Summary: Mrs Y complains the Council failed to properly process an application for her daughter, E, to change schools. Mrs Y says the Council did not respond to the application and she was not given a right of appeal against the Council’s refusal. Mrs Y also says she did not know there was a need to re-apply for the next academic year. There is no fault in the Council’s handling of Mrs Y’s application and there is no injustice because E did not miss out on a school place.

The complaint

1. Mrs Y complains the Council failed to respond to the in-year school admission application she made in November 2021 for her daughter, E, to change schools. As a result, Mrs Y says she could not appeal against the Council’s refusal to offer a place.
2. Mrs Y says the Council has since asserted that it notified her of the outcome via an email which directed her to the online system. Mrs Y says she did not receive the email, and, in any event, she was ‘locked out’ and prevented from accessing her online account.
3. Mrs Y says she contacted the Council by email on three occasions in August and September 2022 but did not receive a response. She says the Council did not explain there was a requirement to re-apply to express a ‘continuing interest’ for a school place each academic year. Had the Council done so, Mrs Y says she would have applied again in August 2022.
4. Mrs Y says she has experienced and injustice because, in her view, the Council’s errors have created a missed opportunity for E to attend her preferred school.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

5. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
6. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

7. I discussed the complaint with Mrs Y by telephone and considered any information she provided. I also made enquiries of the Council and considered its response.
8. Mrs Y and the Council 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

What should happen

9. Parents may apply for a place at any time to any school outside the normal admissions round. They may do so for example because they have moved into the area and the previous school is too far away, or because they want to change school for some other reason. This is called an ‘in-year’ application.
10. The 2021 ‘School Admissions Code’ requires local authorities, admission authorities and governing bodies to publish information about how in-year applications for their schools will be dealt with. Councils are not required to co-ordinate in-year applications for schools which are their own admission authority but may do so with the agreement of the relevant admission authority.
11. When a council receives an in-year application it should respond without undue delay. If there is a vacancy at the school applied for, it must offer a place. If there is no vacancy at the school applied for the council should write to the parent refusing the application and informing them of the right of appeal.
12. Many councils and schools operate waiting lists and will add refused applicants to the list. The school’s admission arrangements must contain details of if and how waiting lists operate. The applicable admission arrangements for this case state:

“After places have been offered, Hertfordshire County Council will maintain a continuing interest (waiting) list for all community and voluntary controlled schools. A child’s position on a CI [Continuing Interest] list will be determined by the admission criteria outlined above and a child’s place on the list can change as other children join or leave it. The county council will contact parents/carers if a vacancy becomes available and it can be offered to a child. Continuing interest lists will be maintained for every year group until the summer term (date to be confirmed). To retain a CI application after this time, parents must make an In Year application”.

13. This information is also published on the Council’s webpage and the online application system.

What happened

14. Mrs Y applied for E to change schools using the Council’s online application system on 4 November 2021. The Council operates the in-year application process for the school Mrs Y applied for. The Council sent an automated email to Mrs Y to confirm receipt of her application. The email also told Mrs Y that she could not log in to make any changes to her online application once submitted; changes could only be made by contacting the Council by email or telephone.
15. The Council’s records show a letter addressed to Mrs Y on 12 November. This letter confirmed the school was full in E’s year group and it was not possible to allocate a place to her. As E was already on roll at another school, the Council did not make an alternative offer.
16. The Council placed E on the ‘Continuing Interest’ list. The letter explained that all applicants are removed from the lists at the end of the academic year, “At this time you will need to make a new In Year application for the 2022/23 academic year and your child will not be considered for any places until a new application is received. Please note that we will not contact you again to remind you however full information on when to apply will be available from May 2022 on our website..”
17. The letter also provided Mrs Y with a right of appeal against the refusal to offer E a place at the school.
18. The Council’s school admissions database shows “email sent” to Mrs Y’s email address on at 15:41 on 12 November. The status shows as “sent successfully”.
19. The Council removed E from the Continuing Interest list on 24 June.
20. Mrs Y emailed the Council on 18 August. She said she could not sign into her online account and had not received a response to the application submitted in November. Mrs Y sent a further email to chase a response on 31 August.
21. Mrs Y sent another email on 12 September because she remained unhappy with the Council’s lack of communication. Mrs Y also said she had made a formal complaint.
22. The Council did not uphold Mrs Y’s complaint. It said the school admissions process had been correctly followed and that Mrs Y had a refusal letter with a right of appeal and a reminder to re-apply to confirm her continued interest from May. The Council apologised for not responding to the emails sent by Mrs Y in August and September.
23. Dissatisfied with the response, Mrs Y approached the LGSCO.

Was there fault in the Council’s actions causing injustice to Mrs Y and E?

24. In my view, and based on the information seen, the Council acted without fault when it processed Mrs Y’s application for E to change schools. The Council has provided evidence from its electronic database showing it sent a refusal letter to Mrs Y by email containing all the necessary information. It is my view that Mrs Y was aware both of her right to appeal and the requirement to re-apply from May 2022 if she wanted E to remain on the continuing interest list.
25. There is no evidence to support Mrs Y’s assertion that she was ‘locked out’ of the online system. When I discussed the complaint with Mrs Y by telephone, she referred to the automated email sent by the Council confirming that she was unable to make changes to the submitted application without contacting the Council. In my view, this email is clear and does not suggest that access to the online account was restricted or locked. Furthermore, Mrs Y has not provided any evidence to support her claim, such as contact with the Council in November seeking access to her online account. I do not therefore uphold this part of the complaint.
26. Not only is there no fault, but there is no injustice. The Council has confirmed that two places became available at the school in E’s year group in July 2022. The Council allocated those places to applicants with higher over-subscription priority than E. Therefore, even if Mrs Y had re-applied for E, she would not have received an offer of a place at the school between November 2021 and now.
27. The Council has confirmed there is no live application for E because Mrs Y has not re-applied. Mrs Y should consider applying for this academic year if she wants E to be considered for any places which may become available in her year group.

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Final decision

28. I have completed my investigation with a finding of no fault for the reasons explained in this statement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman