Brighton & Hove City Council (21 004 803)

Statement Upheld Covid-19 09-Feb-2022

Summary: Mrs X complains that an appeal panel did not properly consider her reasons for wanting a place at a school for her son. There is no fault in the appeal panel’s decision to hold Mrs X’s appeal by written submission or in its consideration of her appeal. There is fault in the panel’s decision letter as it did not give sufficient information to Mrs X for her to be satisfied the panel had considered her reasons for her appeal and for her to understand the basis of its decision. This did not cause sufficient injustice to Mrs X to warrant a remedy from the Council.

Halton Borough Council (20 010 290)

Statement Upheld Covid-19 31-Jan-2022

Summary: Mrs X complained about how the Council dealt with her son’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. We find the Council was at fault through delay, failing to put some of the provision in place and failing to complete a review of the EHC Plan. This resulted in some loss of provision and a lack of planning for post-16 education. The Council has agreed a suitable remedy including payments, an urgent review of the EHC Plan and a review of procedures.

Hampshire County Council (21 004 706)

Statement Upheld Covid-19 31-Jan-2022

Summary: Mrs B complained her appeal for a place for her daughter at School 1 was unsuccessful. We found fault with the Council for failing to record its decision not to hold appeals by telephone or video conference. The Council will remind relevant school admission appeal officers of the importance of recording procedural decisions to prevent causing injustice in the future.

Hampshire County Council (21 004 837)

Statement Upheld Covid-19 31-Jan-2022

Summary: Miss B complained her appeal for a place for her son at School 1 was unsuccessful. She said this meant her son had to attend a different school to his siblings which he found upsetting. We found fault with the Council for failing to record its decision not to hold appeals by telephone or video conference. The Council will remind relevant school admission appeal officers of the importance of recording procedural decisions to prevent injustice being caused in the future.

Hampshire County Council (21 001 549)

Statement Upheld Covid-19 31-Jan-2022

Summary: Miss B complained her appeal for a place for her daughter at School 1 was unsuccessful. She said the Council offered her daughter a place at School 2, some distance away, and because her daughter was not of compulsory school-age it would not offer school transport. Miss B said C was not able to attend School 2 and this affected her social and academic development. We found fault with the Council for failing to record its decision not to hold appeals by telephone or video conference. The Council has since offered C a place at School 1 which remedied any injustice to C and Miss B.

Warwickshire County Council (21 002 248)

Statement Upheld Covid-19 28-Jan-2022

Summary: Mrs X complains that the Council failed to make appropriate reasonable adjustments for her son when sitting the 11 plus test. There is no evidence of fault in how the Council made its decision on what reasonable adjustments it should make for Mrs X’s son. The Council is at fault in how it communicated with Mrs X and it delayed in dealing with her complaint which caused distress, frustration and avoidable time and trouble to Mrs X. The Council has agreed to remedy this injustice by apologising to Mrs X and making a payment of £200 to acknowledge the distress caused to her.

East Sussex County Council (20 008 629)

Statement Not upheld Covid-19 20-Jan-2022

Summary: We did not uphold Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of a child protection conference and of a meeting with her. We did not found fault with the actions of the Council.

London Borough of Merton (20 010 409)

Statement Upheld Covid-19 12-Jan-2022

Summary: Mrs B complained the Council did not secure the provision in her son’s educational, health and care plan. Mrs B says this negatively impacted her son’s academic progress and contributed to a decline in his well-being. We found fault with the Council because it did not secure provision in Mrs B’s son’s plan. The Council will secure the missed provision and make a financial payment to remedy the injustice to Mrs B and her son.

North Yorkshire County Council (21 003 354)

Statement Upheld Covid-19 11-Jan-2022

Summary: Mr X and Ms Y complained the Council failed to make ‘reasonable endeavours’ to provide for their son, Z’s, special educational needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Council failed to properly consider and make ‘reasonable endeavours’ to arrange Z’s special education when there was an alternative provider available. It also failed to review Z’s personal budget to meet increased costs and to meet other costs Mr X and Ms Y incurred due to fault for which it was responsible. It agreed to apologise, pay these costs and review similar cases.

Lancashire County Council (21 005 510)

Statement Upheld Covid-19 11-Jan-2022

Summary: Mrs X complained about the handling of her daughter's school admission appeal. We do not find there was unreasonable delay in holding the appeal. But we find that the appeal panel was at fault in failing to consider the appeal properly and give adequate reasons for its decision. The Council has agreed to offer a fresh hearing.