Central Bedfordshire Council apologises and pays mum £500 for failing to provide her son suitable education
Central Bedfordshire Council has agreed to say sorry to a parent and pay her £500 for failing to consider its educational duties to her son effectively.
The mother complained that Central Bedfordshire Council delayed issuing her child’s education, health and care plan (EHCP), according to a local government watchdog.
It also failed to deliver the provision outlined within the plan and to give him a suitable education when he stopped attending school, said the local government and social care ombudsman.
“CBC is at fault for missing statutory deadlines with regards to issuing the EHCP and for failing to consider its Section 19 responsibilities properly, which caused frustration and uncertainty.”
Section 19 of the Education Act 1996 requires councils to provide suitable tuition for children of compulsory school age who are unable to attend because of illness, exclusion or other reasons.
The ombudsman continued: “She said there was a detrimental impact to her child, who she claims has had no full-time education since October 2022. He stopped attending school in May 2023.
“The mother made a medical referral to CBC and requested suitable education be arranged under its Section 19 duty in September 2023. After an early help assessment, the council decided to provide him with alternative provision.”
CBC said it offered 13 hours of online learning, but this was refused by her because it was with a small group of other students, explained the ombudsman.
“She said the local authority didn’t make this offer and she would have accepted it, if it had. He received alternative provision until July 2024.
“CBC finalised his EHCP in March 2024, although she complained about its delay in reaching this stage and not providing him with a suitable education. The council upheld the complaint regarding delay in issuing the EHCP and offered a remedy of £400 for the injustice caused. It also apologised.
“CBC didn’t uphold her complaint about his education because it was satisfied suitable arrangements were put in place with her agreement. She then brought her complaint to the ombudsman because she remained unhappy about the level of alternative provision the council arranged.
“There was a delay of 17 weeks in finalising his EHCP, which was a service failure because of a shortage of educational psychologists and the summer holidays.
“This caused the mother an injustice, frustration and uncertainty, while delaying her appeal rights. CBC offered her a £400 payment to remedy the injustice caused by the fault.”
My investigation is focused on matters from October 2023, added the ombudsman. “Any loss of provision from March 2024 onwards falls outside the ombudsman’s jurisdiction.
“There’s a disagreement between CBC and the parent about the suitability of the alternative provision, which the council reviewed. It tells me the number of hours dropped from two to one because of the child’s lack of engagement, but this isn’t supported by the evidence provided.
“A risk assessment document doesn’t show why he was unable to cope with a full-time education or how CBC arrived at the decision that only two hours face-to-face was suitable.
“This is fault. The council has agreed to apologise and pay her £500 for its failure to consider its Section 19 duty effectively, and to implement service improvements.”