Hampshire County Council (19 003 700)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 18-Mar-2020

Summary: Mrs X complains that the Council did not provide her son, C, with adequate alternative education in a timely manner when he was out of school. She says C missed education and says this has been stressful and upsetting. The Ombudsman finds fault with the Council for not acting sooner to provide alternative education. This caused Mrs X injustice. The Council will apologise and make a payment to Mrs X.

London Borough of Hackney (19 005 129)

Statement Not upheld Special educational needs 18-Mar-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman has discontinued his investigation of this complaint, about the Council’s delay in issuing an Education, Health and Care plan. This is because he cannot provide the outcome the complainant seeks.

Staffordshire County Council (19 012 311)

Statement Not upheld Special educational needs 18-Mar-2020

Summary: Ms X complained the Council delayed completing her son’s Education, Health and Care assessment. The Ombudsman cannot assess the full impact of the delay or recommend a remedy until an Education, Health and Care plan is agreed. Ms X’s complaint can be re-opened when the outcome is known.

Surrey County Council (19 014 022)

Statement Not upheld School admissions 18-Mar-2020

Summary: Miss B complains that the Council failed to give her proper advice when applying for a school place for her daughter and then wrongly treated the application as late. She also complains that the independent appeals panel was wrong to refuse her appeal against the refusal of a school place. The Ombudsman has found no fault by the Council or the panel so we cannot question the decision to refuse a place.

Gloucestershire County Council (19 014 442)

Statement Upheld School admissions 18-Mar-2020

Summary: Mrs T complains about the independent appeal panel’s decision not to admit her child to her preferred primary school. The Council was at fault in that the clerk did not properly record the panel’s deliberations or the reasons for its decision. The Council was also at fault in that the decision letter did not properly explain the reasons for the panel’s decision. To remedy the injustice caused, the Council has agreed to offer Mrs T a fresh appeal with a different panel and a new clerk and to review the training needs of its clerks and panel members.

London Borough of Redbridge (19 019 982)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries School admissions 18-Mar-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about an unsuccessful appeal for a school place. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the panel and so we cannot question the merits of its decision.

City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (19 009 252)

Statement Upheld Special educational needs 17-Mar-2020

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council delayed in completing an Education, Health and Care needs assessment for her son Y, and that it failed to issue a final Plan. The Council was at fault. That fault caused avoidable distress and frustration to Mrs X. The Council has agreed to pay Mrs X £250 to remedy the injustice caused and complete an action plan to support Y find suitable education. It has already made service improvements to prevent a recurrence of the fault.

St Philip's Catholic Primary School, Stockport (19 011 852)

Statement Upheld School admissions 17-Mar-2020

Summary: Mr X complains of fault when he applied for a school place for his son. The panel failed to record clear reasons for the decision to refuse a place. The School will arrange a fresh appeal with a new panel.

Kent County Council (19 019 464)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 16-Mar-2020

Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Ms T’s complaint that the Council failed to act against a pupil who was allegedly bullying her child. This is because we have no power to investigate the internal management of schools nor the Council’s response to a complaint about such matters.

Suffolk County Council (19 008 840)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries School transport 16-Mar-2020

Summary: Ms X complains the Council failed to consider her circumstances when it refused her appeal for home to school transport for her children. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint as we are unlikely to find fault in the way the Council dealt with her appeal. Nor is further investigation likely to lead to a different outcome.