Summary: There was fault by the Council in failing to follow through with an agreement to make exam arrangements for a child receiving Education Otherwise than at School. The fault over two years caused immense distress. The Council has apologised, offered a symbolic financial payment, and enrolled the pupil in the preferred exam. The Council has agreed further corrective action to secure the exam arrangements this year, and to make service improvements.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council failed to arrange a GCSE maths exam and functional skills English exam for her daughter, Y, that it had promised to do in 2023.
2. Ms X says the Council failed to keep her up to date and repeatedly failed to respond to her requests for information.
3. Ms X says that this has caused distress and anxiety to Y who was unable to take the exams she was working for. The fault also caused unnecessary time and trouble to Ms X.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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)
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).

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

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

Back to top

What I found

What happened

9. Y receives education otherwise than at school (EOTAS).
10. At an annual review of Y’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan in 2023, Ms X says Council officers formally agreed Y would sit GCSE Maths and English Functional Skills Level 2 at home with invigilation as a reasonable adjustment for her disability.
11. The English tutor contacted the Council in November 2023 asking the Council to start the process to book exams. Ms X chased the Council over the Winter when she had received no response. The Council acknowledged in its complaints response it had failed to respond to these emails. The Council said the caseworker left the service at this time.
12. The new caseworker sought to arrange the exam via a school but did not complete the paperwork for access arrangements in time.
13. The Council sought to rebook the exams for the next sitting. It did reach out to providers and arranged an Early Access arrangement assessment for October 2024 with a tutoring company. Ms X was constantly chasing the Council and was advised arrangements were in hand.
14. In December the tutoring company told the Council they were not an exam centre and could not in fact support Y to do the exams. The Council was able to book exams through a school but could not find an invigilator.
15. Ms X chased the Council again in January 2025. The Council sent several emails to remote and in person invigilators but acknowledged in its complaint response ‘all deadlines had been missed’ and Y was therefore unable to sit exams a second time.
16. The Council set out actions in Spring 2025 in response to upholding the complaint. It said it would send Ms X details of exam providers so she could explore who might be appropriate to support Y and would stay in touch with Ms X weekly.
17. Ms X asked for the complaint to go to stage two as she did not agree with the Council expecting her to source an exam invigilator herself and the remedy of an apology.
18. The Council’s stage two response said one of the providers it had contacted in February 2025 had advised the medical criteria for sitting exams at home was not met, but they could offer onsite support. The Council noted this information had not been shared with Ms X. The Council noted Ms X had found a provider that would support functional exams at home, but not GCSE.
19. The actions from the stage two complaint were that the Council would meet Ms X to formalise exam arrangements for functional exams to take place as soon as possible; a senior manager would provide an apology; and the Council would make a symbolic payment of £500 for the missed exams in the previous twelve months only.
20. A month later the Council wrote to Ms X stating there was no medical evidence to support Y sitting GCSE exams at home and so it could not arrange this. It said it had made previous commitments without full knowledge of the requirements. It said functional exams could be sat online at home, but Y would need to sit GCSE exams at a centre.
21. Ms X complained to us in September 2025 that functional exams were being substituted for the Maths GCSE the Council had originally agreed to arrange and challenging that Y did not meet the medical criteria to do GCSE exams at home. Ms X was also concerned the exams had not yet been arranged despite the agreed action to do so.
22. In response to our enquiries the Council looked at the case again. In January 2026, it said it had reviewed its decision about the criteria, changed its decision, and identified a provider so Y could sit exams at home. It said Ms X had been informed and the matter was ‘progressing’.
23. The Council advised in view of the significant delay and impact this had on Y it proposed to increase the symbolic remedy to £2000.
24. Ms X told me she received a further update from the Council in February 2026 confirming Y was entered for Maths GCSE as a private candidate and the Council was working on ensuring invigilation was in place. Ms X told us in mid-April 2026 she has not had any update from the Council, and it is now only a month before the first exam on 14 May.

Analysis

25. The Council has admitted fault over two consecutive years (2024 and 2025). It has also accepted it did not maintain good levels of communication with Ms X.
26. The impact of the fault was Ms X has been put to significant time and trouble to make sure Y can sit exams and Y has been repeatedly disappointed in not being able to sit exams she has been working towards. Ms X says this has taken an emotional toll on Y.
27. The Council now agrees Y can sit the exam at home as a private candidate. It says Y has now been entered for the exam, and invigilator arrangements are ‘in hand’, however a month from the first exam the Council had not provided details to Ms X and time is now of the essence.
28. The Council has apologised and offered a symbolic financial payment of £2000. I consider this is a satisfactory remedy for the missed exams in 2024 and 2025. The Council must now urgently confirm the arrangements for the 2026 exams.

Action

29. Within four weeks of my final decision, the Council will pay Ms X the £2000 financial remedy if it has not already done so.
30. The Council will make the outstanding exam arrangements as a matter of urgency and confirm the details with Ms X, bearing in mind the first exam is due to take place on 14 May 2026.
31. Within two months of my final decision, the Council will review its processes and internal guidance / training to ensure officers have access to a list of exam providers and centres locally that accept private candidates, including for pupils who need access arrangements, or to sit exams at home, and that the process and criteria for enrolling pupils is clear to all relevant staff. The Council may wish to consider including information about exam arrangements for EOTAS pupils in its local offer.

32. The Council will provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

Back to top

Decision

33. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed actions to remedy injustice.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman