Council told to pay over £7k after failing to provide alternative education for autistic boy

An investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found that Oxfordshire County Council failed to provide alternative education for a boy with autism for a year.

The council has been told it needs to pay £5,000 to the boy’s mother to make up for the 12 months education he missed when he was unable to attend school, and a further £2,200 to reimburse the cost of the educational psychologist she had to commission because of the council’s delays.

The Ombudsman revealed that the council has not yet accepted the recommendations set out in the report.

The woman behind the complaint asked the Ombudsman to investigate after her autistic son was left without education when he became too anxious to attend his primary school.

She told the Ombudsman the lack of proper education had had a “significant impact on her daily life and employment.”

The report revealed that the council claimed the boy was receiving appropriate online education from the school after he stopped attending in June 2021, until February 2022.

However, both the council and the mother’s evidence suggest this education was “unsuitable” because there was no direct teaching, and what was offered was “not based on the boy’s needs”. The boy was not given any education at all between February and June 2022, the Ombudsman found.

The report revealed that the council did not check what education was on offer, did not review whether the school could meet the boy’s needs, or find out whether the online education the school was providing was enough to meet his needs when he remained out of school.

The Ombudsman investigated and concluded that there was fault with the way the council “requested medical evidence to show why the boy could not attend school, which is contrary to guidance".

The council was also criticised for the six-month delay faced by the family while it carried out a needs assessment to create an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) for the boy.

The Ombudsman noted this should have taken 20 weeks, meaning it took longer than it should to “identify the boy’s needs and the provision he required” and delayed the mother’s ability to “challenge the content of the EHCP at a tribunal”.

Faults were also found with the way the council handled the mother’s complaints, including delays and poor communication.

To remedy the injustice caused, alongside the total of £7,200 to be paid by the council, the Ombudsman has recommended the council:

• ensure officers are aware of the council’s duty under section 19 of the Education Act 1996 to provide suitable education to children unable to attend school and the factors they should consider when deciding whether alternative provision should be made; and
• ensure it has procedures for tracking pupils who require alternative provision, including for absences other than for medical reasons, to ensure that provision is regularly reviewed to meet their education and special educational needs.

Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: “Councils have a duty to ensure alternative education is provided and they cannot delegate this duty to schools or other providers.

“I issued a special report about this issue earlier this year, and I am concerned that the evidence I have seen during this investigation suggests officers do not always understand their obligations in this respect.

“I am disappointed Oxfordshire County Council has not accepted the recommendations I have set out in my report. The local democratic process the report will now go through will allow council members to formally decide what value the council places on the lessons that can be learned from this case.”

Oxfordshire County Council has been approached for comment.

Lottie Winson