Lewisham pays out £1.5k to compensate mum over schooling lapse

A mum of a child too anxious to attend school has been awarded £1,500 by Lewisham council after the authority failed to arrange alternative education.

The unnamed girl, known only as B, missed out on classes for six months due to the local authority’s delays in offering her replacement tuition elsewhere.

The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) said the situation caused the girl and her family ‘distress, frustration and uncertainty’, in a report from February.

B’s mum, known only as Dr X, informed the council that her daughter was unable to attend school due to anxiety in November 2023.

The girl’s school offered her mindfulness and lunchtime support session if she could attend. But alternative arrangements for her education in the meantime were not put in place.

In December 2023, the school’s attendance officer sent a letter to Dr X warning her she could be taken to court if her child continued to skip classes. Later the same month, B’s doctor informed the school that she had a diagnosis of autism, which was a potential cause of her non-attendance at school.

Lewisham told the LGO it took steps to arrange alternative education for B upon receiving the doctor’s evidence. But it did not manage to secure replacement tuition for the girl until April 2024, four months later.

As compensation, the LGO ordered the council to pay Dr X £1,500 and remind attendance staff of their responsibility to provide education for children who don’t attend school full-time.

The LGO said: “We have found the council at fault for a delay in providing access to suitable provision after receiving a medical letter. This caused distress, uncertainty and frustration for Dr X and her child.

“The council has agreed to apologise, make a symbolic financial payment and remind its staff of the Ombudsman’s guidance on how we expect councils to fulfil their responsibilities to provide education for children who do not attend school full-time.”

A Lewisham council spokesman said: “We have reviewed the decision regarding Dr X’s complaint and accept the findings. We have apologised to the family for the disruption to their child’s education, and acknowledge that we should have done better.

“We are committed to learning from this experience and are actively reviewing our attendance and hospital outreach programme policies and processes to ensure that children facing health challenges receive the support they need without unnecessary delays.”

Pictured top: Lewisham council HQ in Catford (Picture: Google Street View)