Summary: We cannot investigate part of Miss X’s complaint about an injury she said her child sustained while at school because the law says we cannot investigate this type of complaint. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Local Authority Designated Officer’s decision not to investigate the matter because there is insufficient evidence of fault.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained her child, Y, sustained an unexplained injury while at school. Miss X said the Council failed to ensure the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) had oversight of the matter.
2. Miss X said the matter caused her distress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. We cannot investigate most complaints about what happens in schools. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5, paragraph 5(2), as amended)
5. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

Injury sustained at school

8. The Ombudsman cannot investigate this complaint. The complaint relates to an injury Miss X said Y sustained while at school. The law says the Ombudsman cannot investigate most complaints about what happens in schools. This is such a complaint.

Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO)

9. Miss X told the Ombudsman the LADO did not investigate her complaint that Y sustained an injury at school and her concerns about staff.
10. The Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) is a person responsible for managing and overseeing investigations into allegations that somebody who works with children has behaved in a way that may pose a risk to children.
11. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong.
12. The LADO determined there was no role for the Council in relation to Miss X’s concerns. As part of its complaints process, the Council signposted Miss X to the school’s procedures for complaining. This is the correct process to follow.
13. Consequently, there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman.

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Final decision

14. We cannot investigate part of Miss X’s complaint because it relates to the internal management of a school. We will not investigate the remainder because there is insufficient evidence of fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman