An Ombudsman has slammed officers and senior managers at Salford city council who knew a girl was without education for two school terms but 'failed to take responsibility'. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has compensated the girl's mother to the tune of more than £4,000 after saying that no one at the authority helped [her mother] Miss Y and [daughter] Z find a school place'.
The city council has now agreed to 'apologise to Miss Y for its failure to have proper regard for Z's right to education and failure to provide appropriate support and help and its communication failures'. Miss Y will now receive £600 each for each school month of education Z missed from February 7 this year to the end of the summer term (21 school weeks), amounting to a total of £2,908 and a further £1,200 to 'acknowledge the distress, time and trouble these failures caused her'.
"I consider it appropriate for this payment to be used to reimburse Miss Y for costs she incurred in providing educational materials and activities for Z during this period, with the balance being used for the benefit of her education," the Ombudsman's report said.
