Agenda item

The Ombudsman has required the Council to report to the Committee presenting its review outcome and action plan so that the Committee can decide how progress against the plan should be monitored.

The Leader of the Council, Cllr Liz Leffman, will present the report and be accompanied by Lisa Lyons, Director of Children’s Services, and Kate Reynolds, Deputy Director of Education and Inclusion.

The Committee is asked to consider the report and raise any questions, and to AGREE any recommendations it wishes to make to Cabinet arising therefrom.

The Leader of the Council, Cllr Liz Leffman, attended to present the Council’s response to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s (LGSCO) report and was accompanied by Lisa Lyons, Director of Children’s Services, Kate Reynolds, Deputy Director of Education and Inclusion, and Deborah Smit, Assistant Director of SEND and Inclusion.  The report set out learning from complaints to the Council relating to s.19 provision and the process of developing the Council’s s.19 approach and Pathway of Action to manage applications for provision following 15 days of school absence.

The Leader of the Council acknowledged the importance of addressing the issues raised by the Ombudsman's report on Section 19. She thanked all those who had addressed the Committee for their feedback on all items and stressed the importance of getting all the policies under consideration right.

The Director of Children’s Services explained the requirement to comply with the Ombudsman's directives and the challenges faced in meeting the 15-day timeframe for alternative education provision. She acknowledged difficulties in either returning children to school or providing alternative provision within the specified period and highlighted the need for staff training to address these issues.

The Committee sought assurance that those whose complaints had been upheld had received an apology and was advised that an apology and remedy were issued within the process of responding to the Ombudsman’s process, often before the formal upholding of complaints. The discussion highlighted that the cases spanned the last five years, during which a pattern of not taking having taken decisive legal action was identified.

Members sought clarification about the requirement to provide alternative provision (AP) within 15 days, and raised concerns that starting legal action against the family would be counterproductive. The Deputy Director acknowledged this concern and explained that the legislation required either the child to return to school or alternative provision to be arranged within 15 days. If neither was achieved, the Council must prosecute the parents for non-attendance, which had been a difficult position for staff who aimed to prioritise the child's needs.

Members raised concerns about the action plan's lack of Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART) outcomes. The Deputy Director stated that the current plan met the Ombudsman’s requirements, with detailed targets to follow in a forthcoming policy. Whilst outlining necessary actions, it lacked specific metrics. Members also asked about the process flowchart's users and its scope.

The Deputy Director explained it was for officers dealing with children not attending school due to varied reasons like medical issues or exclusions. The flowchart aimed to clarify processes for legal compliance. The Council initially drafted it and would consult schools for agreement.  It was complex but that was because the process was complex.  It was intended for officers to use rather than being intended for the public.

A question was raised about making policy effective and measurable, and whether there was an element of co-design to keep children in education. The Deputy Director explained that the alternative education provision working group was working on guidance for alternative education provision, involving the Oxfordshire Parent Carer Forum and other stakeholders. It was acknowledged that it was difficult to write a policy that was general enough to cover all needs while being specific to individual children.

Members discussed the obligations under section 19 and the measures in place to engage with school leadership and governors given the timeline pressures. The Deputy Director explained that the county attendance team worked with individual schools, meeting with secondary schools fortnightly to discuss attendance and support for children. The aim was to address issues early and to ensure children do not remain out of school for 15 days without intervention.

The Committee asked if the concerns raised about the culture at the Council by some public speakers, particularly around engagement with families, were founded and sought assurance that steps had been taken to improve the culture.  Officers highlighted initiatives like attendance and home education officers engaging with communities and explaining policies in libraries.

The Committee was advised that the Council aimed to strengthen relationships by involving parent carer fora and stakeholders in projects. Staff were supported with trauma-informed practices to boost their confidence in decision-making. The focus was on consistent, reliable decisions and increased dialogue with parents. The Council recognised the need for ongoing improvement in relationships and culture.

The Committee established that the training on the s.19 duty, emphasising responsibilities and legal requirements, provided to 42 members of staff referenced in the report had been mandatory for all relevant staff.  This included county attendance officers and Children Missing Education officers. 

The Committee agreed that, if the s.19 approach and Pathway of Action was agreed by Cabinet, that it would expect to receive a monitoring report early in 2026.

The Committee agreed that it would be helpful to receive case-studies of individual children’s pathways (suitably anonymised).  The Committee also expressed interest in understanding how trauma-informed education and restorative practice were being developed in schools and requested more information on this.  It would welcome attendance of one of the Headteachers involved in developing the school-led alternative education provision to a future meeting.

ACTION:

The Deputy Director to provide more detailed data on children who were not attending school in these circumstances as part of the data pack expected for the meeting of the Committee on 11 July 2026.

The Committee AGREED to recommendations under the following headings:

• That, notwithstanding the complexity of the processes being set out, the Council should ensure that the process chart at Annexe B should be re-designed to make it clearer and easier to follow;
• That the Council should ensure there is adequate resource – both financial and practical – to ensure the s.19 approach and Pathway of Action can function adequately;