East Sussex County Council apologises over child's education

A council has apologised for failing to provide alternative education for a boy suffering from anxiety.

The boy, known only as X, was only able to attend school for 45 minutes a day, and was unable to go into classrooms.

His mother asked East Sussex County Council for support in February 2021, but that was declined.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman told the council to apologise and pay the family £1,400. ESCC said "actions have been taken".

The council had previously told the boy's mother that it would only step in if there was medical evidence of illness, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

In its report, the ombudsman said "the council should step in where it knows that a child is not receiving education".

It added the council was in contact with the school, but had decided there was no evidence the boy was unable to go to school.

The ombudsman disagreed as the initial referral showed how little he was in school, and an application by the boy's mother for an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) assessment showed he was not in school at all.

The council were told to apologise and "urgently" put in place alternative provision for the boy until a suitable school place could be found in line with his EHCP.

An ESCC spokesperson said the local authority had "accepted the findings" of the ombudsman's report and apologised to the mother.

"All actions have been taken and deadlines given by the LGO have been met."

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