Cornwall Council 'failed' boy with mental health problems who went months without education
The authority was not doing enough to make sure the organisations in charge were providing the proper access
Cornwall Council has been found to not be doing enough to ensure that children who are not in school are getting an education.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) found that the council had not been doing enough to ensure that organisations given the responsibility for providing education to children out of school had been fulfilling the role.
It comes after a family made a formal complaint to the LGSCO around the lack of education provided to their son after he was unable to attend school due to mental health problems.
The secondary school student went without any education for months and his family were unhappy that the council had not ensured that he was able to access learning while not in school.
In Cornwall alternative education provision is outsourced by the council to Wave Multi-Academy Trust and education is provided by the Community and Hospital Education Service (CHES).
The ombudsman's investigation found the council did not have enough oversight of the process both schools in the county - including academies - and the council itself must follow when a child is out of education for a period.
In its investigation the ombudsman found that the council relies on schools to make referrals to CHES and then relies on CHES to decide whether the council has a duty to provide education.
The council was unable to show that it had considered the boy's needs while he was out of education - from March to July 2019.
As the council is ultimately responsible for outsourced services the ombudsman found that it was at fault.
It also found the council delayed the process by not directing CHES to provide education, and instead asking his school to make a referral to CHES, and so the boy missed out on education.
During the investigation, the ombudsman also found the council was wrongly suggesting the boy's school was responsible for monitoring his education through CHES. The council's approach appears to make the school responsible for monitoring the council's own performance of its statutory duty.
The council response to the boy's father's complaint was also found to be inadequate and that it did not recognise that its service had failed and that the boy had missed out on his education as a result.
Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: "Because the council did not have proper oversight of the process, the boy was left without education for four months. The council relied on schools to make decisions for which it had a statutory duty to make.
"While councils can contract out services to independent providers, they cannot contract out responsibility and remain ultimately answerable for any problems which may occur.
"I'm pleased Cornwall Council has accepted all my recommendations and hope the changes it will now make will improve services and accountability for those services for young people in the county".
Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
Cornwall Council has agreed to apologise to the boy and his father and also to make a symbolic payment of £1,200 to acknowledge the education he missed.
The council has also agreed to review its procedures and policies to ensure it retains oversight and responsibility for its duties to children unable to attend school.
It will also conduct an audit of children not attending school or not attending full-time, to ensure they are receiving suitable education and the council is meeting its duties towards them.