Summary: We cannot investigate X’s complaint about a school’s actions or the Council’s investigation into the school’s complaint response. It is reasonable to expect X to have complained to us earlier about a Council safeguarding investigation in December 2023.

The complaint

1. X says School Y should not have made a child protection safeguarding referral to the Council. They say the Council has not properly investigated their complaint against the School. They are not happy with the safeguarding investigation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate most complaints about what happens in schools. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5, paragraph 5(2), as amended)
3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. The courts have said we can decide not to investigate a complaint about any action by an organisation concerning a matter which the law says we cannot investigate. (R (on the application of M) v Commissioner for Local Administration [2006] EHWCC 2847 (Admin))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by X which included a Council to them.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. In December 2023 School Y made a safeguarding referral to the Council’s children services team. It investigated the referral, including visiting X’s home, and decided to take no further action. X then complained to School Y and the NHS. They received a final NHS reply in June 2024. X completed all three stages of School Y’s complaints procedure and then complained to Ofsted. It referred X’s complaint to the Council. It completed its complaint procedure in March 2025. X complained to us in late August 2025.
8. We have no legal power to investigate School Y’s actions.
9. We have no legal power to investigate how the Council considered School Y’s complaint response.
10. We cannot investigate X’s complaint about officer’s actions in the initial safeguarding investigation in late 2023 and early 2024 unless there are good reasons to do so. X knew of these actions more than 12 months before they complained to us. It is reasonable to expect X to have complained to us before they did given they complained to other bodies.

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Final decision

11. We cannot investigate X’s complaint about School Y’s referral or the Council investigation into School Y’s actions, because we cannot investigate School Y’s actions. And it is reasonable to expect X to have complained to us about the Council’s safeguarding investigation in December 2023 earlier than they did.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman