Summary: The Council was at fault for delay issuing Miss X’s child’s Education, Health and Care plan, for failing to have appropriate oversight over the child’s alternative education, and for its poor communication and complaint handling. This caused Miss X uncertainty, frustration and distress. The Council has apologised and offered Miss X a payment.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about the way the Council handled her child’s education and special educational needs. Specifically, Miss X complained the Council:
1. delayed issuing her child’s Education, Health and Care plan;
2. failed to provide suitable alternative education when her child was excluded from school; and,
3. handled her complaint and communicated poorly with her.
2. Miss X said this impacted her child’s education, mental health, wellbeing, and future. She said it caused distress, and impacted the wider family and her employment. She said she paid for her child’s tutor. Miss X said the delays frustrated her right to appeal the plan.

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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(1), 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 considered the information and documents provided by Miss X and the Council. I spoke to Miss X about her complaint. I considered the relevant legislation, statutory guidance, and policies, set out below. I also considered the Ombudsman’s published guidance on remedies, our good practice guidance, and our relevant report on the Council issued in February 2025.
7. Miss X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on an earlier draft of this statement. I considered all comments and further information received before I reached a final decision.

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What I found

What should have happened

Education, Health and Care plans

8. A child or young person with special educational needs may have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. This plan sets out the child’s needs and what arrangements should be made to meet them.
9. The council must arrange for the EHC plan to be reviewed at least once a year to make sure it is up to date. Following the review meeting the council must issue a decision to either amend, maintain or cease to maintain the EHC plan. Where the council proposes to amend an EHC plan, the law says it must issue the final amended EHC plan within 12 weeks of the review meeting.

Alternative educational provision

10. 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.
11. If the council decides it must arrange alternative provision, it needs to arrange provision based on the child’s individual needs. It should also have a review process to ensure the provision remains in the child’s best interests.
12. 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)
13. Our guidance says 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.

What happened

14. Miss X’s child, B, has an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. There was a review of this EHC plan in May 2024. The Council decided to amend B’s EHC plan because B’s mainstream school could not meet their needs.
15. In December, Miss X complained.
16. In January 2025, B was permanently excluded from the mainstream school. The Council arranged alternative provision at a pupil referral unit.
17. In March, Miss X complained again. The Council responded to Miss X’s complaint. It acknowledged its communication had been poor. It apologised for the delay responding to her complaint. The Council accepted it had delayed issuing B’s EHC plan. It said B could access alternative provision at the pupil referral unit while the Council looked for more suitable long-term placements.
18. In April, the Council sent its stage two response. The Council acknowledged it had a duty to secure appropriate provision for B. It said it was actively consulting schools.
19. In June, the Council sent its stage three response. It apologised for the delay sending this response. It acknowledged its stage two response did not provide answers or explanations. The Council apologised that Miss X had needed to repeatedly ask for communication, answers and updates.
20. The Council proposed to make a payment to Miss X of £1000 to remedy the injustice caused by the delays issuing B’s EHC plan, for Miss X’s loss of opportunity and frustration because she did not have appeal rights yet, and for her time and trouble. Miss X did not accept the Council’s offer.
21. In August, the Council issued B’s final EHC plan.

Analysis

Issuing the Education, Health and Care plan

22. Miss X complained the Council delayed issuing her child’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan (part a of the complaint).
23. The annual review was held in May 2024. The Council should have issued the final amended EHC plan within 12 weeks, which would have been mid-August 2024. The Council issued the final plan in mid-August 2025, 12 months late. This is fault.
24. I find this fault caused Miss X injustice because it caused uncertainty and delayed her appeal rights. The Council offered Miss X £750 to remedy this injustice. I do not consider this amount adequately remedies the level of injustice here. I have addressed this below (see paragraph 42).

Alternative educational provision

25. Miss X complained the Council failed to provide suitable alternative education when her child, B, was excluded from school (part b of the complaint).
26. Miss X said B went to the pupil referral unit for one session but planned their escape out of a second-floor window, and told Miss X their plan. Miss X said B could not cope with the environment at the pupil referral unit.
27. Miss X said B never went back to the pupil referral unit. She said the pupil referral unit told her it could not meet B’s needs. She said after that first unsuccessful session, she paid for and provided some provision.
28. I have considered B’s provision from February 2025, when they started at the pupil referral unit, to July 2025 (the end of the school year).
29. The Council said B’s alternative provision was to be provided at the pupil referral unit while it consulted specialist placements. The Council accepted its communication with Miss X and the pupil referral unit between February and August 2025 was poor.
30. The Council said the pupil referral unit could have and should have explored alternative options. However, the Council also said that at that time, the pupil referral unit did not feel able to support an alternative education package for B.
31. As I have said above, councils should have a review process to ensure a package of alternative provision remains in a child’s best interests. Also, our guidance says 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.
32. I do not find this happened in this case.
33. I find the Council failed to communicate with the pupil referral unit and Miss X between February and August. I find the Council failed to retain appropriate oversight of the alternative provision it arranged to ensure it was meeting its duty to provide B with an alternative education. I have seen no evidence of a review to ensure provision at the pupil referral unit remained in B’s best interests.
34. The Council took action in August to understand what the pupil referral unit could do to support B. I find the Council could have done this earlier. But I cannot say what the outcome would have been if the Council had acted earlier.
35. For these reasons, I find the Council at fault. I find this fault caused Miss X and B injustice because it caused uncertainty, distress and frustration.

Communication and complaint handling

36. Miss X complained the Council’s communication and complaint handling were poor (part c of the complaint).
37. The Council accepted in its complaint responses that there had been delays in its complaint handling and its communication had been poor. It accepted that its stage two complaint response was poor. It acknowledged that Miss X had needed to repeatedly ask the Council to respond, answer questions, and update her.
38. I find the Council at fault for its poor complaint handling and its poor communication. I find this caused Miss X injustice because it caused unnecessary and avoidable distress, frustration and uncertainty.
39. In its complaint response, the Council offered Miss X £250 to reflect her time and trouble during the complaint process. I have looked at the impact of the Council’s poor complaint handling and its poor communication together. I consider the Council’s offer was not appropriate or proportionate for the level of injustice caused here. I have addressed this below (see paragraph 42).

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Action

40. In an earlier draft of this decision, I proposed the Council should apologise to Miss X for the injustice caused by the faults, and make a payment to her of £1700. This £1700 was made up as follows:
• For part a of the complaint: our usual remedy for delay issuing Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans is £100 per month of delay. In this case, the Council delayed by 12 months. 12 months multiplied by £100 per month equals £1200.
• For parts b and c of the complaint: I considered our guidance on remedies which sets out a maximum of £500 for distress, frustration and uncertainty. I took into account the lengths of time involved here, the significance of the injustice to Miss X and B, the efforts Miss X went to in trying to communicate with the Council, and her time and trouble. I found the maximum £500 was an appropriate and proportionate amount to remedy the level of injustice.
• £1200 plus £500 equals £1700.
41. Since the draft, the Council has sent Miss X this apology and has offered her £1700 to remedy the injustice. This is positive.
42. Within four weeks of this decision, the Council should provide us with evidence it has successfully made this payment to Miss X.
43. I considered the report we issued the Council in February 2025 and the subsequent action plan which addresses the underlying cause of the issues identified here. Because there is already an action plan in place, I did not consider it necessary to suggest further service improvements.

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Decision

44. I find fault causing injustice. The Council agreed to take actions to remedy injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman