Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about a school and its head teacher, nor the actions of the Council dealing with his correspondence and complaints to it about these matters.

The complaint

1. Mr and Mrs X complain about the actions of a school and its head teacher. They say a Fair Access Panel gave their daughter a place at the school, and the school refused to admit her for five months, but the Council took no action.
2. They also complain their daughter was bullied at the school, but it took no action, it sent confidential information to the wrong address, and it ignored then dismissed a safeguarding allegation about school staff.
3. Mr and Mrs X say they contacted the Council but have not had a meaningful response, and the school’s head teacher took legal action against them in which they have incurred significant costs. They want a full investigation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
5. We cannot investigate most complaints about what happens in schools. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5, paragraph 5(2), as amended)
6. The courts have confirmed we cannot investigate the actions of a council dealing with a complaint about matters we cannot investigate. (R (on the application of ER) v CLAE and London Borough of Hillingdon [2014] EWCA Civ 1407)
7. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

8. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
9. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

10. We have no power to investigate the school’s actions in not admitting Mr X’s child, although I note it did so only months later in 2021 which resolved the point. Nor can we investigate the school’s actions after that. In line with case law, we cannot investigate the way the Council handled Mr X’s contacts with it about the school’s actions.
11. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about the head teacher’s legal action against him or the Council’s response to his complaint about it.

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Final decision

12. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaints about a school, its head teacher, and the Council’s handling of his complaints about these matters.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman