Summary: Mrs X says the Council failed to complete the Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment requested for her daughter, Y, within the statutory timescales. Mrs X also says the Council has failed to provide education for Y since December 2024. Mrs X says this has caused her and her family distress. We have found fault in the Councils actions for delay in completing the Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment for Y and for failing to provide education. The Council has agreed to write to Mrs X to apologise, pay her a symbolic payment and complete service improvements.

The complaint

1. Mrs X says the Council failed to complete the Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment requested for her daughter, Y, within the statutory timescales. Mrs X also says the Council has failed to provide education for Y since December 2024.
2. Mrs X says this has caused her and her family 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. 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. 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

7. I considered evidence provided by Mrs X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
8. Mrs X and the Council were invited to comment on my draft decision. I have considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Law and Guidance

Education, Health and Care Plans (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. 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.
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. The guidance is based on the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEN Regulations 2014. It says 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).  
11. As part of the EHC needs assessment, councils must gather advice from relevant professionals (SEND 2014 Regulations, Regulation 6(1)). This includes advice and information from an Educational Psychologist (EP). Those consulted have six weeks to provide the advice.
12. Parents have a right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal. This is only engaged once a decision not to assess, issue or amend a plan has been made and sent to the parent or a final EHC plan has been issued.

Alternative provision

13. 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. (Education Act 1996, section 19). We refer to this as section 19 or alternative education provision.
14. This applies to all children of compulsory school age living in the local council area, whether or not they are on the roll of a school. (Statutory guidance ‘Alternative Provision’ January 2013)
15. Suitable education means efficient education suitable to a child’s age, ability and aptitude and to any special educational needs they may have. (Education Act 1996, section 19(6))
16. The education provided by the council must be full-time unless the council determines that full-time education would not be in the child’s best interests for reasons of the child’s physical or mental health. (Education Act 1996, section 3A and 3AA)
17. 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. 
18. We have issued guidance on how we expect councils to fulfil their responsibilities to provide education for children who, for whatever reason, do not attend school full-time: Out of school, out of sight? published July 2022. This 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.

What happened

19. Y started senior school in September 2024 but struggled to attend. The school put a part-time timetable in place for Y shortly after.
20. Mrs X requested an Education, Health and Care Needs assessment (EHCNA) for Y in October 2024 and Y stopped attending school in around November 2024.
21. Y’s doctor issued a note in November 2024 which said Y was not fit to attend school at that time. The note covered the period up to early December 2024.
22. The Council received communication from Y’s doctor in early December 2024 which stated they could not confirm if Y was fit to attend school or receive any education at that time.
23. The Council received contact from Y’s school asking for medical support.
24. The Council referred Y’s case to its Education Access panel in mid-January 2025 which decided it did not have enough information to determine if Y was fit to receive education. The Council contacted Y’s school to confirm at present it did not have any evidence to show Y was fit to receive education and requested further medical evidence.
25. Mrs X complained to the Council in late January 2025 and said it had not completed Y’s EHCNA, and Y had not received any provision since December 2024.
26. The Council responded to Mrs X’s complaint in late February and apologised for the delay in completing Y’s EHCNA.
27. Mrs X contacted her MP who wrote to the Council. The Council responded in late April 2025 and stated Y had been signed off as medically unfit to access any form of education. The Council said if this was no longer the case it would explore appropriate education.
28. The Council says it did not receive any information to confirm that Y was well enough to receive education.

Analysis

Education, Health and Care Plans

29. Mrs X requested an EHCNA in late October 2024. The Council should have completed this process by mid-March 2025. However, the Council did not issue a final EHC Plan until early August 2025. This is a delay of around five months.
30. I acknowledge the national shortage of EPs caused the delay, however statutory guidance is clear regarding timeframes and the Council failed to meet this. This is fault in the form of service failure. This caused significant frustration and distress for Mrs X as she had to wait notably longer than necessary to receive a final EHC Plan for Y’s needs, with a lack of updates. It delayed her statutory right of appeal should she disagree with it. There is also uncertainty for Mrs X of whether provision or a suitable placement could have been in place sooner for Y if the Council had met timeframes.

Alternative Provision

31. The Council was aware Y was not attending school in around November 2024 following her doctor issuing a note to say she was not medically fit to attend at that time. The note from the doctor covered until mid-December.
32. The Council received further information from the doctor around mid-December 2024 which said the doctor could not confirm if Y was fit to receive education. The Council reviewed this information at its Education Access panel and decided at that point it did not have enough evidence to determine if Y was fit to receive education and as such provision was not put in place and Y’s school informed. The Council told Y’s school it would need further medical evidence.
33. At this point I am satisfied that the Council considered its Section 19 duties. However, after this point I cannot see the Council kept this under review.
34. Mrs X contacted the Council to complain in late January 2025 which included reference to Y not receiving any provision. This was raised again by Mrs X’s MP in April 2025 where the Council responded to say it did not have enough information to determine if Y was well enough to receive any provision.
35. I cannot see the Council took any action after requesting further medical information to confirm if Y was well enough to receive provision. This is despite Mrs X including it in her complaint and her MP raising it with the Council. This is fault and has caused Mrs X and her family distress.

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Action

36. Within four weeks of a final decision, the Council should:
37. Write to Mrs X to apologise for the distress caused by the faults identified. 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.
38. Pay Mrs X £500 to recognise the distress caused by the delay in completing Y's EHCNA. This is calculated at roughly £100 per month.
39. Pay Mrs X £3,600 to recognise the missed provision for one and a half terms between February 2025 and July 2025. This is calculated at around £2,400 per term.
40. In writing, remind staff of the importance of keeping Section 19 decisions under review where further information is required.
41. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

42. I find fault causing injustice.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman