During Armed Forces Week the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman is urging councils across England to ensure they are genuinely meeting their legal duties to military families - after finding that Shropshire Council left an armed forces child without specialist education support for five months.

The family moved to Shropshire in February 2025 as part of a military posting. Because the child had an Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan, Shropshire Council had been informed of the move two months in advance. Despite this, it failed to arrange a school placement or put interim education in place when the family arrived. After limited online schooling arranged by the previous council ended in April 2025, the child had no education at all for several months at the start of his GCSE preparation course.

The mother made repeated attempts to contact the council, to which its responses were described by the Ombudsman as "woefully inadequate". When she formally complained, the council took four months to provide a final response, offered no adequate remedy, and made no reference to the Armed Forces Covenant.

Amerdeep Clarke, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said:

"Armed Forces Week is a moment for the nation to recognise the sacrifices made by those who serve. But recognition must be matched by action. The Armed Forces Covenant is not a gesture - it is a legal duty, and it exists precisely because service families already face considerable disruption through no fault of their own. Senior leaders sign up to covenants, but what matters is that this commitment is felt in the everyday decisions that affect people's lives.

“When a family moves as part of a military posting, the very least they should be able to expect is that the council has their child's support in place from day one. In this case, the council had two months' notice and still left a child with significant special educational needs without his specialist provision for the best part of half a year during the critical start of his GCSE studies.

"I would urge every council in England to look at this case and satisfy themselves that they are genuinely meeting their obligations to armed forces families. The Covenant is not a box-ticking exercise."

The Armed Forces Covenant places a legal duty on councils to ensure military families face no disadvantage in the provision of public services. The SEND Code of Practice specifically requires that transitions are well managed for service children with special educational needs, and that councils work proactively to ensure provision is in place from the moment a child arrives.

Shropshire has around six military bases within its boundaries. The Ombudsman's report notes that the council's own Armed Forces Covenant Action Plan 2025–29 acknowledges outstanding challenges around SEN provision for service children, making the failure to act in this case all the more concerning.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman remedies injustice and shares learning from investigations to help improve public, and adult social care, services. In this case the council has agreed to apologise and pay the mother £3,000 to reflect the missed provision.

The Ombudsman has the power to make recommendations to improve processes for the wider public. In this case the council will review its Armed Forces Covenant Action Plan and implement changes to SEND procedures to ensure service children with SEND do not experience gaps in their education when moving into Shropshire.

Article date: 24 June 2026