Bexley Council caused an autistic child significant injustice, report says

Bexley Council said it had taken on board the ombudsman's findings and decision

A south London council caused an autistic child a "significant injustice" by failing to provide him with an adequate education for 10 months, an ombudsman has found.

The child, named G in the report, stopped attending school in January 2022 after becoming distressed.

His parents said Bexley Council dismissed the anxiety he was experiencing while not at school.

A council spokesperson said it had apologised.

The report, by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said the child was referred by his school to the authority's autism advisory service (AAS) in December 2021.

The following month, he stopped going to school as he felt distressed and anxious and was given work to do at home by the school, the report said.

In February 2022, the council spoke to the child's school and made a referral to its education welfare service after learning he had not gone to school in three weeks.

The authority wrote to G's parents, named Mr and Mrs F in the report, the next month saying it was worried about his low attendance, claiming it was unauthorised and threatened legal action, the report said.

According to the ombudsman, two officers made an unannounced visit to the family's home and said G should be in school. They added if his parents were unhappy with the school, they could ask for an emergency annual review.

G's parents complained to the council in March, saying this approach by the officers was "heavy handed" and that the home learning sent from school was not personalised to his needs, the ombudsman said.

They also asked the council how it would meet its statutory requirements to provide him with an education, according to the report.

'Effective education'

The council agreed to amend his education plan, with G receiving one to two hours of tutoring a week from mid-June. The parents had a meeting with the council at the beginning of August and asked for G to receive education outside of school.

The council said it felt he needed a structured school environment and contacted several schools in September, but all of them claimed they could not meet the student's needs, the report said. G reportedly started receiving two hours of animal therapy and two hours of tutoring a week in September, which increased in the following months.

Bexley Council responded to the parents' escalated complaint in October, apologising for the distress caused.

It admitted G should have been recorded as being absent for medical reasons from January to June 2022 and that the parents would be reimbursed for the costs of providing tuition to G during this time.

The ombudsman said in their report: "The council's faults have caused G a significant injustice.

"Children have a right to an effective education and any time they miss is difficult to replace later.

"The council's faults have also caused Mr and Mrs F distress, upset and frustration", they added.

The ombudsman instructed the council to apologise to the parents and pay them £4,450 in recognition of the distress and frustration caused as well as for the education G lost between February and December 2022.

A council spokesperson said it had taken on board the ombudsman's findings and decision.

"There are a number of recommendations that were made by the ombudsman and we have reviewed service provision in line with this," they added.

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