Council to pay £7,200 after education failures

The LGO told the council to pay the mother and their child - not pictured - £7,200 in compensation

A council that failed to ensure a child received suitable full-time education has been told to pay £7,200 in compensation.

Dorset Council failed to top-up the child's education when they were put on a part-time timetable after their school place broke down, the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) found.

The investigation said it caused the child's mother distress and placed additional caring responsibilities on her.

The council said it had taken the LGO's views into account and had made improvements.

Local authorities retain oversight and control of children's education provision, even if they arrange for schools or other bodies to carry out the functions on their behalf.

The LGO told Dorset Council to apologise to the child and their mother for the problems that were found.

It also told it to pay £2,000 for the loss of two terms of full-time education in 2023 and a further £4,000 for a similar loss in 2023 and 2024.

It will also pay another £1,000 to the mother for the impact of the issues on her personally and £200 for the delay in processing a review.

Paul Dempsey, Dorset Council's executive director for children’s services, said: “We want Dorset to be the best place to be a child and we are always keen to make improvements that help us to meet that aim so we welcome the independent views of the ombudsman.

“In this instance we accepted the recommendations and have seen changes as a result, for example we have increased our alternative provision and our practice standards have been updated so we can signpost families better to wider support.”