Summary: Ms X complained about the Council’s handling of her child’s Education, Health and Care Plan and failures in reviewing it. We found the Council at fault for delays, poor communication and not maintaining appropriate oversight of her child’s home education. This caused significant frustration, distress and uncertainty. The Council agreed to apologise, make a symbolic payment to recognise the injustice caused, and take action to prevent future recurrence of fault.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council previously named an unsuitable placement for her child which forced her to home educate them, and about its handling of the Education, Health and Care needs assessment process in 2023. She said the Council also failed to review her child’s Education, Health and Care Plan in 2024 and delayed its decision with the 2025 review. She says this caused her family significant frustration, distress and uncertainty, and her child missed appropriate education.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. 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)
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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What I have and have not investigated

6. Ms X’s complaint refers to the process and an unsuitable placement named in a final Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan in 2023. Ms X complained to us in summer 2025. Part of the complaint is therefore late (see Paragraph 3). I will not consider that far back as I am satisfied Ms X could have complained to us sooner about this earlier period. In addition, she had appeal rights which she could have used at the time if she disagreed with this Plan. I am considering events from summer 2024 (12 months prior to Ms X coming to us).
7. We normally consider events up to the point a council issues a final complaint response, in this case July 2025. I decided to consider up to January 2026 (when the Council issued a final EHC Plan) for the part about delays with the 2025 annual review. This is because it related to ongoing fault Ms X mentioned in her formal complaint which continued up to that point.

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How I considered this complaint

8. I discussed the complaint with Ms X and considered her views.
9. I made enquiries of the Council and considered its written responses and information it provided, as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
10. Ms X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Law and administrative background

Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans

11. A child 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. Parents have a right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal. This is only engaged once a final EHC Plan has been issued.

Reviewing EHC Plans

12. 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 process is only complete when the council issues its decision to amend, maintain or cease to maintain 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).
13. Where the council proposes to amend an EHC Plan, the law says it must send the child’s parent a copy of the existing (non-amended) Plan and an accompanying notice providing details of the proposed amendments, including copies of any evidence to support the proposed changes. (Section 22(2) Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 and SEN Code paragraph 9.194). Case law sets out this should happen within four weeks of the date of the review meeting. Case law also found councils must issue the final amended EHC Plan within a further eight weeks.

Elective Home Education (EHE)

14. Parents have a right to educate their children at home (Section 7, Education Act 1996). 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.
15. In cases where an EHC plan gives the name of a school or type of school where the child will be educated and the parents decide to educate at home, the local authority is not under a duty to make the special educational provision set out in the plan provided it is satisfied that the arrangements made by the parents are suitable. The local authority must review the plan annually to assure itself that the provision set out in it continues to be appropriate and that the child’s SEN continue to be met (SEND Code paragraph 10.32)
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 Council has its own Elective Home Education Protocol which explains its responsibilities.

Background

17. In spring 2023, the Council issued a final Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan for Ms X’s child (Y) naming a placement. Ms X said this setting was unsuitable for Y, causing significant distress. She said she felt she had no choice but to home educate Y. She informed the Council of this in summer 2023. The next month, the Council issued an amended EHC Plan reflecting Y being home educated. Ms X did not appeal against this.

What happened – summary of key relevant events I am considering

18. At the start of November 2024, the Council arranged an annual review meeting with Ms X. The Council did not have a record of what was discussed in this.
19. In January 2025, the Council emailed Ms X requesting a school preference for Y to progress with an amended EHC Plan. It said Ms X did not respond.
20. At the end of May 2025, Ms X made a formal complaint. Relevant to what I am considering, she said despite chasing, she had not received consistent or substantive contact from the Council about Y’s EHC Plan. She said caseworkers were on prolonged leave or uncontactable, and it missed Y’s 2024 annual review. She said Y remained without appropriate provision with no statutory right to appeal. She felt forced to home educate Y as a last resort since 2023.
21. At the end of June 2025, the Council held an annual review. It also responded to Ms X’s complaint. It apologised for missing the 2024 annual review. It said after the 2023 EHC Plan, Ms X exercised her right to home educate so she was responsible for providing education and special educational provision to Y. It apologised for the poor standard of communication. It accepted even with long term sickness, another caseworker could have stepped in. It was currently amending the EHC Plan. It offered Ms X £300 to reflect the missed annual review.
22. In late July 2025, Ms X challenged the Council’s response and escalated her complaint. She added she had still not received a draft amended EHC Plan after the 2025 annual review, in breach of the statutory timeframe of 4 weeks.
23. The Council responded at Stage 2 and maintained its findings from its previous complaint response. In early August 2025, Ms X complained to us.

Events after Ms X’s complaint to us

24. In late autumn 2025, the Council sent Ms X an amended draft EHC Plan. She made comments. In January 2026, the Council issued a final EHC Plan for Y.

The Council’s response to my enquiries

25. I asked the Council to evidence its actions to monitor and satisfy itself that Y was receiving a suitable full-time education since being home educated.
26. In response, the Council said it amended Y’s EHC Plan to reflect them being home educated in 2023, however its SEND team did not communicate this to its Elective Home Education (EHE) team. The EHE team were not informed until July 2025. It said after this, it acted as per its processes in its EHE Protocol to contact Ms X about Y’s education. It said it had strengthened the working between its teams by creating a new Protocol.

Analysis

2024 and 2025 annual reviews

27. The 2024 annual review was late. The Council arranged an annual review in November 2024. This was three months after it should have already completed this (by August 2024). The Council then did not issue a formal decision or draft amended Plan in line with statutory processes (within four weeks). It should have issued a final EHC Plan within 12 weeks of the meeting (by January 2025). It failed to do this and let the case drift without an outcome for Ms X. The Council accepted its faults here along with poor communication with Ms X due to caseworkers on long term absence with no handovers.
28. In response to Ms X’s formal complaint, the Council held another annual review in June 2025. It acknowledged its shortcomings with the previous annual review (it failed to complete it). However, despite this, the Council’s fault continued, and Ms X raised further concerns with more delay. After this, it should have issued a final EHC Plan by late September 2025. It did not do this until January 2026 – a further delay of nearly four months.
29. Overall, the Council did not review Y’s EHC Plan within legal timeframes and over two annual reviews, it failed to make timely formal decisions. There were long gaps in contact with Ms X even when she sent repeated chasers for updates. These faults caused her significant frustration and distress and excessively delayed her access to her statutory appeal rights over a prolonged period (over 14 months). It also had poor record keeping as it could not evidence records of what it discussed in the November 2024 annual review with Ms X.
30. The Council offered a remedy for the delayed 2024 annual review. This is positive. However, I recommended an increase to this below to recognise the continued fault and further injustice to Ms X with the 2025 annual review.

Elective Home Education (EHE)

31. I recognise part of Ms X’s complaint refers to historic Council actions with Y’s unsuitable placement in 2023 and she said this failure left her no choice but to home educate Y since. As per Paragraph 6, I am not making findings on the events that led to this. But the Council has responsibilities with home educated children, and I consider this matter from summer 2024.
32. The Council must satisfy itself that parents who EHE are able to provide suitable education, including for a child’s SEN. The Council’s EHE team did not appropriately monitor or maintain oversight with Y’s home education. It did not make checks at the time and let it drift until July 2025. This is fault with a lack of a joined up and co-ordinated approach within its Council’s teams.
33. Ms X sent me emails she sent to the Council since summer 2024 but I cannot see she specifically informed the Council if she was experiencing difficulties with providing Y a suitable education. But in any event, the Council did not act in line with its duties. I cannot say whether Y missed appropriate education; that was the Council’s role to assess. But this has resulted in uncertainty for Ms X with possible missed opportunities for the Council to satisfy itself whether Y was receiving a suitable education earlier, and if it could have done something sooner which may have impacted Y’s education at the time. This uncertainty is injustice to Ms X.

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Agreed Action

34. To remedy the injustice set out above, the Council agreed to carry out the following actions:
35. Within one month of the final decision:
1. Apologise to Ms X and Y (in line with our guidance on making an effective apology) for the injustice caused by the faults identified; and
2. Pay Ms X a symbolic payment totalling £650. This is made up of:
• £500 to recognise the injustice of frustration and distress with poor communication and delays with the 2024 and 2025 annual reviews; and
• £150 to recognise the injustice of uncertainty with the lack of oversight about Y’s home education between 2024 and 2025.
36. Within three months of the final decision:
• The Council should share with us the new protocol it created to ensure better co-working between its SEND and EHE teams when monitoring home educated children in its area; and
• It should also share a copy of this decision to its SEND and EHE teams, highlighting the specific lessons learned from this case and review what caused the delays with both annual reviews. It should provide evidence of action it has taken to prevent future recurrence of faults identified, including any process in place to ensure cases are covered when officers have long term absence.
37. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

38. I find fault causing injustice. The Council agreed to the recommendations to remedy the injustice. I have completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman