North Northamptonshire Council ordered to pay £3,350 after delays in offering alternative schooling for child with special educational needs

North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) has been ordered to pay thousands in compensation to a family after it failed to promptly offer alternative schooling to a child with special educational needs.

A report by the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) said the pupil missed out on formal education for almost a year, which resulted in an ‘academic decline’ and affected the ten-year-old’s ‘personal development’.

The council has accepted the findings and apologised for the failings during ‘what must have been a very challenging and distressing time’.

The primary school pupil, referred to as ‘Y’ in the report, is autistic and experiences separation anxiety.

In September 2022 her school asked the council to carry out an education health and care (EHC) assessment as she hadn’t been able to attend any formal lessons since June.

NNC issued an EHC plan in March 2023, confirming that the child would be enrolled on an independent special secondary school from September 2024.

An alternative education package, including home tutoring, was put in place in May with the plan to gradually increase intensity over the 15 months in between formal schooling.

The ombudsman found a six-week delay in the council issuing the girl’s final EHC plan, which was a ‘fault’.

It also found that she did not receive any education or support from the beginning of January to the end of May 2023 which was an ‘injustice’.

The report wrote that the council had a ‘lack of understanding of its responsibilities for arranging alternative provision for children who are out of school because of illness, exclusion or for other reasons’.

“Miss X [the mother] was increasingly frustrated by the lack of accountability of the council’s SEND services. She felt distressed by not being able to challenge the council’s actions,” it added.

The council was ordered to pay a total of £3,350 to recognise the lack of educational provision from January to May 2023 and its failure to communicate effectively.

Jason Smithers, leader of North Northants Council, said: “North Northamptonshire Council accepts the findings of the ombudsman and would like to extend its sincerest apologies to both the mother and daughter, and indeed the whole family for the failings identified regarding its communication and in the delivery of education during what must have been a very challenging and distressing time.

“We will continue to support the family, to ensure that an appropriate education is available which best meets the child’s needs.

“We will also take the learning from this case and use this to ensure further staff training and revisit our policies and procedures to ensure that these are appropriately updated to avoid any repeat of these issues.”