Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs A’s complaint that the Council’s school admission appeal panel was at fault in refusing her appeal for a school place for her son. It is unlikely we would find fault on the Council’s part.

The complaint

1. The complainant whho I will refer to as Mrs A, complains that the Council was at fault in refusing her appeal for a school place for her son.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether an independent school admissions appeals panel’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider if there was fault in the way the decision was reached. If we find fault, which calls into question the panel’s decision, we may ask for a new appeal hearing. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered what Mrs A has said in support of her complaint and the appeal documents provided by the Council.

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What I found

4. Mrs A applied for a school place for her son for transfer to secondary school in September 2019. The school for which Mrs A applied was oversubscribed. The Council applied its oversubscription criteria and refused Mrs A’s application.
5. Mrs A appealed against the Council’s decision. In support of her appeal, she said her son had suffered emotionally as a result of bereavements within the family and argued that the school was best placed to provide him with the care he needed. She provided supporting evidence and attended the appeal hearing to make her case in person.
6. The school admission appeal panel refused the appeal. Mrs A believes it was at fault in doing so. She contends that it failed to properly consider her grounds of appeal and questions why other children without medical needs were awarded places.
7. Independent school admission appeal panels must follow the law when considering an appeal. The panel must consider whether:

• the admission arrangements comply with the law;
• the admission arrangements were properly applied to the case.

8. The panel must then consider whether admitting another child would prejudice the education of others. If the panel finds there would be prejudice the panel must then consider each appellant’s individual arguments. If the panel decides the appellant’s case outweighs the prejudice to the school, it must uphold the appeal.
9. The Ombudsman does not question the merits of decisions properly taken. The panel is entitled to come to its own judgment about the evidence it hears.
10. The clerk's notes of Mrs A's appeal hearing indicate that she was able to present her case, and that her grounds of appeal and supporting evidence were available to the members of the appeal panel.
11. Having considered the cases made by Mrs A and the admission authority, it was for the panel to decide how much weight to give to the evidence before it. There is no evidence of fault in the way it did so. In the absence of evidence of fault, the Ombudsman cannot criticise the decision the panel made, or intervene to substitute an alternative view.
12. The fact that other appeals were successful does not provide grounds to question the decision on Mrs A’s appeal. Appeals are heard in private and are considered on their individual merits. The outcome of other appeals is not relevant to the decision of Mrs A’s appeal.

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Final decision

13. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault on the Council’s part

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman