Summary: Miss X complained the Council did not provide her son, Y, with alternative provision when he was unable to attend school, took too long to complete his Education, Health and Care Plan and did not provide the specialist provision in the plan. We found fault by the Council in all matters. The Council has agreed to apologise and make symbolic payments to recognise the injustice caused to Miss X and Y.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council did not provide her child, Y, with alternative provision when he was unable to attend school due to his mental health. She also complained the Council took too long to complete Y’s Education, Health and Care Plan and failed to provide the provision in Section F of the plan.
2. Miss X stated the Council’s failings resulted in Y missing education and provision he is entitled to and negatively impacted his wellbeing. Miss X also explained the lack of provision caused her stress, frustration, financial disadvantage and put her to avoidable time and trouble.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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. 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. Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).
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. I have exercised discretion to investigate matters from May 2023 onwards. This is because Miss X was unwell during this period and was unable to complain and so I do not consider it was reasonable to be expect her to have complained 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 before making a final decision.

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What I found

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. 
11. 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: 

• 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. 
• The process of assessing needs and developing EHC Plans “must be carried out in a timely manner”. Steps must be completed as soon as practicable. 
• If the council goes on to carry out an assessment, it must decide whether to issue an EHC Plan or refuse to issue a Plan within 16 weeks.
• 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);  
• Councils must give the child’s parent or the young person 15 days to comment on a draft EHC Plan and express a preference for an educational placement.

12. The EHC Plan is set out in sections which include: 
• Section F: The special educational provision needed by the child or the young person.
13. The council must decide whether to conduct a reassessment of a child or young person’s EHC Plan if this is requested by the child’s parent, the young person or their educational placement. The council may also decide to complete a reassessment if it thinks one is necessary.
14. The council must tell the child’s parent or the young person whether it will complete an EHC needs reassessment within 15 calendar days of receiving the request. If the decision is not to reassess, the council must also provide information about the right to appeal that decision to the Tribunal.
15. If the council agrees to an EHC needs reassessment, it has 14 weeks to issue the final EHC Plan from the date it agreed to reassess to the date it issues the final amended EHC Plan.

Alternative provision

16. 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.
17. 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.
18. 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.
19. 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.
20. 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. Councils can decide a child cannot cope with full-time provision, especially where the reason for their non-attendance is medical. When this happens, the Council should provide reasons for the amount of provision it arranges.
21. If a child has an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan the council also has an ongoing duty to arrange the support guaranteed by the Plan. However, this might not always be possible, such as where the SEN support is designed for the child’s normal classroom setting.

Key events

22. Miss X’s son Y attended primary school Q. In June 2021 Y sustained an injury at school. Subsequently Y’s mental health declined which affected his school attendance.
23. In May 2023 Miss X told the Council Y was not attending school due to his mental health. However, Y remained without education.
24. In September Y began his final year of primary school.
25. In early October the Council provided Y with alternative provision comprising of one hour of 1:1 tuition per week in English and Maths.
26. Miss X requested additional tuition for Y. The Council added an additional 30 minutes per session of English and Maths. Therefore, Y was receiving three hours of tuition per week in total.
27. On 16 November the Council received an Education Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA) for Y. The Council requested information from the relevant professionals so it could determine the assessment.
28. The Council continued to gather information for the EHCNA throughout the period December 2023 to February 2024.
29. In mid-February 2024 Y’s alternative provision ended. Miss X asked the Council to continue providing Y with alternative provision. The Council considered it Y’s schools’ responsibility to provide him with alternative provision as he remained on the school’s roll.
30. In March Y’s caseworker advised Miss X she could contact the Access and Inclusion team to get support for Y while he was unable to attend school.
31. On 20 March the Council decided the EHCNA. It said it would issue Y with an EHC Plan.
32. Meanwhile Miss X continued to follow up her request for alternative provision for Y. In late May the Council told Miss X that Y was still on role at his school, and it reiterated its view that it was Y’s school’s responsibility to provide him with alternative provision.
33. On 16 July the Council issued Y with an EHC Plan. Section F of the plan explained the specialist provision he needed. This included:
• 1:1 catch up sessions for English and Maths for a minimum of 2 hours per week per subject.
• 1:1 teaching during the school day to introduce Y to new concepts, vocabulary and to help him focus on what is being taught.
• One session every fortnight from a teacher qualified to meet Y’s needs.

The plan named School P as Y’s placement from September.

34. In August Miss X requested changes to the ECH Plan resulting in an amended Plan being issued later that month.
35. Y started School P in September, but his mental health remained a barrier to attendance.
36. In October Miss X told the Council Y was not attending School P and she requested alternative provision for him.
37. In December School P organised an early review of Y’s EHC Plan. As part of the review Y’s Special Educational Needs (SEN) caseworker contacted Miss X to ask what she would like from the review. Miss X said she would like the provision in Y’s EHC Plan to be provided while the review was completed.
38. In January 2025 the Council held the early review of Y’s EHC Plan. Y’s SEN caseworker did not tell Miss X about the outcome of the review.
39. In March Miss X requested a full reassessment of Y’s needs and for him to be provided with an Education Other Than At School (EOTAS) package.
40. In early April Miss X followed up her requested as she had not received a response within the statutory timeframe.
41. On 7 May the Council undertook a review of Y’s EHC Plan. Miss X reiterated her request for alternative provision for Y.
42. On 15 August the Council’s panel approved Miss X’s request for a temporary EOTAs package for Y. It also issued a draft EHC Plan.
43. In September Y began receiving online school provision via his EOTAS package.
44. Throughout the period September to November the Council consulted with providers to source the provision Y needed. It also sought to secure a personal budget for his provision.
45. On 21 November the Council issued Y with a final EHC Plan. The plan did not name a placement.

Miss X’s complaints

46. Miss X complained to the Council at all stages of its complaints process. She complained the Council:
• failed to provide Y with an alternative education from May 2023 when he was unable to attend school for medical reasons. She explained she had incurred costs of £867.63 in providing provision for Y.
• did not issue Y with a final EHC Plan within the statutory timeframe; and
• failed to provide Y with the provision in section F of his EHC Plan from July 2024 onwards.
47. The Council told Miss X it would investigate her concerns but that it would only look at matters which occurred within the last 12 months and so it would only look at matters from July 2024 onwards.
48. The Council considered Miss X’s complaint at stage two and three of its complaints process. Its replies said:
• it took 14 weeks and 6 days to issue Y’s final EHC Plan and so it did not meet the statutory timeframe.
• it did not provide Y with the provision in his EHC Plan for the period it investigated. It offered a payment in recognition of the missed provision. The payment was for £1500 and was for 1.5 terms of missed provision.
• Y has been out of education during the period it investigated. It acknowledged it failed to ensure Y’s school was providing him with alternative provision. It apologised for the oversight. It also offered a payment of £250 to recognise the injustice caused to her.
• it failed to properly oversee the EHC Plan review held in January 2025 and although Miss X requested alternative provision for Y during the review it did not act on this request. It also recognised Miss X was not updated about the outcome review.
• it failed to consider Miss X’s request for EOTAS for Y when it held its panel meeting in April 2025. It also did not update Miss X on the outcome of the panel.
• it failed to consider alternative provision in response to Miss X’s request as part of the full ECH Plan review in May 2025.
49. Unhappy with the Council’s handling of Y’s case, Miss X complained to the Ombudsman. She complained about the same matters but also raised concerns the Council had wrongly referred to Y missing 1.5 terms of Section F provision in both its stage two and three complaint replies.
50. As part of her complaint Miss X provided evidence showing the expense she incurred in providing education for Y.
51. We made enquiries of the Council as part of our investigation. It told us:
• it did not investigate matters prior to February 2024 as part of Miss X’s complaint. If required, it can provide comments on the period prior to February 2024 which would support Miss Y.
• it was aware from February 2024 that Y was not attending school. However, as Y remained on roll at School P it was the school’s role to provide alternative provision. It did not pursue attendance enforcement action during this period because Y had medical needs.
• once Y’s needs and circumstances were further evidenced in August 2025 it secured alternative provision via EOTAS.
• the 1.5 terms of missed provision referred to in its stage two and three replies covers the period February 2025-July 2025. The payment was made because it was indicated that Y’s SEN caseworker would contact Miss X in February 2025 to arrange alternative provision, but this did not happen until September 2025.

Finding

Education Health and Care Plans

52. The Council received the EHCNA on 16 November 2023. It agreed to issue Y with a plan and so it should have issued this by 3 April 2024. It did not issue Y with a final EHC Plan until 16 July, nearly 15 weeks later than the statutory deadline. This is fault by the Council which caused Miss X frustration and uncertainty.
53. I also note Y was in the last year of primary school in April 2024 and so the delay in issuing his final EHC Plan may have impacted arrangements for his transition to high school.
54. Y’s EHC Plan was reviewed in January 2025. Following the review the Council failed to ensure the details of the review were recorded and shared. This is fault by the Council. As a result, we do not know the outcome of the review. This causes Miss X uncertainty and means an opportunity to help Y receive the provision and support he needed was missed. This is injustice.
55. In April 2025 a further full review of Y’s EHC Plan took place. The records of the review fail to reflect Miss X’s request for Y to have an EOTAS package. It also failed to act on an earlier request Miss X made for Y to have an EOTAS package. This is fault by the Council. I note that an EOTAS package was put in place for Y from September 2025. While I accept new information was provided as part of the full EHC Plan review, I consider that on the balance of probabilities Y’s EOTAS package would likely have been in put place sooner, save for the identified delay. This is injustice.
56. The Council commenced the full EHC Plan review on 7 May 2025 and so it should have completed it by 13 August 2025. The Council did not issue Y with a final EHC Plan until 21 November 2025. This is a delay of 13 weeks and 1 day and amounts to fault by the Council. This delay caused additional frustration and uncertainty to Miss X.

Missed Section F provision

57. The Council accepts that Y did not receive the provision set out in Section F of his EHC plan. The provision in Y’s plan should have been in place from the date his plan was issued however no provision was put in place. This is fault by the Council which meant Y did not receive the specialist provision he requires. This is injustice.
58. The Council’s complaint responses accepted Y did not receive the provision in his plan between February 2025 and July 2025. The payment offered by the Council as part of its reply to Miss X’s complaints is in keeping with our guidance on remedies and so it adequately addresses the injustice caused to Y during this period.
59. The Council’s complaint reply accepts that Y did not receive his specialist provision from July 2024. A remedy should also be provided for this period to address the injustice caused to Y from July 2024 to February 2025. This is a further term and a half of missed provision and so I recommend an additional payment is required to recognise the injustice to Y.

Alternative provision

60. Miss X told the Council Y was not attending school and was not receiving any alternative provision in May 2023. I have seen no evidence the Council made enquiries of Y’s school during this time to see what, if any, alternative provision it was putting in place for Y. This is fault. When the Council became aware that Y was not receiving provision, it should have carried out suitable enquiries to establish if it had a duty to secure alternative provision.
61. In October 2023 the Council provided Y with 12 weeks of alternative provision. I consider this demonstrates the Council accepted Y was not attending school and required alternative provision. I note the provision provided amounted to 3 hours per week and so did not equate to full-time provision.
62. The Council was aware when the alternative provision it arranged ended in February 2024. It says that it was not necessary to provide further alternative provision because Y was still on roll at his school and his school had not advised that it could not meet his needs. However, I have seen no evidence the Council made enquiries of Y’s school to see what measures it was putting in place to support Y, including providing alternative provision. This is fault. It should have acted as set out in paragraph 60.
63. Furthermore, Miss X told the Council on many occasions from February 2024 onwards that Y was not attending his school or receiving any provision. The Council did not act on these reports. The statutory guidance says the Council should become in involved when it has reason to believe that education is not being provided to a child. Therefore, it should have made enquiries following Miss X’s reports. The failure to do so is fault.
64. The Council’s failure to gather suitable information to consider if a section 19 duty meant Y missed out on suitable education from May 2023 until September 2025 when an EOTAS package was put in place.
65. Y did not receive a suitable full-time education for six and half terms between May 2023 and July 2025. I recommend a remedy in line with our Guidance on Remedies, taking into account the period Y missed out on provision included his first year of secondary school and so a significant year in his education. I have also considered that Miss Y arranged some provision for Y during this period and the costs she incurred in doing so and that Y received some alternative provision during the period October 2023 to February 2024.

Communication

66. The Council accepted that its communication with Miss X was poor and that it did not update her on actions or act on her requests. This caused Miss X significant avoidable frustration and time and trouble in pursing matters with the Council over a protracted period. This is injustice.

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Agreed Action

67. Within one month of my final decision the Council will:
• Apologise to Miss X for its poor communication and failure to consider her requests for alternative provision and an EOTAS package for Y. The apology written should be in line with the Ombudsman’s guidance on remedies on making an effective apology.
• Make a symbolic payment of £6500 (inclusive of the £1500 offered by the Council in response to Miss X’s complaint) to Miss X, on Y’s behalf to reflect the loss of educational provision between May 2023 and September 2025. This equates to £1000 per term that Y was without suitable educational provision.
• Pay Miss X £500 (inclusive of the £250 offered by the Council in its reply to Miss X’s complaint) in recognition of the distress caused by the identified fault.
68. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

69. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed to remedy the injustice caused to Miss X and Y.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman