Summary: Miss M complained that the Council failed to follow the correct process when dealing with her request for her daughter (D) to start school in the reception year when she reaches compulsory school age.

Finding

The Ombudsman upheld the complaint and found fault causing injustice.

Recommendations

The Council has agreed to:

• apologise to Miss M for failing to follow the correct decision making process and pay her £150 for the time and trouble in bringing her complaint.
• review all pending and recent decisions in the last 12 months covering requests from parents of summer born children for delayed entry to reception;

• consider whether those decisions have properly followed the Code and Government guidance and remake decisions that have not done so;
• provide us with evidence of the review; and
• provide training to panel members and relevant council officers on summer born admissions to ensure the correct decision making process is followed when considering future applications.
• We recommended the Council make this decision again in line with the School Admissions Code and the Government guidance and inform Miss M of the new decision. The Council has carried out this recommendation and the decision was in favour of Miss M’s request.

Ombudsman satisfied with Council's response: 13 October 2021.

Print this page