Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council not allocating him a place at his preferred school for his child. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault and we would not achieve a significantly different outcome that already obtained.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, says the Council failed to provide him with a place for his child, Z, at his preferred School, Y.

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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 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 we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered the information Mr X provided with his complaint and the Council reply to Mr X which it provided. I considered Mr X’s comments on a draft version of this decision.

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What I found

5. Mr X says in June 2020 the Council told him his child, Z, was at the top of the waiting list for School Y. He then discovered three other children had been offered a place ahead of him. He says he has been trying for two years to get a place at School Y. He says he cannot afford the cost of transporting Z to their existing school and Z is upset at going to their existing school.
6. The Council says:
1. Mr X applied In September 2018 for an in year place for Z at School Y. It was full. The Council could not allocate a place. Mr X appealed to the Council’s schools admissions appeal panel but later withdrew the appeal. Z’s name was added to the waiting list.
2. In June 2019, the Council informed Mr X, in line with its policy, the waiting list was closing. Mr X applied again and said the family were moving home.
3. The Council again could not allocate a place at School Y, as it was still full, but offered Z a place at a school within a mile of their new home. Mr X refused this offer.
4. The Council wrote to Mr X again in early June 2020 to inform him the waiting list was closing again. It reminded him to apply by a date at the end of June for a place for September. It says it received Mr X’s application after that date in early July. His application was therefore processed after those who had applied before the given date. School Y was full and his application refused.
5. A place became available in early September 2020. It has been offered to Z. Mr X has accepted it.

Analysis

7. We cannot investigate events known to Mr X for more than 12 months without good reasons. Mr X had a right of appeal both in September 2018 and June 2019 which he chose not to use. I do not consider we have good reasons to disapply the 12 month rule.
8. This means we can only consider the events from June 2020 onwards. It is unlikely we would find fault in the way Mr X did not get a place offered in July given he applied late. In addition, our investigation could not achieve more than a place which he has now been granted.

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Final decision

9. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault and we would not achieve a significantly different outcome that already obtained.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman