Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint on behalf of Miss Y about how the Council considered safeguarding concerns. This is because the substantive issues are outside of our jurisdiction.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains on behalf of Miss Y about how the Council carried out a safeguarding investigation into their concerns about leadership and governance at a school.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate most complaints about what happens in schools. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5, paragraph 5(2), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mrs X complains on behalf of Miss Y about how the Council investigated their safeguarding concerns about bullying, leadership and governance at Miss Y’s son’s school. Mrs X says the Council should have spoken to her and reviewed her extensive evidence.
7. We cannot investigate issues about leadership and governance in an academy, as it is outside our jurisdiction.
8. We will not investigate how the Council handled Mrs X’s complaint about its safeguarding investigation. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint handling when we are not investigating the substantive matter.

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Final decision

We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint on behalf of Miss Y because the matter she is complaining about is outside our jurisdiction.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman