Summary: Mr X complained the Council denied his request to change a school preference and this was unfair. We will not investigate as there has been no significant injustice caused to justify an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council denied his request to change a school admissions preference. Mr X also complained the Council published a confusing policy amendment late into the admissions process and the policy was unfair and inflexible. He says this caused him significant distress and may have disadvantage his child.

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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 would find fault, or
• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• it would be reasonable for the person to ask for a council review or appeal

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered the information Mr X provided and the Council’s admissions policies. Mr X had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

4. Mr X applied in autumn 2020 for a place for his child to start year 7 in September 2021. He provided four admission preference for his child in line with the Council’s admissions policy. On 10 December 2020 Mr X requested to change the fourth preference as he felt this would provide a better chance for his child to be admitted to a grammar school.
5. The Council denied this request as it did not meet the criteria set out in the admissions policy as Mr X’s child had achieved a pass mark on the entrance test for the fourth grammar school.
6. National offer day for secondary schools is 1 March 2021 and this had not passed at the time of Mr X’s complaint to us.

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Analysis

7. Mr X states that his child may have been disadvantaged by being denied a place at a grammar school. There had been no injustice suffered as the result of the admissions procedure was unknown at the time of the complaint.
8. There was no injustice to Mr X or his child as the school places had not been offered at the time of the complaint. Mr X has the right to appeal to the Schools Admissions Appeals Panel about any admission decision. If Mr X’s child did not get a place at his preferred school Mr X could argue the process had disadvantaged him at that appeal.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is unlikely I would find fault and there is no injustice caused to Mr X or his child. It is reasonable to expect Mr X to use the Schools Admission Appeal Panel once the admission procedure is complete.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman