Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about an unsuccessful appeal for a school place. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the panel.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Miss X, complained about an unsuccessful appeal for a school place for her daughter.

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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 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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Miss X applied for a year 7 place for her daughter (Y) at School Z. Miss X told the Council she would be moving to live close to School Z. Because there were more applications than places available, the Council used the school’s oversubscription criteria to decide which children to offer a place. The Council considered Miss X’s application from her then current address (Address 1). It did not offer a Y a place at School Z.
6. Miss X appealed the Council’s decision. In her written appeal Miss X explained she would be evicted from Address 1 in January 2022. Miss X expected the Council to house her close to School Z. Miss X said she had moved in with her sister due to the condition of Address 1. Miss X said she wanted to move to the area close to School Z due to issues with domestic violence in the area around Address 1. Miss X referred to the difficulties it would cause if Y was not offered a place at School Z.
7. Independent appeal panels must follow the law when considering an appeal. They need to consider if the school’s admission arrangements comply with the law, and if they were properly applied to the appellant’s application. They need to decide if admitting a further child would “prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources”. If they think it would, they need to consider if an appellant’s arguments outweigh the prejudice to the school.
8. The clerk’s notes from the appeal show Miss X did not attend. The Council’s representative explained why it had not offered Y a place at School Z. The notes show what problems the school thought would be caused if the Council offered Y a place.
9. The appeal papers and clerk’s notes show that:
• The Council’s representative explained it only considered Miss X’s current address to be temporary.
• The panel could ask questions about the information presented.
• The panel decided the school’s admission arrangements complied with the law and had been properly applied to Miss X’s application.
• The panel decided admitting further children would cause prejudice.
• There were questions the panel would have liked to ask Miss X.
• The panel decided the evidence put forward by Miss X was not strong enough to outweigh the prejudice admitting a further child would cause the school.
10. The clerk’s letter to Miss X explained the panel’s decision.
11. We are not an appeal body and we cannot criticise decisions taken without fault. The evidence I have seen shows the panel followed the proper process to consider Miss X’s appeal. The panel considered the information provided by Miss X and the Council. It was for the panel to decide what weight should be given to each piece of evidence. The decision to refuse Miss X’s appeal is one the panel was entitled to take.
12. Miss X says the Council has wrongly used Address 1 as the basis of her appeal. But the notes from the appeal show the panel considered this issue. Information on the Council’s website shows it will only consider a change of address when either:
• contracts have been exchanged; or
• when a tenancy agreement has been signed.
13. Without this information the Council will process an application based on the existing address. The panel found the Council had properly applied this part of its admissions policy.
14. I understand Miss X is disappointed with the panel’s decision. But without evidence of fault in the decision-making process, there are no grounds for us to become involved.
15. When Miss X has a new address, she can make a fresh application for a place at School Z based on a material change in her circumstances. If Y was still not offered a place, she could make a fresh appeal. If Miss X was unhappy with the outcome of the appeal, she could then make a further complaint to the Ombudsman.

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Final decision

16. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault in how the panel considered Miss X’s appeal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman