Summary: Mrs B complains that the independent school admissions appeal panel did not properly consider her appeal for a place for her son, C, at the school his brother attends. The Council has now offered a Mrs B a fresh appeal with a new panel. The Ombudsman proposes to discontinue our investigation because we do not consider that investigating further would lead to a better outcome.

The complaint

1. Miss B complains about the independent school admissions appeals panel’s decision to refuse her son, C a place at his second preference school. She feels that the panel did not properly consider the day-to-day problems that she has getting her children to school.
2. She says that, as she is not able to get C to a different school to her other son, she has had to home school him. She feels that C is missing out as a result, and that he should be offered a place at the same school as his brother.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 a school admissions appeals 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)
4. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions a council has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I have considered Miss B’s written complaint and discussed her complaint with her. I have considered the appeal papers provided by the Council and the Council’s offer to provide a fresh appeal with a new appeal panel. I have also sent Miss B and the Council as draft decision and invited their comments.

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What I found

Legal and administrative background

School admissions

6. All schools must have admission arrangements that clearly set out how they will admit children, including the criteria they will apply if there are more applications than places at the school (oversubscription criteria). In some cases, the Council will be the admissions authority for the school. In other cases, the admissions authority will be the school itself.

Admissions appeals

7. Parents / carers have the right to appeal to an independent appeals panel (appeals panel) against an admissions authority’s decision to refuse admission.
8. Independent 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.
• The panel must then consider whether admitting another child would prejudice the education of others.
9. 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.
10. 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.

What happened

11. Miss B is a single mother of four children. Her son, C, previously attended a primary school some distance from the family home. In September 2020, she made an in-year application for C and his younger brother D, as she wanted them to attend a school closer to home. Her two elder children attend secondary school.
12. She put School 1 first on the application form for both C and D and wanted them to attend the same school. C was awarded a Year 4 place at School 1, and D was awarded a Year 1 place at School 2, his second preference school.
13. Mrs B accepted D’s place at School 2. She also appealed against the refusal of a place for C at School 2. She explained to the panel that she was unable to take her children to three different schools, that her parents both have disabilities and that she had no family nearby who could help her.
14. The panel considered that the admissions arrangements had been properly applied because Year 4 at School 2 was already full. It then considered the arguments put forward by the school as to why admitting further children would cause prejudice to the education of other children, and Mrs B’s reasons as to why C should be offered a place. The panel did not consider that the reasons put forward by Mrs B were sufficient to overcome the prejudice to the school, so it rejected her appeal.
15. Miss B complained to the Ombudsman who contacted the Council. The Council responded by offering Mrs B a fresh appeal with a new appeal panel.
16. I do not consider that the Ombudsman would be able to obtain a better outcome for Mrs B than a fresh appeal. So, I propose to discontinue my investigation, without investigating matters further, on the basis that I am satisfied with the action that the Council proposes to take in response to Mrs B’s concerns.

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Final decision

17. I have discontinued my investigation into Mrs B’s complaint because I consider the offer of a fresh appeal is a satisfactory response by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman