School admissions

Royal Borough of Greenwich (19 013 039)

Statement Upheld School admissions 28-May-2020

Summary: the Council failed to properly consider Ms B's daughter's case under its fair access protocol and delayed putting in place education provision for her daughter. That meant Ms B's daughter missed out on alternative education provision for around one month longer than she should have and led to Ms B going to time and trouble to pursue her complaint. An apology, payment to Ms B for her time and trouble and payment to reflect the lost education for her daughter, along with procedural changes, is satisfactory remedy for the injustice caused.

Archbishop Temple School, Preston (19 008 743)

Statement Not upheld School admissions 20-Mar-2020

Summary: Ms X complains of fault by the School in refusing a place in Year 7 for her son, Z, and of further fault in the appeal process that followed. There was no fault by the School.

Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council (19 010 817)

Statement Not upheld School admissions 19-Mar-2020

Summary: Miss X complains about the way the Council dealt with her appeal about a school place for her son. Miss X says this meant the appeal was not fair. She says this has caused stress, and her son struggles to attend his current school. The Ombudsman does not find the Council at fault.

Leeds City Council (19 014 104)

Statement Not upheld School admissions 19-Mar-2020

Summary: there is no fault in the Appeal Panel's decision not to admit Mr F's son, B, to the school. The Ombudsman cannot question decisions taken without fault.

Gloucestershire County Council (19 014 442)

Statement Upheld School admissions 18-Mar-2020

Summary: Mrs T complains about the independent appeal panel's decision not to admit her child to her preferred primary school. The Council was at fault in that the clerk did not properly record the panel's deliberations or the reasons for its decision. The Council was also at fault in that the decision letter did not properly explain the reasons for the panel's decision. To remedy the injustice caused, the Council has agreed to offer Mrs T a fresh appeal with a different panel and a new clerk and to review the training needs of its clerks and panel members.

Surrey County Council (19 014 022)

Statement Not upheld School admissions 18-Mar-2020

Summary: Miss B complains that the Council failed to give her proper advice when applying for a school place for her daughter and then wrongly treated the application as late. She also complains that the independent appeals panel was wrong to refuse her appeal against the refusal of a school place. The Ombudsman has found no fault by the Council or the panel so we cannot question the decision to refuse a place.

St Philip's Catholic Primary School, Stockport (19 011 852)

Statement Upheld School admissions 17-Mar-2020

Summary: Mr X complains of fault when he applied for a school place for his son. The panel failed to record clear reasons for the decision to refuse a place. The School will arrange a fresh appeal with a new panel.

Somerset County Council (19 009 299)

Statement Not upheld School admissions 10-Mar-2020

Summary: Ms X complains about the school admissions appeal panel's decision not to admit her daughter to a school. The Ombudsman has found no evidence of fault in the way the appeal panel considered these matters.

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames (19 016 679)

Statement Not upheld School admissions 10-Mar-2020

Summary: Mr B complains that the Council incorrectly applied its policy on shared or joint residence and wrongly decided his son's normal place of residence for the purposes of applying for a school place is his mother's address, rather than his own. The Ombudsman finds no fault on the Council's part.

Central Foundation Boys' School, Islington (19 012 141)

Statement Not upheld School admissions 02-Mar-2020

Summary: Ms M complains following her unsuccessful appeal for a place for her son, B, at Central Foundation Boys' School. There was no fault in the appeal which calls the decision into question.