Boy missed GCSE exams after Brent Council delay

A boy with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) missed out on taking his GCSE exams because he had no school place for around three months, his mother has claimed.

Brent Council has been ordered to pay £1,000 compensation following an investigation by the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO).

The local authority was found to be at fault for the delay in providing alternative education after the boy - referred to in the report as Y - was removed from the school roll after returning from a short period living abroad.

This was despite Y having an education, health and care plan (EHCP) with the school.

The local authority "had a duty" to provide the required education - in a school place or through alternative means - according to the LGO report.

However, it also concluded it would have been "very unlikely" that this alone affected his GCSE opportunities.

Y, who had "significant difficulties with language and communication", was removed from the roll in March 2024.

The ombudsman said it was "not clear whether this is because Y had left to live abroad, or for another reason" but found that the school did not inform the local authority as it should have.

Brent Council told investigators it arranged for Y to receive 15 hours of tuition a week, which it said was its standard practice for young people accessing interim education.

Y's mother, known as Miss X, claimed that Y only received two hours of tuition a week, which she felt was insufficient and prevented her son from taking his GCSEs.

Due to the absence of further information, the LGO accepted the council's account.

The ombudsman recognised it would have been "very difficult" for the council to find Y a school place given how close it was to his GCSE exam dates and that Y would inevitably be behind in his academic studies having been abroad.

"On the balance of probability, it is very unlikely Y would have been in a position to take his GCSEs even if the council had found him a school place".

The report concluded that Brent Council had a duty to provide alternative education before mid-July 2024 if there was no available placement. For this delay the local authority was ordered to pay £1,000 to Miss X for Y's lost education, which the LGO suggested caused her "avoidable frustration, time and trouble".

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