Summary: We have found the Council at fault for not considering its Section 19 duty when Mrs X’s child, Y was unable to attend school. Y missed nearly a year of provision at a key point in their education. The Council has agreed to apologise, make Mrs X a symbolic payment and to carry out service improvements.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council failed to provide a suitable education for her daughter under Section 19, meet statutory timescales during the EHC needs assessment process and communicate consistently with her. She said this has caused her daughter to miss education and has caused distress to the whole family.

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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. 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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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered evidence provided by Mrs X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
5. Mrs 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

6. 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.

Timescales and process for EHC assessment

7. 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 the following:
8. Where the council receives a request for an EHC needs assessment it must decide whether to agree to the assessment and send its decision to the parent of the child or the young person within six weeks.
9. 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).

Maintaining the EHC Plan

10. 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)

Section 19 duty

11. 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.

Establishing a section 19 duty

12. If a council discovers a child is absent from school for an extended period, it should consider the reasons for this and take account of evidence from relevant parties (such as the child’s school, parents, and medical professionals). It must then decide whether it has a duty to make alternative educational provision.
13. If a council wants to see medical or other evidence, it should ask for it at the earliest opportunity. The council should account for any challenges a parent might have in obtaining evidence, and review its position based on any new evidence it receives.
14. Councils should consider any attempts the school is making to support the child. This might involve sending work home for the child to complete, arranging disability related support, placing the child on a reduced timetable, or providing online education as a short-term measure. If there is a clear, effective, and time-bound plan for reintegration then there may be no immediate role for the council in providing alternative education.

What happened

15. Mrs X’s child, Y has SEN and an EHC Plan. The Council issued Y’s Final EHC Plan in June 2024. Y stopped attending the named school in July. Y was off- rolled at the end of term in July 2024.
16. At Mrs X’s request, the school added her back on roll at the start of term in September 2024.
17. In September, Y’s school held an emergency review. Mrs X said at this meeting, it was agreed that Y would not be returning to school. The school sent the review paperwork to the Council. At this time, there was some confusion in the Council as to whether Y was on roll at school or being homeschooled.
18. In November, Mrs X complained that the emergency review process was delayed and that Y had been without education since September 2024. The Council apologised for the delay and said the panel would consider the case in January 2025.
19. Mrs X escalated her complaint in February when the Council failed to make contact. In March, the Council issued its response. It said that the school received Y’s SEN funding and therefore, it was responsible to secure education for Y. The Council said it was only aware that Y was not attending school in November and that the school had provided a provision map setting out the education and SEN provision available to Y at school. The Council accepted that its communication with Mrs X was poor. It recommended a symbolic financial remedy for the delays, poor communication and missed education.
20. The Council issued Y’s final amended EHC Plan in April 2025. It then wrote to Mrs X and explained that the SEN team did not agree to the Council’s recommendation to make a symbolic payment in recognition of Y’s missed education. It said the Council had monitored Y’s attendance in line with its section 19 duties and held targeted support discussions in November and March. In addition, the school followed its attendance policy and provided Y with schoolwork.
21. In May, the Council secured a new school placement for Y to start in June 2025. It issued a final amended EHC Plan naming this school.
22. Mrs X continued to pursue the Council for a financial remedy in recognition of the education Y missed between September 2024 and June 2025. During this period, Mrs X had privately funded some alternative provision that she believed the Council should reimburse.
23. Mrs X brought her complaint to the Ombudsman in September 2025.

Update

24. The Council acknowledged that there was some discrepancy between the provision that the school said was available to Y, and what Y received. In October 2025, the Council agreed to reimburse Mrs X for the alternative provision she secured and paid for Y.
25. Mrs X said the impact of Y being out of school for nearly a year has made it difficult for Y to settle into her new school. Mrs X said that Y is back at home but this time, the new school is providing support and education.

My findings

Missed education

26. Mrs X’s child, Y was out of school between September 2024 and June 2025 (year 9). The Council said it was not aware that Y was not attending school until November 2024. Y’s school held an emergency review in September 2024 and forwarded the paperwork to the Council. From the evidence I have seen, the Council was aware that Y was not in school from September 2024 but believed her to be off-rolled and receiving home education. There is no evidence that the Council sought confirmation of this until Mrs X complained in November 2024.
27. I have found fault with the Council for its poor communication and case management. This resulted in Y being without education between September and November 2024.
28. Once the Council was fully aware that Y was not attending school despite being on roll, it should have considered its Section 19 duty. It did not, believing that it was the school’s responsibility to secure alternative provision. It maintained this viewpoint until it agreed to reimburse Mrs X for the tuition she had paid for in October 2025. This was fault that continued until June 2025 when Y started at a new school.
29. Our Guidance on Remedies suggests councils should make a symbolic payment between £900 and £2400 per term to remedy the injustice caused to the child from missing provision. This also covers the normal range of consequential injustice also caused to the family due to his fault. I have also considered any aggravating or mitigating factors relevant to the case.
30. Y missed the majority of year 9 which would have provided the foundation for their GCSE studies. In addition, the impact of Y being out of the school environment for a year meant they struggled to integrate into year 10 in their new school. These aggravating factors mean that the injustice caused to Y is more significant than a child not approaching public exams.
31. I have also considered the mitigating factor that Mrs X arranged some tuition during the period that Y was out of school, when neither the school nor the Council secured any. In October 2025, the Council reimbursed Mrs X approximately £5000 for the provision she arranged.
32. The Council has agreed to make Mrs X a symbolic payment of £2000 in recognition of the education Y missed. This factors in the aggregating and mitigating factors.
33. The Council has also agreed to arrange refresher training for relevant officers in relation to the Council’s section 19 duty.

Delayed EHC Plan review process

34. The Council acknowledged that it did not issue Y’s final amended EHC Plan within the statutory timescales following the emergency review. This caused frustration and delayed Mrs X’s appeal rights. The Council apologised and paid Mrs X a symbolic amount. I have not recommended anything in addition to this.

Poor communication and record-keeping

35. I have seen evidence of miscommunication both within the Council and with external partners such as Y’s school. In response to my enquiries, the Council confirmed that there appeared to be internal miscommunication, misunderstanding or differing views between teams within the Council.
36. As part of my enquiries, the Council was unable to locate key correspondence or provide evidence as to when it became aware of or acted upon the report that Y was not attending school.
37. This amounts to fault. While it is difficult to determine the specific injustice this caused Mrs X and Y, I agree with Mrs X that the £150 offered by the Council is not enough to remedy the injustice caused.
38. At the least, the poor communication and record keeping caused delays and frustration for Mrs X. At the most, it contributed significantly to Y not receiving education when she was unable to attend school.
39. The Council has agreed to make a symbolic payment of £500 in recognition of the distress the fault caused Y and their family.
40. The Council has also agreed to establish clear communication protocols and joint operating procedures among relevant departments to clarify roles and responsibilities. It should also assign dedicated contact points for service users to facilitate effective communication and follow-up.

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Agreed action

41. Within 4 weeks of my decision, the Council will:
1. Apologise to Mrs X for failing to secure suitable alternative provision when Y was unable to attend school.
2. Pay Mrs X £2000 in recognition of the impact that the missed provision had on Y.
3. Pay Mrs X £500 for the distress caused by the Council’s poor communication and record keeping.
42. Within 8 weeks of my decision, the Council will:
1. Arrange refresher training for relevant officers in relation to the Council’s section 19 duty.
2. Establish clear communication protocols and joint operating procedures among relevant departments to clarify roles and responsibilities.
3. assign dedicated contact points for service users to facilitate effective communication and follow-up.
43. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

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

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman