Ombudsman investigation sees council pay £22k to mother of autistic man who missed most of his secondary education

The payment follows an investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and is intended to reflect the impact the lack of support had on the man.

The man is autistic and has learning difficulties and significant communication problems.

The LGO said he received minimal schooling between 2009 and 2014. He started at a mainstream school but stopped attending regularly soon after. “This meant he received none of the speech and language therapy (SALT) or extra support in his statement of special educational needs.”

At the time, the school told Derbyshire County Council the boy was being educated elsewhere, but very little work was sent home. His behaviour worsened and his mother asked that he attend a special school. The council eventually agreed to this.

By 2014 the boy’s behaviour had deteriorated to the extent he was sectioned under the Mental Health Act with a diagnosis of schizophrenia.

The mother complained to Derbyshire and the council’s own internal investigation found numerous faults with the way it handled the case.

It found the support provided for the son was not effective and the services which would have helped him throughout his schooling were not put in place. The council reviewed areas of policy and practice as a result.

In addition to the council’s own findings, the Ombudsman’s investigation found the council’s annual reviews of the man’s education were “wholly ineffective” and did not take place after Year 10.

The £22,000 will be held in trust. The council has also agreed to pay the mother £1,000 for the distress and uncertainty its actions caused.

Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: “I welcome the steps the council has already taken to apologise to the family, learn from its mistakes and improve its policies and procedures to ensure this should not happen again.

“And, while we cannot say to what extent the lack of therapy and support has had on the man’s condition, I am pleased it has also accepted my recommendation to pay the family an amount which should provide him with a space to manage his mental health.”

A Derbyshire County Council spokesperson said: “We accepted failings in this case and have apologised.

"Since this case, which happened some years ago, we have reviewed areas of policy and practice to try to make sure this does not happen again.”