Summary: The Ombudsman exercised discretion to discontinue the investigation of Mrs W’s complaint about the appeal panel failing to properly consider her submissions when it decided her appeal against the school governors’ decision to refuse her son a place in Year 7 in September 2021. This is because Mrs W wants to withdraw it as her son is settling at a new school. She wishes to avoid putting the family through the stress of a second appeal, which is the likely remedy, had we investigated and found fault.

The complaint

1. Mrs W complains the appeal panel failed to properly consider her submissions when it decided her appeal against the school governors’ decision to refuse her son a place in Year 7 in September 2021: as a result, this has caused her and her son a great deal of anxiety because he will not be with his friends and there is no direct bus journey to and from school.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We can decide whether to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered all the information Mrs W sent, the notes I made of our telephone conversation, and copy documents received from the school.

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What I found

4. Mrs W applied for a place for her son in Year 7 from September 2021 at her preferred school. The school governors, as admission authority, rejected the application because it was oversubscribed (it had received more applications than it had places). Mrs W appealed this decision to an independent appeal panel. The panel did not uphold her appeal.
5. Mrs W does not consider the appeal panel properly considered her appeal. She believes it failed to consider the personal reasons she put forward about why her son should attend this school. Nor does she believe the letter she received from the clerk to the appeal panel following the hearing, gave reasons showing how it had reached its decision. She considers this failure means she does not know whether the panel properly considered and weighed her submissions when reaching its decision.
6. Since making her complaint to us, Mrs W’s son started going to another school. When we spoke, we discussed the likely remedy should we investigate and should we find fault causing an injustice. I explained the usual remedy for this type of complaint was a rehearing by a new appeal panel. She considered this and told me her son was settling at his new school. She also told me she could not put her son and the family through the level of stress they all went through during the first appeal again. Having considered this, and her son becoming settled at school, she decided to withdraw her complaint.
7. I considered her request and agreed to exercise discretion, in these circumstances, not to pursue the investigation of her complaint.

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Final decision

8. I exercised discretion to discontinue the investigation of Mrs W’s complaint against the school.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman