Royal Borough of Greenwich (20 010 867)
Category : Education > School admissions
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 04 Feb 2021
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Miss B’s complaint that the Council is 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
- The complainant, who I will refer to as Miss B, complains that the Council is at fault in refusing her appeal for a school place for her son.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I have considered what Miss B has said in support of her complaint, and the appeal documents provided by the Council. I have offered Miss B the opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision.
What I found
- Miss B’s son is in Year 7 and started secondary school in September 2020. Miss B has withdrawn her son from the school due to concerns over bullying and a lack of support for his special educational needs. She applied to transfer him to another school, where the admission authority is the Council.
- There were no Year 7 places available at the school, so the Council refused Miss B’s application. Miss B appealed against the Council’s decision. She made a written appeal and attended an online appeal hearing to make her case in person.
- Having considered the arguments made by Miss B and the Council’s representative, the school admission appeal panel decided to refuse the appeal. Miss B believes this decision is unreasonable.
- Independent school admission appeals 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- The clerk’s notes of Miss B’s appeal hearing show that she was able to make her case and that the panel considered it. It is for the panel to decide how much weight to give to the evidence. There is no evidence of fault in the way the panel made its decision.
- Without evidence of fault, we cannot criticise the decision the panel made, or intervene to substitute an alternative view. There are therefore no grounds to investigate the complaint.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault on the Council’s part.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman