A non-verbal Autistic boy was left without the specialist education support he needed to help him communicate for more than a year because of faults by City of York Council, a Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman report has found.

The boy uses a sign, symbol and speech system called Makaton to communicate with the world around him, along with other methods such as pointing to objects and gestures.

The Ombudsman's investigation into a complaint from the boy’s family found the council failed in its legal duty to make sure the boy's teaching staff were properly trained in Makaton. His Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan states it was necessary for every member of staff in his classroom be trained to levels three and four.

For more than a year, the Ombudsman found either no staff member, or at most one, held the level of qualification required. Training was patchy and slow, with staff still learning Makaton while they were teaching the boy.

The council argued the impact was reduced because staff were using other approaches, including gestalt language processing, as part of a broader "total communication" method. The Ombudsman did not agree.

The Ombudsman also had concerns about the way the council handled the family's complaint. It took too long to issue a formal response, and the mother was repeatedly left chasing for updates, at one point even being asked by the council to confirm herself whether the problems had been fixed.

When the boy’s mother complained, the council arranged and paid for Makaton training and offered the family a substantial financial remedy. The Ombudsman welcomed this but said it still did not reflect the significance of what the family had been through and recommended a further payment.

Julie Odams, Chief Executive at the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said:

“A legal duty to a disabled child is not something a council can work around. If an EHC Plan says a child needs Makaton to communicate, finding other ways to navigate the school day is not good enough. That duty was non-delegable and absolute.

“I recognise City of York Council had taken steps to put things right before the family approached us. Unfortunately that doesn't change the fact that for more than a year, a little boy who relies on Makaton to be understood was left without it.

“Every council holding an EHC Plan should check provision is in place when the plan starts, check it every year, and act quickly when someone raises a concern. That is how councils can be sure a child is getting the support their EHC Plan expects."

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 make a payment to the mother to reflect the missed educational provision.

The Ombudsman has the power to make recommendations to improve processes for the wider public. In this case the council will review its procedures for checking that provision specified in an EHC Plan is in place from the start of a new or amended Plan, create an action plan to reduce delays in Makaton training and increase its commissioning of trainers.

Article date: 05 November 2026