Summary: We will not investigate Ms M’s complaint about her children’s education because we cannot investigate complaints about the school, there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council, and Ms M had a right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal to request a different school for her children.

The complaint

1. Ms M’s children attended a community special school. Her concerns about transport arrangements for the children, and other incidents, led to her withdrawing the children from school and asking the Council to make alternative arrangements for their education. The Council refused.
2. Ms M asked the Council to name a different school in the children’s education, health and care (EHC) plans. The Council consulted the school, but it was full. The Council declined to change the children’s plans.
3. Ms M says the Council’s actions have ‘pushed her family into crisis’ and ‘forced her to withdraw her children from school’. She says the Council has failed to ‘safeguard’ her children.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint, or

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

5. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
6. The First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) considers appeals against council decisions regarding special educational needs. We refer to it as the Tribunal in this decision statement.
7. We cannot investigate most complaints about what happens in schools. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5, paragraph 5(2), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

8. I considered information provided by the complainant.
9. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

10. We do not have the power to investigate Ms M’s complaints about incidents at school.
11. There were problems with transport for the children on occasion, but these appear to have been sorted out by the school. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to justify investigating.
12. Following the transport problems, Ms M withdrew the children from school. She asked the Council to make alternative arrangements for the children’s education.
13. The Council explained why it considered the school remained suitable and the children should return. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.
14. Ms M wanted a different school for the children and asked the Council to amend their EHC plans. The Council refused because the school Ms M wanted was full. We will not investigate because Ms M had a right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal which it would have been reasonable for her to have used.

Back to top

Final decision

15. We will not investigate Ms M’s complaint because we cannot investigate complaints about the school, there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council, and Ms M had a right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal to request a different school for her children.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman