'Severe injustice' ruling as Slough pupil is left without school place for almost a year

Slough Borough Council has been told to pay a mother £7,000 after her child with special educational needs missed almost a full year of school.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman upheld a complaint from a mother, referred to as Ms X, after the council failed to provide an educational placement as part of her child’s Education Health and Care (EHC) plan.

This meant the child, referred to as Y, was left without a school to attend between September 2023 and June 2024.

The council was also told to pay an additional £500 for the ‘avoidable distress, time and trouble’ created by the delay in dealing with the parent’s complaint.

“This is a severe injustice because Y missed almost a full year of school which is a key transition for all children, but especially for a child with special educational needs,” the ombudsman said.

EHCs are plans which set out what support each child or young person with special education needs and disabilities (SEND) requires.

Child Y was supposed to start reception in September 2023.

After a review of Y’s EHC plan in May 2023, it was found that her education plan needed to be amended before the start of the school year.

But the council failed to issue the amended plan in time for Y to start at a mainstream primary school, which Ms X preferred for her child.

The mother complained to the local authority in February 2024.

In March 2024, Slough Borough Council apologised for not having a school placement for the child and stated that it would provide tuition in the short term.

It said the EHC plan would be amended, but the council’s case officer had contacted multiple schools in the borough but all of them refused to give the child a placement.

Ms X escalated her complaint later that month.

In its response in July 2024, the council said Y’s EHC plan had still not been reissued, and it still could not find a school to offer the child a place.

Tuition was however set up at the end of June 2024.

In July and August last year, two separate special education plans were issued by the council.

The July plan said Y needed a mainstream setting, and the August one a specialist setting.

Neither of the plans had a school placement named for Y, so the mother appealed to the SEND Tribunal and later complained to the ombudsman.

The council eventually conceded the appeal in January this year, naming the mother’s initial first-choice school on the care plan.

Slough Borough Council told the ombudsman officers ‘did not understand legal duties around mainstream preference’ and should have worked with the first-choice school to resolve concerns about incompatibility.

It also said it had a backlog of complaints in the middle of 2024, but these issues had now been resolved due to changes in staffing and the appointment of a new post called a resolution lead.

It has arranged further training specifically focused on mainstream preference.

But the ombudsman still ruled that the delay in amending the care plan was a fault causing  ‘avoidable frustration and uncertainty’ for the mother.

The handling of the complaints was also ‘not in line with our expectations’ and this caused ‘avoidable time and trouble’.

A Slough Borough Council spokesperson said: “Slough Borough Council is committed to supporting our families and rebuilding trust in our SEND services.

"The ombudsman’s decision was centred around systemic challenges between September 2023 and June 2024. In response, we acknowledge the recommended actions and have gone further by providing additional financial support beyond what was required.

"We aim to always treat each case individually and put the needs of each child at the heart of our processes and in addition to fully complying with the ombudsman’s decision, the council voluntarily offered an extra payment of £3,700 to cover the period between July 2024 and January 2025 when the child remained without a full-time placement during the SEND Tribunal process, as we determined that in light of the particular circumstances of this case it was the right thing to do.

While the ombudsman’s decision focused on a specific timeframe, we recognised the ongoing challenges faced by the family and took steps to provide additional support.

"Our priority is ensuring children receive the education they deserve, and we will continue to learn and improve from this case.

"Alongside this, we have strengthened our processes, enhanced staff training, and introduced new roles to make sure families receive timely and effective support.

"We are determined to work in partnership with our community to deliver the best outcomes for children and young people in Slough.”