Council apologises and forced to pay compensation as child left without education for more than a year
North Tyneside’s mayor has apologised to the family of a special needs child who was left without ‘suitable education’ for over a year.
A Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman report found the pupil, dubbed Child Y, had not been in school since September 2022 due to their educational needs.
The council had agreed to purchase the right equipment to allow the child to access classes remotely. However, this equipment was not set up to enable them to learn from home.
An updated report discovered the council had blamed IT security restrictions and compatibility problems for not setting up the equipment, which should have been in place in September 2023. The watchdog also found North Tyneside Council had not tried to put other solutions in placed until September 2024.
This resulted in the child having “no suitable education” for three school terms, half of which occurred during a GCSE year. The report also criticised the council for not finding an alternative education provider itself.
Once arrangements had been found the child’s new placement began at the end of March 2025.
Mayor Karen Clark has now issued an apology to the family, saying: “Can just add my sincere apologies to Mrs X and the child involved in this matter. I would like to say there has been lots of learning and due diligence processes have been put in place to avoid a situation like this arising again in the future.
“I can only extended our sincere apologies for any distress caused. Thank you.”
The ombudsman has also ordered the council to pay £5,900 in compensation. Now, North Tyneside Council’s cabinet has agreed that the actions required in the ombudsman report are implemented.
In addition, the director of children’s services within the local authority will present a report within three months to senior council members to confirm the actions have been fully implemented.