Leeds City Council to pay £1,500 after girl misses school for 18 months

Leeds City Council has been ordered to pay compensation

Leeds City Council has been ordered to pay £1,500 to a mother whose daughter went 18 months without education.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman ruled the council had failed in its duties to the child, who has complex needs.

In its report, the watchdog criticised the authority's delay in drawing up an education, health and care plan (EHCP).

The council accepted the judgement and said it was taking action to try to prevent a repeat.

According to the ombudsman, the girl, who is referred to as "Y", stopped attending primary school in October 2021.

The school proposed a reintegration plan and sent work home, but the report said the child was "not engaging", the Local Democracy Service reports.

The council is legally obliged to draw up an education, health and care plan for children with special needs.

However, instead of the required 20 weeks, Leeds City Council took 44 weeks to complete it in this case.

The ombudsman said that while there were mitigating factors for the delay, the council was "at fault".

The report said the girl was offered a place at a primary school with special provision for children with autism earlier this year, but her mother said she needed to be educated at home.

The parent had also requested help from a medical needs tuition service, but the council turned this down as her daughter was "not currently engaged" with children's mental health services.

The ombudsman ordered the council to pay the girl's mother £500 for her "distress at the situation", plus a further £1,000 for the loss of education.

A Leeds City Council spokesperson said: "We accept the ruling of the ombudsman and are already taking action to ensure reviews of EHC plans for children who are not regularly attending school are held without delay, and to ensure children have a dedicated named officer responsible for all aspects of EHC planning review and provision."

It comes just two months after the authority was told to pay more than £7,000 after it was deemed to have "lost control" of a boy's education.