Summary: We will not investigate Ms M’s complaint about the direct occupational therapy her son B has missed because there is no worthwhile outcome achievable until the bigger problem of B’s school attendance is resolved.

The complaint

1. Ms M complained about delay by the Council arranging the occupational therapy in her son B’s education, health and care (EHC) plan.
2. After making her complaint, Ms M contacted us to say that her son has not attended school since July 2025. She said she had requested alternative provision and an early review of his EHC plan, but the Council had not responded.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the organisation knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5))

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

7. The Council issued B’s education, health and care (EHC) plan in February 2025. The plan said B would receive one hour of direct occupational therapy each week, initially for 20 weeks, focused on improving his movement, balance, and coordination through sensory therapy.
8. B was not attending school at the time. He enrolled at a community primary school in May 2025. We considered events to May 2025 in Ms M’s previous complaint.
9. At the beginning of July 2025, Ms M complained to the Council that B was not receiving the weekly one-hour sessions of direct occupational therapy. He had missed approximately 8 sessions of occupational therapy.
10. The Council responded at both stages of its complaints process. The Council acknowledged that it was legally responsible for B’s occupational therapy and explained how it had been working with the school to make the necessary arrangements. The Council said the school’s request for additional funding would be considered by a panel, and any increase in funding would be backdated.
11. Unhappy with the Council’s response, and the fact B was still not receiving the occupational therapy, Ms M complained to us in October 2025.
12. The Council’s response was warm and empathetic, but it does not offer any resolution. Three months had passed since Ms M made her complaint, and B was no nearer receiving the occupational therapy in his plan.
13. The Council only “partially upheld” Ms M’s complaint even though the Council has absolute responsibility for ensuring the occupational therapy in B’s EHC plan is delivered. The Council’s negotiations with the school about funding do not concern Ms M.
14. When we investigate complaints about missed provision, we would usually ask the Council to demonstrate it has taken the necessary steps to arrange the missed provision, to ensure the child receives all the provision to which he is entitled, and that it has considered how to make up for the delay.
15. It is unlikely those steps would be appropriate while B is not attending school. There is, regrettably, no worthwhile outcome we could achieve by investigating Ms M’s complaint now. It appears there are bigger problems to sort out first.
16. Once B has returned to school, Ms M can ask the Council to take the steps outlined in paragraph 14 above. If she is unhappy with the Council’s response, she can complain to us again.
17. Ms M contacted us in November 2025 and January 2026 to say that B remained out of school. She said she had requested alternative education and an early review of his EHC plan but had not had a response from the Council.
18. The law says councils must be made aware of a complaint and have had an opportunity to respond before we can investigate. This means using the Council’s formal complaints procedure. If Ms M has not already done so, she might consider making a formal complaint to the Council about B’s lack of education. If she is unhappy with the Council’s response, she can make a new complaint to us.

Back to top

Final decision

19. We will not investigate Ms M’s complaint about the occupational therapy her son B missed because there is no worthwhile outcome achievable until the bigger problem of B’s school attendance is resolved.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman