Teen misses two years of school amid support delays

Sophia's only schooling has been privately-sourced alternative provision and home education groups, says her mother Sarah

A mother whose 13-year-old daughter has missed out on nearly two years of school due to council delays said it was a "constant battle" to get support.

Cambridgeshire County Council was ordered by a watchdog to pay Sarah £4,700 for failing to provide suitable education for her daughter Sophia, who is autistic.

The Liberal Democrat-run council said it took "each individual complaint very seriously", which is why it had apologised and paid the compensation.

On Tuesday, a council meeting heard four out of every five complaints about its provision for pupils with special education needs and disability (Send) were either fully or partially upheld.

'Autistic burnout'

Sophia started secondary school two years ago but went into "autistic burnout" due to the "distress of the transition and the lack of support", her mother said.

The school made some adjustments, but Sophia was unable to physically cope with attending and by January 2024, Sarah had requested an education, health and care (EHC) assessment.

Sarah's complaint that the council had failed to provide her child with suitable education when she was out of school and delayed carrying out the assessment was upheld by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman in July.

Sophia's case seems to be typical rather than the exception, said Conservative councillor Mark Goldsack

Meanwhile, the children and young people committee meeting on Tuesday heard concerns about EHC plans had driven a rise in complaints.

Of 489 first stage complaints about its Send provision, more than 80% were either partially or fully upheld, it heard.

Mark Goldsack, lead member of the Conservative group for children and young people, pointed out Ofsted graded the council's Send provision as needing improvement earlier this year.

Despite "many mitigating circumstances... the case of Sophia appears to be quite typical rather than the exception", he said.

But he also said that in 2018, the council had 3,822 open EHC plans compared to 7,886 in 2025.

"The real issue is complaints - back in 2018 there were 30; this year, there were 488 and they're just not being dealt with," he said, adding the complaints team consists of three people.

'My child is broken'

Sarah said she understood that the council was under a lot of pressure but it felt like a "constant battle", having asked for support for two years without receiving any.

"It's the most stressed I have ever felt at any point in my life because it comes at the same time as your child is broken and you're trying to look after your child and their mental health and support the trauma they've been through at the same time you're going through that yourself," she said.

A county council spokesperson said: "The demand for our Send services continues to increase at an unprecedented rate, similar to that experienced in other parts of the country, and we're working hard to manage this, whilst also implementing improvements following the inspection of our local area partnership for Send earlier this year.

"We also await the government's proposals for national reforms to the Send system with interest... these national reforms need to address the underlying and systemic policy, regulatory and financial issues that impact Send services here in Cambridgeshire and elsewhere."