Summary: Mr F complained about the way in which an independent admission appeals panel considered his appeal for a place at Z School. Mr F has now moved house, submitted a new application for a place at Z School which was refused and so now has a fresh right of appeal. This investigation is discontinued as any finding of fault about the original appeal would be remedied by a fresh appeal and Mr F already has this. So further investigation cannot achieve a better outcome than Mr F already has and there is nothing to be gained by pursuing the complaint now.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall I refer to as Mr F, complains the Council is at fault because the school admission appeal panel it arranged to consider his appeal for a place at Z school failed to properly consider his appeal. Specifically, it failed to:

1. allow him the opportunity to hear and ask questions of the panel about the admission authority’s case;
2. ensure the panel considered the appeal individually and incorrectly treated as part of a multiple appeal even though all the other appeals had been heard and decided previously; and
3. wrongly considered his appeal for Z school and another school, Q School, in the same hearing.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We can decide whether to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)
3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome, we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or it would be reasonable for the person to ask for a council review or appeal.(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered the information Mr F provided with his complaint and also the information and papers the Council provided in response to our request for these.
6. I also took account of information the Council provided after Mr F had submitted his complaint advising me that Mr F had moved house and submitted new applications for places at Z School and Q School from the new address.
7. I have written to Mr F and the Council with my draft decision and given them an opportunity to comment.

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What I found

8. Mr F applied to the Council for a year 7 secondary school place from September 2019 for his son at Z School when he moved to a new home in May 2019. The School was full and so the Council did not offer a place at Z School and advised Mr F of his right to appeal against this decision. Mr F submitted an appeal but this was unsuccessful.
9. Mr F complained to this office about the conduct of that appeal. However, before completing our consideration of the appeal, the Council contacted us to say that Mr F had moved and applied again for a place at Z School from the new address. The Council says that the application was unsuccessful as the school was full and so it offered Mr F the right to appeal against this decision. As I understand it Mr F is proceeding with this appeal.
10. As Mr F now has another appeal for a place at his preferred school from his new address I have exercised my discretion to discontinue my investigation of this complaint. This is because, even if I were to find fault with the conduct of the original appeal from his previous address, I would be most likely to recommend that the Council arrange a further appeal in order that the appeal could be heard properly. Mr F already has a fresh right of appeal from his new address so there is nothing to be gained by me pursuing the complaint further as I cannot achieve a different outcome from that he already has.

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Final decision

11. I have discontinued my investigation of this complaint for the reasons given above.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman