Council apologises over child's missed education

Surrey County Council has apologised and paid £1,000 to the child's family

A council has apologised to a girl who missed at least six months of full-time education with just 13 hours of online tuition a week, the social care ombudsman has heard.

A report stated Surrey County Council (SCC) failed to properly ensure that the child, named Y in the report, was receiving a suitable amount of education while she was unable to go to school due to sickness.

SCC was forced to pay the family £1,000.

Clare Curran, SCC's Cabinet member for Children, Families and Lifelong Learning, said it "accepts the findings from the report" and "sincerely apologises for any distress caused".

The issue amounted to a "service failure", meaning the council defaulted on its legal duty to provide acceptable education for a child’s ability and needs, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The child stopped attending her mainstream school in February 2023 due to illness.

The report said it was “unclear how or why the school determined 13 hours online tuition per week was appropriate”.

The ombudsman said it “expected the council to objectively consider whether the education arranged by the school is suitable”.

'Concerning and unacceptable'

SCC also failed to complete an annual review and issue a final education plan within the statutory timeframes.

The ombudsman said the delays were “both concerning and clearly unacceptable” and amounted to a service failure by SCC.

The council said it could not comment on individual children specifically.

Clare Curran, cabinet member for children, families and lifelong learning, said: "We are working hard to improve services, and our most recent inspection noted progress is underway.

"We have been reviewing our arrangements for providing and following up alternative provision in situations where young people are unable to attend school."

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