Council to pay £6k “symbolic payment” to family of child who missed full year of education due to its failures
An investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council at fault for failing to provide a child with suitable education for a whole year, and taking too long to issue an education, health and care (EHC) plan.
The woman behind the complaint, Ms M, said the council failed to arrange alternative education for her son, B, when he stopped attending school in February 2023.
She said the school was “unable to meet his needs” and that his mental health had declined following an incident at the school.
According to the report, the Ombudsman understood that the school initially recorded B’s absence as “unauthorised” and was considering legal action.
The mother asked the local authority to undertake an EHC needs assessment on 28 April 2023, and it agreed to undertake the assessment on 8 June 2023.
Following the assessment, the council issued a draft EHC Plan on 8 September 2023, by which time the child had been out of education for around seven months.
Ms M complained to her MP in December 2023. She said B was currently not attending school and had been without education since February 2023.
The council issued a final EHC Plan on 31 January 2024. The Plan said B would attend a special school.
On 1 February 2024, Walsall responded to Ms M’s MP, explaining it had found a special school for B. The council apologised for the delay identifying a suitable school.
The mother complained to the council but, unsatisfied with its response, complained to the Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman described the council’s failure to provide B with suitable education from February 2023 until he started at a special school a year later as a “significant injustice”.
The investigation also found that the council took “too long” to issue B’s EHC Plan.
The Ombudsman observed: “The procedure for assessing a child’s special educational needs and issuing an Education, Health and Care Plan is set out in legislation and Government guidance. The council must complete the process and issue a plan within 20 weeks. The council took 39 weeks. If the council had completed the process on time, it is possible B would have started special school in September 2023, not February 2024.”
To remedy the injustice caused, the council was asked to:
- apologise for the faults identified; and
- offer a “symbolic payment” of £6,000 to acknowledge the education B missed, and the impact of his absence from education.
A Walsall Council spokesperson said: “The council is committed to providing our children and young people with the best possible education that meets their needs.
“The council will always try and resolve complaints prior to a customer contacting the Ombudsman. The council has accepted fault and has agreed to the recommended actions set out in the final decision.”
Lottie Winson
