OXFORDSHIRE County Council has been ordered to pay more than £7,000 to the mother of an autistic boy to make up for a year of education he missed when he was unable to attend school.

The woman complained to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, which investigates individual complaints about councils, all adult social care providers and some other public service organisations, after her autistic son was left without education when he became too anxious to attend his primary school.

She said the lack of proper education has had a significant impact on her daily life and employment.

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The council said the boy was receiving appropriate online education from the school after he stopped attending in June last year, until February.

Evidence suggested this was unsuitable because there was no direct teaching and what was offered was not based on the boy’s needs.

The boy was not given any education at all between February and June this year.

Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: “Councils have a duty to ensure alternative education is provided and they cannot delegate this duty to schools or other providers.

“I issued a special report about this issue earlier this year, and I am concerned that the evidence I have seen during this investigation suggests officers do not always understand their obligations in this respect.

“I am disappointed Oxfordshire County Council has not accepted the recommendations I have set out in my report.

“The local democratic process the report will now go through will allow council members to formally decide what value the council places on the lessons that can be learned from this case.”

The council was ordered to pay a combined £4,000 for the missed education and a further £1,000 to acknowledge the distress caused by the faults.

The council should also reimburse the £2,200 cost incurred by the mother in commissioning a private educational psychologist assessment because of the council’s delays.

The council said it had apologised for the issues described by the Ombudsman and that it is committed to give every child and young person in the county ‘the very best start in life.’

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A spokesperson for the county council said: “We have already started to implement the measures requested by the Ombudsman and will continue to do so.

“We’re introducing an information system that links schools and education teams better. This represents a significant investment in the well-being of every child in Oxfordshire.

“Briefings and training are being delivered to school leaders and council officers regarding our responsibilities to medically unfit children. These communications will continue to be regularly reviewed and updated as required.”

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This story was written by Anna Colivicchi, she joined the team this year and covers health stories for the Oxfordshire papers. 

Get in touch with her by emailing: Anna.colivicchi@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @AnnaColivicchi