Shropshire Council pays out £3,000 after failing to support SEN pupil from military family
The local authority apologised to the family and said it should have done more
Shropshire Council has apologised after a watchdog found it failed to adequately support a child from a military family with special educational needs.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman said the child was left without specialist educational support - which should have been provided by the council - for five months.
The Ombudsman said the family moved to Shropshire in February 2025 as part of a military posting and the council has been informed of both the move and the child's Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan two months before this.
However, it failed to arrange a school placement or put interim education in place when the family arrived.
After limited online schooling arranged by the previous council ended in April 2025, the child had no education at all for several months at the start of his GCSE preparation course.
The ombudsman described the responses from Shropshire Council after the child's mother tried to contact the authority as "woefully inadequate".
The family have since been offered an apology from the council and £3,000 to reflet the missed provision.
Amerdeep Clarke, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: "When a family moves as part of a military posting, the very least they should be able to expect is that the council has their child's support in place from day one.
"In this case, the council had two months' notice and still left a child with significant special educational needs without his specialist provision for the best part of half a year during the critical start of his GCSE studies.
"I would urge every council in England to look at this case and satisfy themselves that they are genuinely meeting their obligations to armed forces families."
In a statement, a spokesperson for Shropshire Council said: "We acknowledge the ombudsman’s findings, accept the recommendations in the report and apologise to the family.
"The council could and should have done more to ensure that the child received the educational provision in his Education, Health and Care Plan between February and July 2025.
"The ombudsman’s report notes that the council has already acted to improve practice in this area. However, as the report recommends, we will be writing to the family to formally apologise, and making a payment to to reflect the missed special educational provision.
"We are also reviewing our Armed Forces Covenant Action Plan to ensure that we implement changes to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) procedures, so service children with SEND do not have any gaps in their education when they move into Shropshire.
"The ombudsman’s report and its findings will also shortly be considered by Cabinet.
"As a signatory to the Armed Forces Covenant we are committed to ensuring that those who serve or have served in the armed forces, and their families, are treated fairly – and to supporting children and young people from service families.
"This week we are marking Armed Forces Week by showing our support and appreciation for the county’s armed forces personnel and their families
"We are determined that this case will not be repeated, and have already taken action. As the report acknowledges, the council has recently introduced a communication protocol for the EHC team, and we have recently delivered training on the Armed Forces Covenant to key staff."
What is the Armed Forces Covenant?
The Armed Forces Covenant places a legal duty on councils to ensure military families face no disadvantage in the provision of public services.
The SEND Code of Practice specifically requires that transitions are well managed for service children with special educational needs, and that councils work proactively to ensure provision is in place from the moment a child arrives.
The Ombudsman's report notes that Shropshire Council's own Armed Forces Covenant Action Plan 2025–29 acknowledges outstanding challenges around SEN provision for service children, making the failure to act in this case all the more concerning.