A GP was warned they could face ‘intense scrutiny’ in court after supporting a child who needed to stay away from school due to anxiety.

Bracknell Forest Council has been slammed by a government watchdog for sending the warning – and ordered to pay £150 for a gift to the child who was left stressed by the ordeal.

The watchdog said the warning distressed the child’s mother and could have discouraged the GP from supporting her.

It said this added to the mother’s ‘significant distress for feeling like she was being ignored by the council.’

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The ruling comes after the child’s mother – known as Mrs X – complained to the local government and social care ombudsman about Bracknell Forest Council.

She said her son – named as Y in the ombudsman’s report – had been left without education for a month because the council had failed to arrange any.

The ombudsman ruled that the council was at fault for failing to consider Mrs X’s request for alternative education, for failing to respond to her complaints, and for the way it wrote to her GP.

Y is a child whose special educational needs relate to anxiety, sensory regulation and his ability to communicate his thoughts and feelings.

His education, health and care plan (EHCP) – a legal document which sets out what the council must do to meet his needs – said he should attend secondary school from September 2020.

But after starting school, his difficulties got worse and in January 2023 his GP said he shouldn’t attend school until Bracknell Forest Council had reviewed his EHCP.

Mrs X sent a copy of the GP’s letter to the council and said online lessons would be best for Y. But the council said alternative education was the school’s authority.

In early February Mrs X complained to the council that Y was not receiving a suitable education. The council replied the same day – but then didn’t respond further.

Later that month she arranged full-time online lessons for Y herself, where she says he thrived, but which she couldn’t afford to keep paying for.

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Mrs X found efforts to escalate her complaint were thwarted. But the council did write to her GP in June about the letter signing Y out of school in January.

The council said it hadn’t sent this letter earlier due to staff changes. It said the letter was to seek more information about Y’s health conditions.

But the ombudsman ruled that the letter ‘went significantly beyond that.’ The ombudsman said the letter implied Mrs X had ‘coached’ the GP. The letter also said the GP might be asked to appear in court if the council decided to take action against Mrs X for Y’s non-attendance at school.

The ombudsman ordered Bracknell Forest Council to apologise to Mrs X, reimburse her for Y’s online schooling, pay £300 for his future education, £750 for the financial pressure she faced, and another £150 for a gift for Y.