A Reading woman was handed a £600 payout after her grandson missed out on five weeks of schooling.

Following an investigation, Reading council’s childrens services company was found to have delayed naming an appropriate school for the boy, leading to a gap in his education.

Problems for the boy began, while he was in Year 6,  when he moved from another area to Reading to live with his grandmother.

He already had an education, health and care (EHC) plan from the area he used to live in, which was accepted by the council’s childrens services company Brighter Futures for Children (BFfC).

But the grandmother and BFfC clashed in a disagreement over which school the boy would go to.

While she wanted him to go to a school she preferred, that school was full.

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During that time the boy was left without an education.

The grandmother formally complained to BFfC about this loss, to which it replied that many of the schools it was consulting were either full or did not meet the boy’s needs.

BFfC found the boy a specialist school which he could finish the rest of Year 6 at and begin Year 7 of secondary education there as well.

However, the grandmother was unhappy over the delay to the boy’s education and his placement in the specialist school, which she felt was inappropriate.

This led her to complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

Ultimately, the boy began secondary education at the specialist school, and he said to his grandmother that he has settled there and does not want to move.

The ombudsman ruled that there was no evidence the named school was unsuitable to meet the boy’s needs, which is supported by the fact that he is now settled there.

However, the ombudsman found fault with the amount of time BFfC took to give the boy formal notice of the school he would be sent to, and failing to provide tuition for him while he outside of education.

To remedy the distress and uncertainty caused, the ombudsman asked BFfC to pay £600 to the grandmother, with £500 to recognise the loss of the boy’s education between February and April 2021, and £100 in compensation to the grandmother.

The ombudsman stated the £500 should be used to the boy’s educational benefit.

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BFfC have accepted the ombudsman’s findings and paid out the compensation.

A spokesperson for BFfC said: “We fully accept the decision of the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman’s decision in this case.

“We have paid the amounts stated by the Ombudsman in recognition of the boy’s loss of education and the distress and anxiety caused to both him and the grandmother.

“We have also provided the Ombudsman with evidence of further procedures introduced to ensure children transferring from another local authority with an EHC plan are offered suitable placements and provision in line with relevant law and statutory guidance.”