Cornwall Council has been ordered to pay £3,500 to a boy and his mum after he missed a year of school.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman found that the council had been at fault, leading to the boy missing a year of school between December 2015 and January 2017.

The boy had been excluded from primary school due to behavioural problems but the ombudsman found that Cornwall Council did not provide him with the right support sooner because teams within the council did not communicate with one another.

In its ruling the ombudsman ordered Cornwall Council to apologise to the boy and his mother for its failures and pay the family £2,500 and another £1,000 to fund additional activities for the boy that will suit his needs.

The boy’s family and experts – including the council’s own social worker, autism needs advisor, and educational psychologist – asked the council to carry out an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan assessment as early as 2015, but the council’s educational panel decided there was not enough evidence that the boy met the threshold.

It took more than a year, and two further requests for assessment, for the council to decide the boy needed to be assessed.

When the final EHC Plan was issued it set out a significant amount of help was needed to allow the boy to receive an education and manage his emotions and behaviour.

The investigation found Cornwall’s children’s services department became involved with the boy and his family in 2015, but the education department told the Ombudsman it first knew the boy was not receiving a full-time education in November 2016.

The Ombudsman decided the boy would have had his EHC Plan earlier and received full-time education sooner if support had been in place.

Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: “This case highlights the importance of council departments working together, communicating properly and sharing information to ensure the correct support is provided in a timely way.

“The council also applied too high a threshold for deciding whether or not to assess the boy for an EHC Plan. The threshold for deciding an assessment is low – a council only needs to be satisfied a child may have special educational needs and may require provision. In this case there was ample evidence the boy met this.

“I welcome the changes the council has agreed to make to ensure its EHC Plan assessments are in line with legislation, guidance and case law. These recommendations aim to stop other children having to wait so long to receive the support they need.”

The council has agreed to produce guidance for its children’s services and education departments about information sharing and responsibilities around children with SEN who are either out of education or not receiving full-time education.

It will also amend its guidance on children eligible for an EHCP assessment to ensure these are lawful and in-line with legislation, guidance and case law.

In a statement Cornwall Council said: “Cornwall Council accepts the report from the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) and its findings. The support provided by the council to his family and the communication between the different teams within the council in this case fell short of the standards we expect. We have apologised to his family for these failings.

“Cornwall Council is implementing all the actions recommended by the LGO promptly, particularly effective communications between services and information for families, in order to prevent other children having to wait so long for the support they need.

“We have taken on board all the feedback provided by the LGO and will use that to inform better working practices. We have already reviewed the communication channels internally and with our partners, to ensure a more integrated way of working.”