Leeds City Council (25 021 735)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about what happened in Mr X’s child’s school because the law does not allow us to investigate what happens in schools. We cannot investigate his complaint about changes to his child’s Education, Health and Care Plan as he has used his right to appeal at the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability).
The complaint
- Mr X complained to the Council about the personnel from school who attended his child’s Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) review meeting, and that the EHC Plan was changed after the meeting without his knowledge.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- We cannot investigate most complaints about what happens in schools. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5, paragraph 5(2), as amended)
- 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.
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The school decide who attends an EHC Plan review meeting, not the Council. In its complaint response the Council advised Mr X to complain to the school directly. We cannot investigate what happens in schools.
- Mr X has used his right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal for the changes in the EHC Plan which means we cannot investigate.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about a school’s actions, and we cannot investigate the changes to his child’s EHC Plan, because Mr X used his right of appeal to the Tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman