Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about school attendance action taken by the Council. There is not enough evidence of fault to warrant our further involvement.

The complaint

1. Mrs X said the Council was at fault in taking school attendance action.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The complaint correspondence shows the children’s school stated Mrs X’s children’s attendance had long been poor. In her complaint to the Council, Mrs X stated she had been dissatified with the education at her children’s school and had made her own arrangements to meet their needs when she did not send them to school. This is not the same as where a parent requests to electively home educate their children, and takes full responsibility for their education. Neither party has claimed Mrs X formally requested to home educate her children rather than sending them to school. The Council could therefore take attendance action when the school reported them as absent without good reason. Investigation by us of this complaint would be unlikely to lead to a finding of fault .

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Final decision

6. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant our further involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman