Summary: Mrs X complained her son has been out of education since July 2024 due to delays in the Education Health and Care Plan process. She says the alternative provision has been limited and does not amount to a full-time suitable education which she says has left her unable to work and has caused distress to the whole family. There were delays and the Council failed to properly consider its duties to provide a suitable full-time education including provision for special educational needs. A remedy including an apology and symbolic payment is agreed.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained her son has been out of education since July 2024 due to delays in the EHC Plan process by the Council. She says the alternative provision has been limited and does not amount to a full-time suitable education.
2. Mrs X says she has been unable to work and the situation has caused stress to the whole family.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 recommend a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. 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

5. We normally consider matters up to the point the complaint is submitted to the Ombudsman. Mrs X complained to us in November 2025. However, I have decided it is appropriate to consider matters up to the point when my investigation started which is July 2026.

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How I considered this complaint

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

EHC Plan 

8. 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

9. 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)  
10. We accept it is not practical for councils to keep a ‘watching brief’ on whether schools and others are providing all the special educational provision in section F for every pupil with an EHC Plan. We consider councils should be able to demonstrate appropriate oversight in gathering information to fulfil their legal duty. At a minimum we expect them to have systems in place to: 

• check the special educational provision is in place when a new or amended EHC Plan is issued or there is a change in educational placement; 
• check the provision at least annually during the EHC review process; and 
• quickly investigate and act on complaints or concerns raised that the provision is not in place at any time. 

Reviewing EHC Plans

11. 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) 
12. If the council decides not to amend an EHC Plan or decides to cease to maintain it, it must inform the child’s parents or the young person of their right to appeal the decision to the tribunal.
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.

Reassessments of EHC Plans

14. 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.
15. The council can refuse a request for a reassessment if less than six months have passed since a previous EHC needs assessment. It can also refuse a request if it does not think it is necessary, for example because it does not feel a child or young person’s needs have changed significantly.
16. 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.
17. 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.

Section 19 duty

18. Section 19 of the Education Act 1996 says that a 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.

Key Facts

19. This section sets out the key events in this case and is not intended to be a detailed chronology.
20. Mrs X’s son, Z, stopped attending school following a serious incident in July 2024. The Council became aware of this at the EHC Plan annual review meeting held on 4 September 2024. The school arranged a placement one day a week at an alternative education provision and he attended 11 sessions. The arrangement was cancelled at the end of the Spring Term in 2025 as Z was struggling to engage.
21. The school arranged online tuition for Z from September 2025 for four days per week. In May 2026 Mrs X notified the Council that the provider had changed and online tuition was only for 2.5 days per week.
22. Mrs X had requested a reassessment of Z’s needs at the annual review meeting in September 2024. The Council initially declined the request and issued a draft EHC Plan in January 2025. Mrs X submitted an appeal in respect of the refusal to reassess and in March 2025 the Council agreed to complete a reassessment.
23. After receiving the reassessment information, the Council issued a draft EHC Plan on 23 July 2025. Mrs X submitted comments on 8 August and the final EHC Plan was issued on 27 August 2025. The Council named Z’s previous school on the EHC Plan with a transfer to a specialist school when identified. The Council has consulted six specialist schools and none have been able to meet his needs. It says it will consult with another school that it hopes will be able to meet Z’s needs.

Analysis

24. The Council was aware Z was not attending school in September 2024. It has a duty under section 19 to ensure Z receives suitable full-time education, as well as a duty under Section 42 to secure the special educational provision in his EHC Plan. In response to my enquiries the Council accepts that despite knowing Z was not attending school, it took no action in September 2024 in respect of either the Section 19 or Section 42 duty. This is fault.
25. The Council can delegate the responsibility to provide education to another organisation, such as a school, but it retains the legal duty. The school where Z was on roll provided alternative education from September 2024 until March 2025 which was for one day a week. The Council has not evidenced whether it considered this suitable or looked at providing other provision to ensure it was full-time and that Z’s special educational needs were met. When this placement ended, Z was without any provision for the Summer term in 2025. This is fault.
26. From September 2025 until May 2026, the school arranged online tuition for Z. The Council has provided evidence to show it was aware of this arrangement and agreed it for the full academic year. I am therefore satisfied the Council met its statutory duties for this period. However, when Mrs X notified the Council of a change in provider and a reduction in the hours, there is no evidence to show the Council took a view on whether its Section 19 and Section 42 duty were still being met. This is fault.
27. The annual review meeting took place in September 2024 and the amended final EHC Plan was issued on 27 August 2025. The annual review should normally be completed within 12 weeks. However, this timescale was extended because a reassessment was requested, initially denied but then agreed to following mediation after Mrs X submitted an appeal. When a reassessment is agreed, the Council should issue the final EHC Plan within 14 weeks of the decision to carry out the reassessment. Therefore, in this case, the final EHC Plan should have been issued by 11 June 2025. The Council issued the final EHC Plan 11 weeks late. This is fault.

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Action

28. To remedy the injustice caused as a result of the fault identified above, the Council will, within one month of my final decision, take the following action:
• Apologise to Mrs X for the fault identified. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended; and
• Make a symbolic payment of £5,400 to recognise the lack of full-time education from September 2024 to July 2026. This amount recognises the periods when education was provided.
29. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.
30. Part of our role is also to consider any wider learning for the Council and whether we should recommend any improvements to its services. On this occasion I decided against making any such recommendations. The Ombudsman has upheld complaints concerning similar issues recently and made suitable recommendations so it is not necessary for me to recommend anything that would duplicate that work.

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Decision

31. I have completed my investigation with a finding of fault for the reasons explained in this statement. The Council has agreed to implement the actions I have recommended. These appropriately remedy any injustice caused by fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman