Summary: We have found the Council not at fault for failing to secure a suitable education for Y. The Council took appropriate actions to try and secure suitable provision but for reasons beyond the Council’s control, Y was unable to engage.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains that her daughter Y has been out of school for a long time and the Council has not secured suitable education or SEN provision. She said this has caused her and Y distress and meant that Y has fallen behind her peers and struggles with anxiety from the isolation.

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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. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
5. The First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) considers appeals against council decisions regarding special educational needs. We refer to it as the Tribunal in this decision statement.
6. 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)

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What I have and have not investigated

7. Miss X brought her complaint to us in September 2025. I have therefore investigated the period 12 months before this. I have decided not to exercise my discretion as I see no good reason why Miss X did not bring her complaint to us sooner.

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How I considered this complaint

8. I considered evidence provided by Miss X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
9. Miss 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 guidance

EHC Plan

10. 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.

Maintaining the EHC Plan

11. 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)

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 council must complete the review within 12 months of the first EHC Plan and within 12 months of any later reviews. The annual review begins with consulting the child’s parents or the young person and the educational placement. A review meeting must then take place. Following the review meeting the council must issue a decision to either 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 or the young person 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.

Section 19 duty

14. 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.

What happened

Background

15. Miss X’s daughter Y has SEN and an EHC Plan. Y stopped attending school in 2022. Y struggled to engage with alternative provision due to her mental health needs.

September 2024 – September 2025

16. The Council carried out a review of Y’s EHC Plan. It advised Miss X that it intended to maintain Y’s EHC Plan and recommended to panel that the Council reassess Y’s needs.
17. The Council identified online schooling options for Y, but she was unable to engage.
18. In October, the panel agreed that the Council should carry out a reassessment. In December, the Council issued a draft amended EHC Plan. This included an Education Other Than At School (EOTAS) package in principle.
19. Between January and March, the Council discussed potential EOTAS options with Miss X including swimming, gym membership and music lessons.
20. In March, Miss X reported that Y’s mental health had declined and the options discussed earlier were no longer possible for Y. The Council made further suggestions for Miss X to consider.
21. In May, Miss X told the Council that she needed to focus on getting help for Y’s mental health and wanted to postpone any EOTAS discussions for 6 months. The Council stayed in touch with Miss X but did not pursue the education package.
22. In August, the Council contacted Miss X to try and get an EOTAS package in place for September 2025. It said this would also allow the Council to finalise Y’s EHC Plan. Miss X said that a lot had changed since May. Miss X asked for a local tutor for maths and English and said she was considering photography lessons.
23. The Council issued a final amended EHC Plan in September 2025. This included 2 hours of maths and 2 hours of English per week.

My findings

24. The Council reviewed Y’s EOTAS package and shared regular updates and offers of alternative /suitable provision with Miss X. It engaged both health and social care professionals throughout due to Y’s mental health needs which impacted upon her ability to access education.
25. The Council did not issue a final amended EHC Plan within the statutory timescale of 20 weeks from the review meeting date. However, this was due to several reasons beyond the Council’s control. Therefore, I have fallen short of finding the Council at fault here.
26. Y has been without education for a long period of time. The Council took appropriate action to source and secure suitable alternative provision for Y during the period I am investigating. Unfortunately, Y was unable to engage given her mental health issues. Therefore, I have found no fault with the Council.

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Decision

27. I find no fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman