Calderdale Council to pay mum £4,000 after failing to find boy a suitable school

The boy lost two terms “at a crucial time” of his education because the council failed to quickly find an alternative school which could meet his needs, said the Local Government and Social Ombudsman.

The council watchdog heard the boy, referred to as Y in their report, had only four hours a month of education – an hour a week maths’ tuition – for two terms of Year 10.

The complainant, referred to as Miss X, complained the council had not found a new placement after a school said it could no longer meet her child’s needs.

Miss X said her son had been out of school for most of year 10, when he should have been on the first year of his GCSE courses.

She said this had been very stressful for the whole family.

The ombudsman said the council is responsible for making sure arrangements specified in a child’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan are put in place.

An EHC is for is for children who need more support than is available through special educational needs support.

The ombudsman said it was reasonable to investigate the council’s delay in consulting new schools once the mum had been informed the current one could not meet her child’s needs, as this meant she had lost her right to appeal to a SEND tribunal.

The child has now started at his new school after the council issued a new EHC plan, naming a specialist school.

But in between were a managed move to a mainstream school, which then said it could not meet the boy’s needs, and a period out of school in which the council only consulted mainstream schools in trying to find a place.

The ombudsman considered this a fault and said: “In order to remedy the loss of provision, I recommend a payment of £2,000 a term – a total of £4,000.

“This is to recognise that Y had only four hours a month of education for two terms of year 10, a crucial time in his education as it is the first year of GCSE courses.”