Pay out as Bracknell boy suffers decline in teaching hours

The boy struggled in a mainstream secondary school and it was found that it would be more appropriate to send him to a special school.

But the boy faced multiple rejections from special schools, and Bracknell Forest Council struggled to fill the educational gap.

The boy had received a lot less time than usual in education as a result, suffering a further decline when the pandemic hit.

READ MORE: Bracknell mum slams school for treatment of her autistic son

Problems arose  when the boy left his mainstream secondary school after a number of exclusions. The school had asked Bracknell Forest Council to complete an Educational Health Care (EHC) assessment for the boy, which it began, despite the boy leaving that school in March 2019.

Ultimately the council failed to produce the EHC assessment within the 20 week deadline, resulting in an 18 month ordeal where the boy received less teaching time than his counterparts in mainstream eduction.

At its lowest point, the boy was receiving only 12.5 hours of education per week, which is half the amount of schooling that pupils get in a mainstream education. For context, pupils in mainstream education get 25 hours of education per week.

The dad asked the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) to investigate, complaining that his son has lost out on full time education  and the council delayed in completing his son’s EHC.

Following the investigation, the council agreed to pay £300 in compensation and apologise to him for failing to properly consider whether part time education was more suitable for his son.

READ MORE: Poorer children in Bracknell more than three times more likely to be excluded

After leaving the first school in March 2019, the boy joined another school, which serves as Bracknell Forest Council’s ‘pupil referral unit’ – a type of school for children who cannot attend a mainstream school.

At this time, the boy was receiving 17.5 hours of education a week, which is 7.5 hours less than pupils in mainstream education. This education consisted of five hours of teaching at the pupil referral unit on one day, five hours at a one-to-one outdoor education programme on another day, and two days of one-to-one tuition, with each lesson being two and a half hours long.  By the end of March, he was receiving an extra day of one-to-one tuition, giving him 20 hours of education a week.

But the boy’s hours of tuition declined to 12.5 hours a week in September 2019, as he was no longer attending the pupil referral unit. This left him with three days of one-to-one tuition and one day at the  one-to-one outdoor education programme.

He suffered another blow due to the first lockdown in March last year, where all lessons were carried out by video and the outdoor education programme was suspended. In May, the council secured an extra day of one-to-one tuition for him.

READ MORE: One in nine pupils in Bracknell miss school due to Covid

In September, the five hour outdoor programme was resumed. The struggle to get the boy into school finally ended when the council gave the boy a place at a special school in November 2020.

Although the council did try to get the boy into a special school in May and July 2019, all eight schools asked declined to take him. 

The LGO found fault with Bracknell Forest Council for not issuing the final EHC plan within the statutory deadline. However, the fault did not cause any significant injustice. The LGO also found fault with Bracknell Forest Council for not properly considering whether part time education was more suitable for the boy.

As well as the £300 compensation and apology, the LGO recommended that council staff need to have clear written records of their decisions and reasons when deciding whether part time education is suitable.

Bracknell Forest Council has enacted the LGO's recommendations. Credit: Bracknell Forest Council

Grainne Siggins the executive director of people at Bracknell Forest Council said: “Officers are aware of the recommendations made by the LGO and all three actions have now been completed.

“Having consulted with more than 10 settings to secure an appropriate placement, full or part time, the local authority had limited options available but to commission part time provision. The situation regarding the availability and waiting lists for special provision in the local area continues to remain a challenging one, which we are working with education settings and partners to address.

“We recognise the importance of staff maintaining clear written records of decisions and reasons when deciding on the suitability of part time education, and relevant officers have been reminded of the process required in this respect. We acknowledge that the LGO did not consider the fault led to any significant injustice and remain committed to working with the family.”