Summary: A parent complained about the way the school admission appeal panel dealt with her appeal regarding the refusal of a place for her son at her preferred secondary school. But the Ombudsman cannot investigate this matter because the school in question is an academy school and we have no jurisdiction to consider complaints about appeals for academies.

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. In particular, we investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. But we cannot investigate the actions of bodies such as school academies, or school admission appeal panels which consider appeals for academies. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 25 and 34A, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information Mrs X provided with her complaint. I also gave Mrs X an opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision before I reached a final view in her case.

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What I found

5. Y is due to transfer from primary to secondary school in September 2020.
6. When Mrs X applied for a school place for Y she listed the School as her first preference. However the School refused Mrs X’s application as all the places were allocated to children who had a higher priority for admission than Y under its Admissions Policy.
7. Mrs X appealed about the refusal of a place, and the School asked the Council to set up an independent appeal panel on its behalf. However the panel turned down Mrs X’s appeal. She then complained to the Ombudsman the way the panel had dealt with matters.

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Analysis

8. However, we cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the appeal panel.
9. The Council organised the appeal in Mrs X’s case. But in doing so it was acting on behalf of the School. The School is its own admission authority and therefore is ultimately responsible for decisions about admissions and for appeal arrangements. So Mrs X’s complaint is against the School rather than the Council.
10. But the School is also an academy. This means the School is not maintained by the Council and it is funded directly by central government. We have no jurisdiction to consider complaints about academies or admission appeals for academies. Complaints about academy appeals are dealt with by the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

Final decision

11. The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint that the school admission appeal panel set up by the Council unreasonably refused her appeal about a place for her son at her preferred secondary school. This is because the school in question is an academy and the law prevents us from considering complaints about appeals for school academies

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman