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

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Miss C, complains that the Council’s school admission appeal panel 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 appeal 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 Miss C has said in support of her complaint, and the application and appeal documents provided by the Council.

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What I found

4. Miss C applied for a school place for her son for September 2020 transfer to secondary school. The Council received more applications than the school had places available. It applied its admission policy and refused Miss C’s appeal.
5. Miss C appealed against the Council’s decision. The Council had a number of appeals for places at the school. Because of the restrictions imposed on gatherings as a result of Covid-19, the Council’s school admission appeal panel decided to consider the appeals as a paper exercise.
6. While neither the appellants nor the admission authority’s representative attended the appeal hearings, both had the opportunity to make written representations. In addition, the appeal panel asked both parties to answer specific questions before the hearing.
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. Having considered the cases made by Miss C and the admission authority, the appeal panel refused the appeal. Miss C believes the panel was at fault in finding that admission of another pupil would prejudice the education of others. She says she knows the school could take more pupils and wants the matter reconsidered.
11. The Ombudsman will not investigate Miss C’s complaint because there is no evidence of fault in the way the panel made its decision. The weight the panel members gave to the evidence is a matter for them, not the Ombudsman.
12. The clerk’s notes of the hearing, and the letter setting out the panel’s decision, show that the panel made a reasonable decision on the basis of the evidence. Without evidence of fault on the panel’s part, the Ombudsman cannot intervene to criticise the decision or substitute an alternative view.

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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