A South London mum has been paid over £3,000 by her local council after the authority reportedly failed to provide her son with the education specified in his care plan.

Bromley Council has been criticised by the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman for failing to intervene when a resident’s son stopped attending college.

The mum’s son, named Y in the report, was said to have special educational needs and started college in September 2022.

The teenager’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan said he should receive a specified curriculum, including speech and language therapy and classes to improve his social interaction.

The report added: “In mid-January 2023, Y’s education placement broke down and he stopped attending the college.

"Mrs X said she had several meetings with the college where she raised concerns about Y being left unattended and staff not understanding Y’s communication needs. Mrs X said Y’s anxiety had increased significantly since attending the college.”

The mum reportedly had to start working from home around this time, which caused difficulties at her job.

She then asked for an emergency annual review of Y’s EHC plan, which took place in February.

The notes from the meeting reportedly showed Mrs X had concerns about the provision her son was receiving at the college and asked for the council to reassess her son’s needs.

The authority said it agreed to consult with other providers to potentially meet Y’s needs, and acknowledged the college was providing work for Y to complete at home online.

Mrs X made a complaint to the council later that month for Y not receiving any of the provisions in his EHC plan and for him not attending college since mid-January.

She also felt a new educational psychology report was needed for her son as the old one was over six years old.

The ombudsman said in their report that the college told the council in February 2023 that it could not tell if the outcomes of Y’s EHC plan were being met as he was not attending college.

However, Mrs X said she did not believe her son was receiving work to do at home.

The council told the mum in March that the annual review did not indicate a requirement for a new educational psychology report.

The authority added that it would not fund education at another provider as it had already paid the current college Y was attending.

The next month, the council responded to Mrs X’s complaint to say the college had confirmed in 2022 that it would be able to meet Y’s needs.

However, the college told the authority in June 2023 that it would no longer be able to do this.

Bromley Council told Mrs X in July 2023 that it had provided the college was funding to cover education for her son from September 2022 until then.

It added that it would not pay for sessions at another provider the mum funded herself. The mum then complained to the ombudsman, and claimed her son was still at home and not receiving any of the provision listed in his EHC plan.

The ombudsman said Bromley Council did not provide enough evidence that Y was receiving the provision included in his EHC plan after he stopped attending the college.

They added that the authority should have stepped in to address Y not receiving the provision in his plan and there was no evidence it looked for an alternative provider.

The authority was told to apologise to the family and pay Mrs X £3,300 for the education her son lost and the distress and uncertainty she suffered as a result.

It was also told to ensure the special educational provision in Y’s plan was put in place, and to pay Mrs X an additional £400 per month until it was secured.

A Bromley Council spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “Bromley Council had been engaging with the family prior to the complaint being received.

"The council is committed to providing every child in the borough with the best possible education but, like every other local authority with responsibility for supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities, struggles on occasion under the ever-increasing pressure to marshal available resources in order to provide the service we would wish.”

They added: “Following the ombudsman’s approach, it cooperated fully with the investigation and agreed with the proposed remedial action, which has been acknowledged by the regulator to be completed to their satisfaction.”