Ombudsman finds Sheffield Council at fault for not providing sick child with ‘suitable education’
A complaint to the local government ombudsman has been upheld after Sheffield Council was found at fault for not providing a child “suitable education” when missing time due to medical reasons.
A report published by the ombudsman found that a secondary school-aged child with “several neurodevelopmental conditions” stopped attending school in April 2023 when they “began presenting with severe fatigue”.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman said the mother of the child had alerted the council after her child’s 15 days of absence due to a medical reason as she was aware that the council had a duty to provide alternative education if a child can no longer access education in a school.
The document uploaded on the ombudsman website added that next month (May 2023), the mother had sent the council a letter from her child’s paediatric consultant who said the child “would benefit from further assessments and support from mental health services”.
In June that year, the mother had requested an education, health and care plan (EHCP) assessment, which looks at the extra support a child might need, but the council initially refused the request – but changed its mind, the ombudsman added.
During that month, a meeting had been held in which the mother, representatives of the child’s school and the council agreed to put a plan in place, the report said.
In the plan, they had agreed that the child would be visited by someone from the school to “try and reintroduce” the child gradually into education, the document added, as well as the school would start an extended support plan, the council would be in touch with the child’s GP.
However, the next month, the ombudsman said in their report that the school had reported that they were unable to engage with the child during their home visits and the professionals discussed other options to help the child, including a visual timetable and incorporating the child’s hobbies and interests.
In July 2023, a doctor set out how the child’ condition affected their tiredness and sleep patterns.
The document said between August and October 2023, meetings had been held to discuss the child’s progress.
The therapies the child’s mother found, the report said, “had a waiting list or were not suitable”.
In later meetings, consideration had been given to sending the child to hospital school following new medical evidence – which found them to meet the criteria – received at the beginning of September.
The ombudsman said: “The council made a referral to the hospital school but accepted it made this several weeks later than it should have.”
The child had missed education between September 8 and October 20, the ombudsman added.
The council apologised and offered £600 “in recognition of the impact of this missed provision”.
The ombudsman said the council had issued a final EHCP for the child in November 2023 and named the child’s school as the school the child should attend – this is something the mother disagreed with and “has appealed this to the SEND Tribunal”.