A family should be paid £3,000 by Bracknell Forest Council for delays and failures in helping a child with special educational needs receive the right schooling, a government watchdog has ruled.

The council was too slow in attempting to find tutors and a new placement for the child who was unable to continue attending their school, the watchdog said. And the council also delayed – or missed – several complaints from the child’s parents.

The ruling is the outcome of an investigation into the case by the local government and social care ombudsman.

According its report, the child – named as Y – had to attend hospital on two consecutive days in June 2021 after two overdoses. Y’s special educational needs school arranged a part time, half day timetable for her after that, and in mid July agreed to create a package of out-of-school education.

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This followed an annual review of Y’s education, health and care plan, which is a legal document setting out what the council needs to do to meet a child’s special educational needs.

In August 2021 the council sent a letter to Y’s mother, Mrs X, both saying it couldn’t accept the recommendations in the EHCP, but that it would seek a new school place for Y anyway.

Mrs X asked the council what the process for finding a new school was, as well as its plans for providing Y with alternative education out of school. The council asked her to research her own schools from a list it provided.

By October, the council agreed 12 weeks of alternative provision while it tried to find Y a new school.

This was to be three days a week at the alternative provider, and two days at home. But Y struggled to engage with this, and felt unable to attend from mid November. The two days of tutoring at home never began.

The council also decided to reassess Y’s needs in March 2022, and a first draft of a revised EHCP was sent in May –after Mrs X complained of delays. Second and third drafts were sent in early October and early November. But a final EHCP was only sent in June 2023.

During this period Mrs and Mr X sent multiple complaints to the council – some of which were responded to well outside the council’s own 10 day timeframe.

The ombudsman found the council was at fault on several counts, including for not arranging Y’s alternative education up to October 2021, and for delays in providing EHCPs and handling complaints.

However, the ombudsman found the council had made reasonable efforts to deliver suitable education between October 2021 and January 2022.

The ombudsman ruled the council should pay the family five fines for separate failings, amounting to £3,000.