Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the educational provision for the complainant’s child. This is because the matter is not separable from matters which have been appealed to a tribunal.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mrs X, complained the Council had failed to provide suitable education for her daughter when she could not attend 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 complaints about what happens in schools. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5, paragraph 5(b), as amended)
4. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
5. The First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) considers appeals against council decisions regarding special educational needs. We refer to it as the SEND Tribunal in this decision statement.

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How I considered this complaint

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

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What I found

Background

8. Mrs X’s daughter (Y) was due to start reception in September 2022. Mrs X says her daughter could not cope with the school the Council had offered. Mrs X had previously asked the Council to issue her daughter with an Education Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) but it had declined. Mrs X had appealed this decision to the SEND Tribunal.
9. Mrs X complained to the Council about the lack of support for Y from her school and that the Council was not providing a suitable education. In December 2022, the Council agreed to look for alternative provision for Y. It also agreed to issue Y with an EHC Plan. This was finalised in February 2023. Mrs X has now appealed this EHC Plan to the SEND Tribunal.

Assessment

10. We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint.
11. Firstly, we have no jurisdiction to consider what happens in schools. The actions of Y’s school are therefore outside our jurisdiction with no discretion to investigate.
12. The Council’s actions and the issue of alternative provision for Y are also outside our jurisdiction. This is because Mrs X appealed the decision not to issue her daughter with an EHC Plan. The provision made available for Y and the school she should attend is inextricably linked to the appeal against the Council’s decision not to issue an EHC plan. This restriction applies from the point at which appeal rights became available. It applies until the point at which the Tribunal issued its decision, or in this case, when the Council issued an EHC Plan. The fact Mrs X has submitted a further appeal also places any more recent events outside our jurisdiction. There is no discretion available to us to consider Mrs X’s complaint.

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Final decision

13. We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint because she has used her right to appeal to a tribunal, and this places related matters outside of our jurisdiction.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman