delegable. This means if the council asks another organisation to make the provision and that organisation fails to do so, the council remains liable (R v London Borough of Harrow ex parte M [1997] ELR 62), (R v North Tyneside Borough Council [2010] EWCA Civ 135).

Alternative provision

15. Section 19 of the Education Act 1996 says that the council must arrange suitable alternative educational provision when it finds that a child is unable to attend school because of a permanent exclusion, an illness, or for any other reason which make the school inaccessible to the child. The alternative educational provision must be suitable to the child’s age, ability and aptitude, and any special educational needs they have.
16. If a council discovers a child is absent from school for an extended period, it should consider the reasons for this and take account of evidence from relevant parties (such as the child’s school, parents, and medical professionals). It must then decide whether it has a duty to make alternative educational provision.
17. Councils should consider any attempts the school is making to support the child. This might involve sending work home for the child to complete, arranging disability related support, placing the child on a reduced timetable, or providing online education as a short-term measure. If there is a clear, effective, and time-bound plan for reintegration then there may be no immediate role for the council in providing alternative education.
18. We publish good practice guidance on how we expect councils to fulfil their responsibilities to identify and arrange alternative educational provision: Supporting children out of school (October 2025)
19. Our guidance says that councils should:

• consider all the reasons for a child’s absence from school, and make a written evidence-based decision about whether it will arrange alternative education provision;
• ensure the provision meets the individual needs of the child where it decides to arrange alternative education and explain its reasons for providing a part-time education if it decides the child cannot cope with full time provision.

20. Where councils arrange for schools or other bodies to carry out their functions on their behalf, the council remains responsible. Therefore councils should retain oversight and control to ensure their duties are properly fulfilled.
21. 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. A part-time timetable must not be treated as a long-term solution.

Council’s complaints policy

22. The Council’s complaints policy says it aims to respond to complaints within 10 working days, and it will tell the complainant if it needs more time.

Background

23. Y has special educational needs, including ADHD and autism. In October 2022, Y’s school reviewed their support needs and said it would apply for an EHC Plan for Y.
24. In February 2023, the Council said it did not agree to the school’s request for the Council to complete an EHC needs assessment for Y. Miss X appealed the Council’s decision in November 2023.
25. On 19 January 2024, the Council told Miss X it had received new information, and so it agreed to complete an EHC needs assessment for Y. The Council completed the assessment on 20 March 2024 and agreed to issue a draft EHC Plan for Y. The Council issued Y’s draft EHC Plan on 13 June 2024. By September 2024 the Council had still not issued Y’s final EHC Plan.

What happened

26. Y was due to start a mainstream secondary school, school A, in September 2024. Miss X said just before Y’s start date in September 2024, an Educational Psychologist said Y should not start at that school, so they did not do so. School A secured Y alternative provision of one day a week in one setting, and two hours a week in another setting.
27. In early October 2024, Miss X complained to the Council that Y had been out of education for several weeks and School A was only providing Y with part-time alternative provision. Around a week later, Miss X complained again as the Council had not responded. Miss X said Y had been out of education for weeks as the Council could not find a suitable school place for them.
28. In November 2024, Miss X said the Council had still not secured a school place for Y. Miss X said Y had missed a whole term of school and was only attending three part-time alternative education settings. This meant School A was providing Y with just over two days a week of alternative education. Miss X also said she was transporting Y to their alternative provision settings. The Council responded saying it would arrange to pay Miss X for her travel costs and said Y’s school had submitted a costed plan to provide Y with more alternative provision from January 2025.
29. Miss X contacted the Council again in early February 2025 as the Council had not provided any further response to her complaint. Miss X said Y was still not in school and she had to leave her job to look after Y. The Council responded a few days later and said it was working to secure a school place that could meet Y’s needs. The Council said it had been difficult finding a full-time placement and additional alternative provision that was suitable.
30. The Council responded to Miss X’s complaint in early March 2025 and said it was still working to secure a full-time placement for Y. The Council told Miss X the reason for its delay in securing suitable full-time provision for Y was availability of suitable spaces, rather than cost. The Council also said it found the alternative provision School A put in place was insufficient and the school had used a part-time timetable, which the Council had not agreed to. The Council also accepted it did not regularly communicate with Miss X about Y’s education.
31. In mid-April 2025, Miss X escalated her complaint and said Y was still out of education. Around this time, School B offered Y a place and the Council issued Y’s final EHC Plan on 19 May 2025. The Plan set out Y’s educational support needs and named School B as Y’s new school from 23 June 2025. The Plan said School A would stay as Y’s named placement until that date. In response to our enquiries the Council said Y began receiving the SEN provision in their plan from school B from 23 June 2025.
32. The Council responded to Miss X’s stage two complaint in early August 2025. The Council said it did not know why the educational psychologist had told Miss X that Y should not attend School A in September 2024. The Council said it agreed with the findings of its stage one response and repeated that School A’s alternative provision was not enough and it should not have used a part-time timetable for Y. The Council said School A was named in Y’s EHC Plan as their school placement until 23 June 2025, which meant it was responsible for meeting Y’s educational needs set out in the Plan. The Council also apologised for its delayed responses to Miss X’s complaints and for not securing suitable provision for Y until it issued the final EHC Plan in May 2025.
33. The Council offered to pay Miss X £1800 for the impact of not securing Y’s provision and £200 for the distress and frustration caused by its delayed complaint responses. Miss X accepted the payment but said she felt it was not enough to reflect the injustice caused by the Council’s failings.
34. In response to my enquiries, the Council said it had 36 consultations with potential settings between June 2024 and February 2025 to try and secure Y a suitable school place.

My findings

EHC Plan delays

35. The Council agreed to complete an EHC needs assessment for Y on 19 January 2024. The Council should have issued Y’s final EHC Plan within 14 weeks from the date it agreed to assess Y, by 7 June 2024. However, it did not do so until 19 May 2025, which was a delay of 49 weeks. This was fault.
36. The Council did not meet the timescales due to a lack of suitable placements for Y. The Ombudsman can make findings of fault where there is a failure to provide a service regardless of the reasons for that service failure. The delay in finalising Y’s EHC Plan is fault (service failure). This caused Miss X frustration, distress and uncertainty.

EHC Plan provision

37. While the delay in finalising Y’s EHC Plan caused Miss X distress and uncertainty, on balance, we cannot say Y missed out on the SEN provision set out in the final EHC Plan issued in May 2025. The delay in issuing the EHC Plan was because the Council could not find a placement to deliver the provision. The evidence shows Y was unable to engage with school A.

Y’s alternative provision

38. The Council accepted the alternative provision School A provided Y was not enough. The Council was aware Y was out of school from October 2024. There is no record the Council acted to further consider the suitability of the alternative provision after Miss X’s complaint. From the evidence, the Council did not consider the suitability of Y’s alternative provision between October 2024 and June 2025. On balance, this was fault. It meant Y did not receive suitable alternative education for around nine months and caused Miss X distress and uncertainty.
39. We typically recommend between £900 and £2400 per term in recognition of lost provision. The figure can be lower when considering any educational provision made during the period and whether additional provision can remedy some or all of the loss.
40. Considering Y received part-time alternative provision between September 2024 and June 2025, I have recommended £1200 per term for each of the three terms of part-time education. This is in line with our guidance on remedies.
41. The Council has previously paid Miss X £1800 to reflect the impact of not securing Y’s educational provision.

Council’s complaints handling

42. The Council’s policy says it aims to respond to complaints within 10 days and will tell the complainant if it needs more time. Miss X first complained to the Council in early October 2024, but it did not formally respond until early March 2025. This was a delay of almost five months. This was fault. It caused Miss X uncertainty and frustration.
43. Miss X escalated her complaint in mid-April 2025 and the Council responded in early August 2025. This was a delay of around three months. This was fault and caused Miss X further uncertainty and frustration.
44. The Council has apologised to Miss X and paid her £200 for the uncertainty and frustration caused by its delayed complaint responses. I consider this to be a suitable remedy for the injustice caused.
45. We publish the Complaint Handling Code which sets out best practice in how councils should deal with complaints. In this case, we found the Council at fault because it delayed responding to Miss X’s complaints. Since Miss X’s complaint, the Council has an action plan in place and has recruited new staff to meet complaint deadlines in future. Because the Council is already taking suitable steps, I have not made any service improvement recommendations in this area. We will continue to monitor the Council’s progress through our casework.
46. The Council has also had an action plan in place from November 2025 to issue final EHC Plans within the statutory timescale. Because the Council is already taking suitable steps, I have not made any service improvement recommendations in this area. We will continue to monitor the Council’s progress through our casework.

Back to top

Action

47. Within one month of the final decision, the Council has agreed to take the following action:
1. Apologise to Miss X for the frustration, distress and uncertainty caused by the delay issuing Y’s EHC Plan and the failure to provide suitable alternative provision. 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.
2. Pay Miss X a further £1800 to reflect the impact of Y missing three terms of suitable education between September 2024 and June 2025.
3. Pay Miss X £200 for the distress and uncertainty caused by the Council delaying issuing Y’s EHC Plan between June 2024 and May 2025.
48. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

Back to top

Decision

49. I find fault causing injustice which the Council has agreed to remedy.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman