mum from North London has complained that failures by the local authority left her child with no educational placement after she requested an emergency review of their education health and care plan (EHCP), according to a Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) report.
The woman, referred to in the reports as Miss X, had raised concerns about the quality of the secondary school her child – referred to as Y – was attending and no longer wanted them to continue there for the final year. She said the council “failed to complete” a key stage transfer review of Y’s EHCP by the legal deadline.
Harrow Council accepted it had not found a placement for Y ahead of the academic year after Miss X had removed them from the school due to concerns it could not meet her child’s needs. The Ombudsman found that “it is likely” the council didn’t start arranging suitable education for Y until February 2025, despite Miss X first raising the issue in September 2024.
Emergency review requested over education concerns
In June 2023, Miss X asked the council for an emergency review of Y’s EHCP due to concerns about “the quality of Y’s education placement” and said she no longer wanted her to attend the same school for her final academic year, the LGO report states. A review meeting was held in July 2023.
Y was due to start their post-16 education in September 2024 so the council started discussing their choices with Miss X in December 2023. However, in May 2024, Harrow Council accepted it had not found a placement for Y.
In July 2024, the local authority issued a draft amended EHCP and continued to look for a suitable education placement – but when September rolled around Y did not have a school or college place. Miss X began paying for different activities for Y, which she felt were needed for their learning, and asked Harrow Council to provide English and maths tuition.
Council agreed to provide English and maths tuition
Following a new Educational Psychologist (EP) assessment of Y, the local authority said it would provide the English and maths tuition but would not pay for the other activities as there was “no evidence Y needed them”, the report states.
However, in January 2025, Miss X complained to the council that Y was still not receiving English and maths tuition so, in February, the local authority sent her details of tuition providers to choose from – as well as agreeing to fund the costs for Y’s activities, backdated to September 2024. It finally issued Y with an amended EHCP in March 2025.
Ombudsman finds council missed legal deadline
The Ombudsman determined that the council did not amend Y’s EHCP to name which post-16 setting they would attend by the legal deadline of March 31 2024 and denied Miss Y the opportunity to appeal the decision. However, the LGO added that it “cannot say this fault left Y without an educational placement in September 2024”.
It added: “Miss X removed Y from the school before September 2024 as she did not feel it could meet Y’s needs. If the council had properly carried out a key stage transfer review, I cannot say what educational placement the council would have named. It is possible it still would have named the school, in which case the same disagreement about Y’s placement could have happened and Y still would not have had a placement in September 2024.”
The Ombudsman found further fault that the council delayed arranging suitable provision for Y until February 2025, despite concerns first being raised in September 2024. It also stated that the council failed to provide Y with support they were entitled to as part of their EHCP, “even if they weren’t attending a school”.
Harrow Council ordered to apologise and pay £800
The council has been ordered to apologise to both Miss X and Y “for the injustice caused” and told to pay a total of £800 in compensation.
A spokesperson for Harrow Council said: “We accept the Ombudsman’s findings and apologise for the faults identified. We have issued formal apologies and reviewed and strengthened our processes to ensure children and young people receive the support they need within statutory timescales and without delay.
“We remain committed to improving outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities and continue to improve our SEND services for families.”
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Grant Williams is a journalist and Local Democracy Reporter (LDR) for Reach PLC, reporting on local government, politics and community issues across London. As part of the Local Democracy Reporting Service, he has contributed to Harrow Online, covering council decisions, housing developments, transport, planning matters and stories affecting local communities across Harrow and Brent.
