Lancashire County Council (20 011 023)

Statement Upheld Other 12-Jul-2021

Summary: Ms C complained the Council failed to respond to her Free School Meals application and provide the support she was entitled to. As a result, she said she experienced a financial loss. The Council reviewed the case and agreed it was at fault as it used an incorrect National Insurance number to assess her application. It has apologised to Ms C and made payment equal to the amount she would have received in Free School Meals and the Summer Holiday Scheme.

City of Doncaster Council (21 002 600)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 08-Jul-2021

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about child protection referrals and the Council’s response to them. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. There is nothing significant to be achieved by investigating.

Herefordshire Council (20 011 562)

Statement Not upheld Other 24-Jun-2021

Summary: Mrs M cannot take up her children’s Free Early Education Entitlement at a nursery in Wales because the nursery is not eligible. There is no fault by the Council.

Portsmouth City Council (20 009 922)

Statement Not upheld Other 14-Jun-2021

Summary: Ms X complained about the Council’s actions in respect of the elective home education which she has been providing to her two children. We are discontinuing our investigation because a group of parents have leave to pursue a judicial review of the Council’s policy and procedures. Ms X’s complaint is inextricably linked to this legal action.

West Sussex County Council (21 000 285)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 28-May-2021

Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about how the Council spent money to obtain childcare services. This is because the matter has been subject to court proceedings, and we do not consider that the complainant is suffering from any outstanding personal injustice.

Suffolk County Council (21 001 767)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 18-May-2021

Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint regarding safeguarding concerns that the Council reported to Ofsted about the school that the complainant worked at. This is because it is made on behalf of a public body.

South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council (20 013 498)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 10-May-2021

Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the school handled a safeguarding matter regarding a child in his care and how it breached confidentiality during the complaint. This is because the law prevents us from investigating matters about what happens in a school including the Council’s involvement.

Suffolk County Council (20 013 715)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 29-Apr-2021

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has monitored the complainant’s social media and shared personal information about his children between different Council teams. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council and because the complainant could complain to the Information Commissioner.

Portsmouth City Council (19 020 525)

Statement Not upheld Other 26-Apr-2021

Summary: The complainant alleged that the Council had served school attendance orders on her unfairly in relation to her two children, who she had chosen to educate at home. She also complained about the detail the Council required to assess the suitability of the education. We do not find fault on the first part of the complaint. We will not continue to investigate the second because there are pending judicial review proceedings, brought by a group of parents, on this aspect of the complaint.

Portsmouth City Council (20 010 896)

Statement Not upheld Other 26-Apr-2021

Summary: The complainant alleged that the Council had served school attendance orders on her unfairly in relation to her two children, who she had chosen to educate at home. She also complained about the detail the Council required to assess the suitability of the education. We do not find fault on the first part of the complaint. We will not continue to investigate the second because there are pending judicial review proceedings, brought by a group of parents, on this aspect of the complaint.