THE Royal Borough has paid a mother £5,250 for causing ‘serious distress and anxiety’ after her daughter, who has special needs, was without full-time education for seven months.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGO) ordered the council to pay and apologise to the mum for its failures and for it to review the case at a ‘senior level’.

The daughter, who has autism and other complex educational needs, started in a mainstream school on a restricted part-time timetable in September 2020.

But her mother said she was ‘struggling to manage the hours’ at the school and eventually, the child stopped attending in March 2021. The mum said her daughter required a specialist school placement in order to receive a suitable education.

The council maintained its stance that a mainstream school could meet her child’s needs despite one school telling officers it could not.

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In April, the mother decided to send her daughter to an alternative education provider at her own expense.  The girl’s mother paid £2,100 for 10 weeks of part-time education through an alternative provider between April and July 2021. The council later funded it from September 2021.

Only by February 2022 did the Royal Borough change its mind and agreed with the girl’s mum that her child would attend an independent specialist placement, which could meet her needs.

The LGO concluded the girl suffered a loss of full-time education between mid-March to mid-December 2021. Because of the eight-week school holiday during that time, she lost a total of seven months of education.

It also stated the LGO saw ‘no evidence’ from the council that the girl should not have been receiving full-time education and considered part-time education to be ‘unsatisfactory’.

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The LGO wrote: “I consider the council’s failing to make full-time alternative education provision available for [the girl] to have had a serious adverse impact on her development and wellbeing.

“In addition, I consider [the mother] suffered serious distress and uncertainty during this period due to her daughter not receiving a full-time education as she was entitled to receive.”

The council was ordered to pay the girl’s mother £2,400 in compensation for her daughter’s loss of education, reimburse the £2,100 the mom spent on alternative education, £500 for her ‘serious distress and anxiety,’ and £250 for her time and trouble pursuing her complaint.

A council spokesperson said: “The council has accepted the findings and recommendations of the Ombudsman and we’ve already written to the parent to apologise, paid the compensation, and will be reviewing this case to identify and make any necessary improvements.”