Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint that the Council’s school admission appeal panel failed to properly consider her appeal for a school place for her daughter. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault by the Council in its handling of the appeal.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Miss X, complains the Council was at fault in refusing her appeal for a school place for her child.

Back to top

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)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. I considered Mrs X’s complaint and the appeal documents provided by the Council. I shared my draft decision with Mrs X and considered her comments.

Back to top

What I found

4. Mrs X applied for a school place for her daughter to transfer to secondary school in September 2019. The school for which Mrs X applied was oversubscribed so the Council applied its oversubscription criteria and refused Mrs X's application.
5. Mrs X appealed against the decision. In support of her appeal, she explained her daughter had special educational needs (SEN) and that the school applied for could provide better support to her than the one allocated. She also set out concerns about her daughter’s confidence, anxiety and health issues.
6. The school admission appeal panel, acting on behalf of the Council, refused the appeal. Mrs X believes it was wrong to do so. She says the panel considered her application against the wrong criteria and that the allocated school’s support for children with SEN is inadequate.
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 X'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. In deciding the admissions arrangements were properly applied to the case, it confirmed it was satisfied Mrs X’s application had been considered against the correct criteria and this is supported by the Council’s published admissions arrangements for secondary schools in 2019/20.
11. Having considered the cases made by Mrs X 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.

Back to top

Final decision

12. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault in the panel’s handling of Mrs X’s appeal.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman