A child went months without education because of Trafford Council’s unnecessary delays, an investigation has found.
The child, who has special educational needs, stopped attending mainstream school in September 2023.
Within two weeks, a tutor had been found and within two months, the council identified two special schools with places.
But the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman found it was months until the council’s funding panel looked at the case, which meant the child did not start at special school until April 2024.
Ombudsman Amerdeep Somal said: ‘The child should have missed, at most, two weeks of education after the emergency review. Instead, the council's internal bureaucracy added months of avoidable delay.’
Trafford Council has agreed to apologise to the mother and child and pay them £4,350.
A spokesperson for the council said: 'We accept the Ombudsman’s findings in this case and offer our apologies to all those affected. Furthermore, the council is complying fully with the recommendations that have been made in the report. This includes reviewing current arrangements for decisions made regarding EHC assessments and plans.'
