Bracknell Forest Council has been fined £3,500 for failing to provide education for a child with autism and ADHD, causing the child’s mother to be out of work for months.

An investigation by the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) found the mother and child’s ‘wellbeing and mental health suffered greatly’ during the period.

The child was out of education from October 2022 to the summer term of 2024.

At this time the mother, referred to as Mrs X, was ‘often not kept properly informed’ by the council.

Local authorities have the legal duty to provide children with special educational needs (SEN) with suitable, alternative education.

The child, referred to as Y, was diagnosed with autism and ADHD in 2020 and was attending a mainstream secondary school from September 2022.

However, this broke down only a month later, and the school and Mrs X informed Bracknell Forest Council that Y was no longer attending in November 2022 and needed alternative provision.

Mrs X requested an education, health and care plan for her child in February 2023, which would outline their needs and the type of education suitable.

During this time, Y was having home tuition and was attending an animal-based therapy centre one morning a week.

The council refused an education plan twice, and Mrs X took it to a tribunal – but shortly before it was meant to take place, the authority issued a plan.

Mrs X was unhappy with this and said that it contained errors and omissions.

A final plan was issued in August 2023, with no corrections to the mistakes that Mrs X claimed.

Five out of seven schools consulted said that they couldn’t meet Y’s needs. One of the remaining schools had offered a trial visit with the potential of Y starting in September 2023, but Mrs X claimed the council failed to pass the information on.

The child eventually started at the school in the summer term, May 2024.

The LGO ruled that Bracknell Forest Council should pay a total of £3,500 – the vast majority that would be paid to recognise the loss of school provision for Y.

A further £250 was ordered to recognise the distress caused by the uncertainty where the council refused to deliver a plan for Y in November 2022.

Another £250 was paid to recognise the ‘frustration, time and trouble’ caused by the council’s ‘poor communication’.

Bracknell Forest Council said it has recently restructured the SEN team and employed more staff to cope with increasing demands.