Bury Council left vulnerable boy without education for 10 months

Bury Council had "not shown any consideration of the boy's individual circumstances", the ombudsman said

A council that failed to provide any education to vulnerable boy for 10 months has been ordered to pay compensation to his family.

The boy's mother said Bury Council failed to meet the needs of her son, who is diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism.

Bury Council had "not shown any consideration of the boy's individual circumstances", the ombudsman found.

The council admitted "a number of failures" and apologised unreservedly.

It paid £3,000 compensation to the family, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

In a report, the Local Government Ombudsman said the complaint was that the council produced a draft education, health and care plan for a mother which failed to meet her son's needs.

The report states that prior to the boy starting the school year in September 2020 all parties agreed he "needed one-to-one support not just for education, but for safety of himself and others".

"He needed help with personal hygiene, eating and drinking, regulating body temperature and communication which the plan failed to consider," it added.

'Stress and anxiety'

The complainant also said the council delayed producing the final plan, which prevented her from appealing to a tribunal.

She said the council's actions forced her son to be absent from school from September, placed a financial burden on the family due to her needing to take time off work, and caused mental stress and anxiety.

The ombudsman found fault with the council for delays in producing the education plan and the failure to provide alternative education.

The council agreed to pay £2,700 for the boy's missed education and £300 for the delays, distress and frustration caused.

It said it would finish the education plan and provide suitable education to him.

A spokesman for Bury Council said: "We fully accept that there were a number of failures in our assessment process, for which we apologise unreservedly.

"We have implemented the ombudsman's recommendations, including making the compensation payments."

He said the council was committed to ensuring that "children and their families have a much improved service, with their needs identified and met earlier".