A weekly update on children and education complaint decisions

Please note: our decisions are published six weeks after they are issued to councils, care providers and the person who has made the complaint. The cases below reflect the caselaw and guidance available at the time of issue and the individual circumstances of each case.

Sheffield City Council (23 017 818)

Summary: The Council failed to properly consider its duty to provide alternative education for Ms X's child, Z. This led to Z missing out on alternative provision and caused Ms X uncertainty and frustration. In recognition of the injustice caused, the Council has agreed to apologise, pay Ms X £1,200 and carry out service improvements.

Leeds City Council (24 002 919)

Summary: the Council's initial response when Mrs P asked for help because her son, B, was unable to attend school was good. There were delays arranging alternative provision and B only received the core offer from the Council's medical needs tuition service while Mrs P funded additional tuition. The Council has changed its procedures and has agreed a symbolic remedy for the injustice caused.

Worcestershire County Council (24 006 871)

Summary: Miss X complained the Council failed to ensure her son, Y received a suitable education after he stopped attending school in January 2024 due to anxiety. The Council accepted it should have put alternative provision in place for Y between May and July 2024. It agreed to apologise to Miss X and make payments to her to recognise Y's missed education and for the distress and frustration caused.

Suffolk County Council (24 008 675)

Summary: Miss B complained the Council delayed agreeing to reassess her son's education, health and care plan, delayed seeking advice, delayed issuing a final education, health and care plan, failed to consult the relevant professionals and failed to respond to her correspondence. Based on current evidence the Council delayed confirming it would carry out a reassessment, in seeking advice and issuing a final EHC Plan and failed to respond to some of Miss B's correspondence. That delayed Miss B's appeal rights and has left her with distress and uncertainty. An apology and payment to Miss B is satisfactory remedy.

Derbyshire County Council (24 015 704)

Summary: We have upheld this complaint because the Council delayed considering a request for an Education Health and Care needs assessment for Mrs X's child. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint by apologising and offering to make a suitable payment to Mrs X to remedy the injustice this caused.

Manchester City Council (24 016 379)

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X's complaint the Council did not agree to amend Mr X's Educational Health and Care Plan. These decisions carry a right of appeal which it would be reasonable for Mrs X to use.

Surrey County Council (24 016 887)

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about post-16 college transport for Mr X's daughter. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant an investigation.

Lancashire County Council (24 017 364)

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Education, Health and Care plan process. This is because the Council has agreed to an appropriate remedy for the injustice caused by the delay.

Lancashire County Council (24 003 404)

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the calculation of a Special Guardianship allowance because Mr X could reasonably have raised his concerns in court.

London Borough of Newham (24 013 169)

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X's complaint about the support provided to his child by the Councils children's services. There is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation.

St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council (24 015 087)

Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint that the Council was at fault in calling the complainant to give evidence in court of legal proceedings. By law, we cannot consider complaints about what happens in court.

Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council (24 015 319)

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council's actions in the process of seeking the complainant's daughter's adoption. The key decisions have been, or will be, considered in court, and our intervention would not lead to a different outcome.

Hampshire County Council (24 018 174)

Summary: We will not investigate Miss X's complaint about the Council's decision not to consider her complaint about its children and family assessment whilst there are ongoing court proceedings. This is because there is no sign of fault in the Council's decision.

Leeds City Council (24 004 918)

Summary: Mr X complained the Council's school admissions appeal panel used false information when deciding about his daughter's (F) secondary school application. We found fault in the way the school admissions appeal panel made its decision. This fault caused confusion and distress to Mr X and his mother (Mrs Y) but did not affect the outcome of the appeal. The Council has agreed to apologise, to update F's secondary school application and to make symbolic payments for Mr X's and Mrs Y's distress. The Council has also agreed to carry out some service improvements.

London Borough of Haringey (24 005 456)

Summary: Ms X complains that the Council delayed in putting in place the occupational and speech and language therapies provision set out in her child, Y's, Education, Health and Care Plan which has disadvantaged them. The Council was at fault as it did not deliver the occupational and speech and language therapies between December 2023 and February 2024 which disadvantaged Y. The Council has appropriately remedied the injustice to Y and Ms X by making a payment of £1860.50 for the missed provision. We do not have jurisdiction to consider the lack of provision from February 2024 onwards as Ms X has appealed to the SEND Tribunal.

London Borough of Barnet (24 006 682)

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to provide her daughter with the speech and language therapy outlined in her Education, Health and Care Plan. We have decided to end our investigation into Mrs X's complaint. This is because it would have been reasonable for her to have exercised her appeal rights to the SEND Tribunal.

Buckinghamshire Council (24 013 488)

Summary: We have upheld Mrs X's complaint about delays in the Education, Health and Care needs assessment process for her child, Y. The Council agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.

City of Doncaster Council (24 013 854)

Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council's decision not to name a school in an Education, Health, and Care Plan. Miss X has already appealed the Council's decision, and the law does not allow us to investigate. Nor will we investigate any complaint about delays in finalising the plan. This is because the Council upheld this part of Miss X's complaint and agreed to remedy her outstanding injustice.

Reading Borough Council (24 021 043)

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X's complaint the Council has not provided the educational provision specified in her child's Education Health and Care Plan until, we have made our decision on a separate complaint.

Reading Borough Council (24 021 046)

Birmingham City Council (24 006 068)

Summary: Ms X complains about the actions of the Council's children's services team. The Council has investigated her complaint under the children's statutory complaint procedure, but Ms X disagrees with the findings and complains about delay in the process. Ms X says she has been caused distress and financial losses. We find fault in the actions of the Council in incorrectly using the Children's Statutory Complaint procedure to investigate Ms X's complaints and for delay in the process. The Council has agreed to issue an apology, pay Ms X a financial payment and complete service improvements.

Devon County Council (24 009 626)

Summary: Miss B complained that the Council had failed refund deductions of child benefit from her Special Guardian Allowance to 2019 when she became a special guardian. We found the Council failed to properly consider whether Miss B's circumstances merited a backdated payment over a longer period. However, the Council has now offered to make a payment of approximately £6,300, representing the deductions back to 2019. We are satisfied this adequately remedies the injustice to Miss B.

Lincolnshire County Council (24 017 989)

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council's assessment of Miss X's child's case. The law prevents us investigating matters that have been considered in court.

North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council (24 020 684)

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with Mrs X's safeguarding concerns. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault.

Surrey County Council (24 016 970)

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council's decision to refuse the complainant's application and appeal for school transport for his daughter. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault on the Council's part to warrant investigation.

Gloucestershire County Council (24 016 963)

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has failed to act in the complainant's grandchildren's interests in the course of child protection action, and has unreasonably refused to accept her complaint. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault on the Council's part to warrant investigation.

Lancashire County Council (24 001 429)

Summary: Mrs X complains the Council delayed in issuing her child's education, health and care (EHC) Plan, it failed to provide a suitable education when her child was out of school and it failed to communicate with her effectively. The Council is at fault for failing to respond to Mrs X's complaints and for delays in finalising her child's EHC Plan. We are unable to investigate matters relating to provision because Mrs X has used her right of appeal. The faults we identified caused an injustice and the Council has agreed to remedy the injustice caused by apologising to Mrs X, providing her with a remedy payment to acknowledge the avoidable distress caused and it has agreed to respond to her outstanding complaint.

Oxfordshire County Council (24 001 593)

Summary: Mrs Y complains that her son, D, was out of school during an important phase of his secondary education and the Council did not fulfil its duties to ensure he received suitable educational provision. Mrs Y also complains about some parts of the Education Health and Care planning process. For the parts of the complaint within our jurisdiction, we find fault because the Council did not act quickly enough to arrange provision once it became aware D had stopped attending school. The provision later put in place was less than agreed. To remedy the injustice caused by fault the Council has agreed to complete the actions listed at the end of this statement.

North Yorkshire Council (24 002 654)

Summary: Ms J complained the Council did not provide sufficient alternative provision when it became apparent her child was unable to attend her school. We found the Council at fault. The Council has agreed to make a payment to Ms J and to her child in recognition of injustice caused to them.

Somerset Council (24 005 861)

Summary: Miss B complained the Council delayed in issuing an Education, Health and Care Plan following an annual review. This meant her son was unable to access education. We have found the Council at fault for delays in issuing the amended Education, Health and Care Plan. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a symbolic payment to Miss B to remedy the injustice caused.

Cheshire West & Chester Council (24 006 494)

Summary: Miss B says the Council failed to identify a suitable school placement for her son, failed to put in place alternative provision and failed to respond to her communications. The Council has not identified a suitable school placement for Miss B's son, delayed putting into place alternative provision, delayed issuing a final education, health and care plan and failed to respond to all her communications. That caused Miss B distress and means her son missed out on education for 12 months. An apology, payment to Miss B, reminder to officers and agreement to issue a final education, health and care plan is satisfactory remedy.

Hertfordshire County Council (24 007 073)

Summary: Miss X, complained about the lack of support provided by the Council. She said the provisions in her son's education, health and care plan were not delivered; the Council has repeatedly ignored her; reviews of her son's plan were not held, and she did not get the opportunity to put forward her preferred placement choice. We find the Council was at fault for the delay in checking whether provisions were in place; failure to consider whether all provision were in place; failure to respond to her emails and delay in arranging the annual review. This caused Miss X and her son significant distress. The Council has agreed to make several recommendations to address this injustice caused by fault.

Lincolnshire County Council (24 007 139)

Summary: Mrs X complains the Council failed to provide her child with a suitable education. The Council is at fault for failing to provide the child with the provision in her education, health and care plan and for failing to arrange alternative provision when the child was unable to attend school. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mrs X, remedy the avoidable distress caused and provide a payment to acknowledge the loss of provision.

Essex County Council (24 015 936)

Summary: We cannot investigate Mrs X complaint about the Council's decision not to carry out an Education Health and Care needs assessment. This is because Mrs X has used her right of appeal to a tribunal.

West Sussex County Council (24 009 520)

Summary: Mrs X complained about the Council's decision to start child protection action and put her child on a child protection plan. The Council accepted fault in failing to share information about the process with Mrs X, and apologised for the distress caused. We found the Council's failings did not affect its decision, and its apology is sufficient remedy for the injustice.

Warwickshire County Council (24 013 077)

Summary: We upheld this complaint about how the Council's review panel handled Mr X's complaint about the lack of support provided to his family during the Child in Need (CIN) process. The Council agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a financial remedy for the injustice caused.

Cheshire East Council (24 016 534)

Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council's decisions about the care of Miss X's child. We considered this matter up to late 2023 in complaint 23 010 219 and will not do so again. The matters Miss X complains of have been subject to further court action since then. We are legally prevented from considering matters that have been before a court.

Norfolk County Council (24 017 606)

Summary: We will not investigate Miss X's complaint about a reference the Council received about her which meant her applications to adopt again in 2019 and 2022 were refused. The complaint lies outside our jurisdiction because it is late and there are no good reasons to exercise discretion to consider it now.

Leeds City Council (24 002 171)

Summary: Ms X complained the Council failed to provide her daughter, Y with a suitable full-time education since she could not attend school for medical reasons. We found fault by the Council causing Y to miss out on education she was entitled to. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to Ms X and her daughter in recognition of the injustice caused to them.

Essex County Council (24 002 394)

Summary: Mr Y complains the Council failed to ensure his child, D, received a suitable education once they stopped attending primary school. He also complains about delays in issuing D's Education, Health and Care plan due to a lack of Educational Psychologists. We find fault causing injustice and the Council has agreed to apologise and pay £950 to Mr Y. There was also some delay in arranging alternative provision for D which the Council has agreed to acknowledge with a symbolic payment of £350. We do not find fault in the other parts of Mr Y's complaint because D received provision which the Council decided was available and accessible.

West Sussex County Council (24 002 850)

Summary: Mrs Y complained the Council failed to provide her child, Z, with a suitable education. We have found fault by the Council, causing injustice, in failing to consider its duty to make alternative educational provision for Z during the period from January 2023 to April 2024. The Council has agreed to remedy this injustice by apologising to Mrs Y, and making payments to acknowledge the distress caused and impact of the missed education on Z.

Surrey County Council (24 005 704)

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to review Y's Education, Health and Care Plan within statutory time limits and delayed in obtaining an Educational Psychologist reassessment. Mrs X also complained the Council failed to make appropriate alternative provision available while Y was out of school. Mrs X said this caused her real stress and frustration. We find the Council at fault. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a payment to recognise the injustice caused and act to prevent recurrence.

Essex County Council (24 011 590)

Summary: The Council failed to ensure Y received the full-time specialist educational provision in his Education, Health and Care Plan which caused Y a loss of educational provision and his mother Ms X avoidable distress and inconvenience. The Council also failed to complete the annual review in June 2023 and failed to issue an amended Plan. This caused Ms X a delay in appeal rights and avoidable distress. The Council will apologise, issue Y's final amended Plan, ensure Y receives all the educational provision in the Plan and make payments to remedy the injustice.

Buckinghamshire Council (24 015 671)

Luton Borough Council (24 015 813)

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X's complaint that the Council refused to provide home to school transport for his children. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault.

Southampton City Council (24 015 840)

Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint the Council failed to provide educational provision after it decided to end an Education Health and Care Plan. The complaint is not separable from matters that have been appealed to the Tribunal.

Essex County Council (24 016 698)

Essex County Council (24 018 045)

Wokingham Borough Council (24 018 282)

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council's handling of applications for school transport and a school place. Mr X's complaint about transport is late. It is reasonable for Mr X to use his right of appeal if he wants to challenge the decision not to offer his child a place at his preferred school.

Milton Keynes Council (23 000 946)

Summary: Mrs G complained about the decision by NHS Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board (the ICB) to reduce the night-time support for her child, D. She also complained about the way Milton Keynes Council (the Council) considered respite for the family and a preferred placement. We found fault in the way the ICB decided to reduce night-time support as it did not follow the recommendations from an independent assessment or properly consider the impact its decision would have on D's parents. This likely caused D's parents avoidable worry and distress. The Council did not provide enough support to meet the family's needs but acted to put things right during our investigation. There was a lack of joined up working when assessing D's health and social care needs. The ICB and Council have accepted our recommendations to complete a holistic review of D's needs, apologise to Mrs G, make acknowledgement payments and improve their processes. We have now completed our investigation.

Coventry City Council (24 016 477)

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council's response to an injury to Miss X's child's wrist when in foster care. The matters complained of happened before 2022 and Miss X would have become aware of the injury during contact sessions. She could have complained to us sooner and there is no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate this matter now.

Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council (24 017 649)

Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council's actions when Mrs X's relationship with her partner ended and afterwards. There has been family court action on several occasions relating to the care of a child or children, and the matters complained of are closely linked to that. A legal bar prevents us investigating these matters.

North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council (23 018 350)

Summary: Miss F complained the Council failed to arrange alternative provision for her daughter. We found fault which caused a loss of education and distress. The Council has agreed to make a payment to Miss F for the educational benefit of her daughter to remedy that injustice.

London Borough of Tower Hamlets (23 018 779)

Summary: Mrs X complained about the Council's failure to provide support for her child's special educational needs and its handling of the Education, Health and Care Plan process. We found the Council was at fault because it took too long to issue two amended plans. This created uncertainty for Mrs X. To remedy this injustice, the Council has agreed to apologise and make a symbolic payment to Mrs X. It should also take action to improve it processes.

Leicestershire County Council (24 001 988)

Summary: Mrs X complains the Council did not deal properly with her son's education. The Council did not follow statutory timescales, did not consult schools in time, did not ensure education provision for her son and did not communicate effectively with her. Mrs X suffered a delayed right of appeal, avoidable distress and uncertainty, and Y missed special educational needs provision. The Council has offered an appropriate remedy.

London Borough of Tower Hamlets (24 006 844)

Summary: We will not investigate Ms X's late complaint about the Council's handling of child protection matters involving Ms Y's children. This is because the law prevents us from investigating some of the Council's action where this relates to the content of reports produced for court proceedings. We could not add to the Council's investigation of Ms X's complaints under all three stages of the statutory complaints process. We also cannot achieve the outcomes the complainant wants.

Reading Borough Council (24 007 188)

Summary: Ms X complained the Council failed to make appropriate provision for her son, Y to attend clubs as part of the Holidays Activities and Food programme. We have completed our investigation as we have found no evidence of fault by the Council in these matters.

Staffordshire County Council (24 007 364)

Summary: Ms X complained the Council failed to issue an Education Health and Care Plan, including the Personal Budget, for her son, Y, within the timescale set by a tribunal. She said this caused Y to miss educational provision and caused significant distress. We find the Council at fault for the delay which caused missed education and distress. The Council has agreed to remedy this by apologising and making a symbolic payment.

Derby City Council (24 009 472)

Summary: We cannot investigate Mrs X's complaint about a delay in naming a school in an Education Health and Care Plan because Mrs X appealed to the Tribunal. There are no good reasons why we should investigate her complaint about possible missed provision as this has been known to her for more than 12 months before she complained to us.

London Borough of Tower Hamlets (24 010 509)

Summary: Mr X complained that the Council caused delays when deciding his daughter's special educational needs support, and failed to respond to his emails. We have found that the Council was at fault, and that this likely caused Mr X distress. The Council has agreed to make a symbolic payment to recognise his injustice.

Gloucestershire County Council (24 010 972)

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X's complaint about delays in amending an Education Health and Care Plan as it was reasonable to expect her to appeal to the Tribunal. We will not look at any provision missed as its not significant enough to warrant an investigation or remedy.

Hertfordshire County Council (24 013 597)

Summary: Ms X complained that the Council failed to comply with a remedy agreed during a previous investigation by the Ombudsman. We found the Council to be at fault because it took six months for the Council to schedule regular updates about special educational needs provision. This delay caused Ms X frustration. To remedy this injustice, the Council has agreed to apologise and make a modest payment to Ms X.

Hampshire County Council (24 013 864)

Summary: We will not investigate Ms X's complaint about the Council's failure to share a consultation response with her, which she said caused her son to miss a year of education. We asked the Council to remedy the injustice caused and it agreed to apologise and make a symbolic payment to Ms X.

London Borough of Tower Hamlets (24 015 864)

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X's complaint about the Council's Local Authority Designated Officer's handling of several reports of safeguarding incidents involving her child at school. This is because part of this complaint is late. There is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council to justify investigating the most recent incident.

Suffolk County Council (24 015 927)

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X's complaint that the Council failed to include a sensory assessment in his son's Educational Health and Care Plan. These decisions carry a right of appeal which it would be reasonable for Mr X to use.

Essex County Council (24 016 010)

Summary: We have upheld Mrs X's complaint about the Council's delay completing her child's Education, Health and Care needs assessment. The Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (24 016 740)

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council's failure to secure special educational needs provision for the complainant's son. This is because the complaint has already been upheld and we would not seek to add to the outcome.

Staffordshire County Council (24 016 687)

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the withdrawal of the complainant's daughter's entitlement to funded childcare. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault on the Council's part to warrant investigation.

Oxfordshire County Council (24 017 399)

Summary: We will not investigate Miss X's complaint that the Council incorrectly recorded her marital status. The Council has already apologised. An investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to achieve any additional outcome.

West Northamptonshire Council (24 018 211)

Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X's complaint about social workers lying to the court in ongoing court proceedings because it lies outside our jurisdiction. The law prevents us from investigating complaints about what has happened in court. We have no discretion to do so.

Coventry City Council (24 016 342)

Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the content of a court report and the way Social Services handled an investigation into his children's welfare. This is because the law prevents us from investigating matters that have been considered in court, or any matter closely linked.

Devon County Council (24 006 504)

Summary: Miss X complained the Council delayed completing her child, Y's Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment in line with statutory timescales. The Council was at fault. It delayed deciding whether to issue Y with an EHC Plan within the statutory timescales, caused by a 9 week delay in obtaining Educational Psychologist advice. It then further delayed issuing Y's final EHC Plan by 25 weeks after it received the EP advice. This caused Miss X distress and delayed Y's access to the specialist provision and placement specified in the final Plan by around a term. The Council agreed to make payments to Miss X to acknowledge this injustice.


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