Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the Council raised its concerns over the education he provides for his children. This is because the injustice claimed is not significant enough to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about how the Council raised its concerns that he is not providing an acceptable education for his children while educating them at home. He says the Council has not explained its concerns so he can respond to them, causing him unnecessary stress and worry.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered the information provided by Mr X in his complaint and the information provided by the Council.
4. I sent a copy of my draft decision to Mr X and gave him an opportunity to comment on it.

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What I found

Background

5. Mr X is the father of three children, all of primary school age.
6. Mr X decided to educate his children at home from the end of 2019.
7. After asking Mr X for details of the education he is providing, the Council decided the education is not satisfactory. The Council issued a formal notice to Mr X and says it intends to issue School Attendance Orders (SAOs) in September, requiring him to send his children to school. The Council cannot issue SAOs while the schools are closed.
8. Mr X complained to the Council that it has not explained what is wrong with the education he is providing so he can remedy this.
9. In response, the Council said it is satisfied with the explanations it gave to Mr X and will not consider his complaint further because it intends to issue SAOs.

Analysis

10. If the Council issues SAOs, the law says Mr X can ask the Secretary of State for Education to decide if the education he is providing is satisfactory.
11. Until the Council issues SAOs, the effects on Mr X have been limited. Although Mr X says the Council’s decision has caused him stress and worry, the Council cannot yet issue SAOs and so any ‘delay’ has been unavoidable.
12. The Ombudsman must use public money carefully. In this case, while Mr X has been caused some worry by the Councils’ decision, this is not significant enough to warrant an investigation.

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Final decision

13. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because the injustice claimed is not significant enough to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman