Council pays £1,500 after girl misses school

The council apologised after the Local Government Ombudsman described the girl's missed education as "an injustice"

A family is to receive £1,500 from a council after a girl missed part of her education as a result of her health.

The Local Government Ombudsman found North Northamptonshire Council failed to provide extra support and tuition after the student "missed a considerable amount of education" because of an anxiety disorder.

It said she should have received a full package of support six months earlier, when the council was first told about her repeated absences by her school in December 2022.

Council leader Jason Smithers said it accepted the ombudsman's findings and offered "its sincerest apologies for the failings identified... during what must have been a very difficult time".

Conservative council leader Jason Smithers said the council would "ensure that an appropriate education is made available to the girl"

The girl's mother complained to the council in January 2023, saying her daughter had not attended school full-time for more than a year because of emotionally-based school avoidance.

It initially said the school should provide support and work from home, as reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The school referred her to a hospital outreach education service, providing tutoring in English and computer science. The family also arranged and paid for tuition in maths and science.

In May, the council provided a "support package" of 10 hours of tuition a week.

The ombudsman said no evidence was provided to show why full time education would not have been in the girl's best interests.

She "missed a considerable amount of education" which was "an injustice", it said.

The authority was ordered to pay £1,500 for not providing her with a full learning provision and because the family had paid for tuition.

Mr Smithers said the council would "ensure that an appropriate education is made available which best meets needs" and would "take learning from this case" to "avoid a repeat of these issues".