Oxfordshire County Council has been told to pay £5,000 to the mother of an autistic boy to make up for a year of missed education.
The mother asked the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman to investigate after her autistic son was left without education when he became too anxious to attend his primary school.
The council claimed the boy was receiving appropriate online education from the school after he stopped attending in June 2021, until February 2022. However, this education was unsuitable because there was no direct teaching, and what was offered was not based on the boy’s needs.
The boy was not given any education at all between February and June 2022.
According to the Ombudsman’s findings, the council did not check what education was on offer, did not review whether the school could meet the boy’s needs, or find out whether the online education the school was providing was enough to meet his needs when he remained out of school.
As well as the £5,000 fine, the Ombudsman asked the council to pay the mother £2,200 to reimburse the cost of the educational psychologist she had to commission because of the council’s delays.
Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: ‘Councils have a duty to ensure alternative education is provided and they cannot delegate this duty to schools or other providers.
‘I issued a special report about this issue earlier this year, and I am concerned that the evidence I have seen during this investigation suggests officers do not always understand their obligations in this respect.’
A spokesperson for the council said: ‘We have apologised to Miss X and her son Y for the issues described by the Ombudsman.
‘Y’s education and well-being is important to us, as is our commitment to every child and young person in the county. We are determined to give them the very best start in life.
‘We have already started to implement the measures requested by the Ombudsman and will continue to do so.
‘We’re introducing an information system that links schools and education teams better. This represents a significant investment in the well-being of every child in Oxfordshire.
‘Briefings and training are being delivered to school leaders and council officers regarding our responsibilities to medically unfit children. These communications will continue to be regularly reviewed and updated as required.’
