Summary: Ms X complained the admission appeal panel failed to properly consider her appeal for a school place for her child. The Council was at fault because the records failed to show how the panel reached its decisions. This left uncertainty about the decision reached. The Council will arrange a fresh appeal with a different panel to remedy the injustice caused and retrain staff to prevent reoccurrence of the fault.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the admission appeal panel failed to properly consider her appeal for a school place for her child, Child Y at her preferred secondary school. Ms X said in rejecting her appeal the panel did not take enough account of Child Y’s medical condition, safety or welfare. Ms X said this caused avoidable distress and she would like a fresh appeal.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 a school admissions appeals panel made its decision. If there was no fault in how the panel made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. 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)
3. 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

4. I considered:
• the information Ms X provided about her complaint and spoke to her on the telephone;
• the information the Council provided;
• relevant law and guidance, as set out below; and
• our guidance on remedies, published on our website.
5. Ms X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Relevant law and guidance

6. Statutory guidance about school admissions and appeals is within The School Admissions Code and School Admission Appeals Code, published by the Department for Education.
7. All schools must have a set of admission arrangements containing oversubscription criteria. The school’s admission authority uses these to decide which children will receive an offer of a place if there are more applications than places available. The school’s admission authority sets the admission arrangements.
8. A school’s admission arrangements must contain a Published Admission Number (PAN). This is the number of places the school will offer at each point of entry. The point of entry is when the school normally admits children, in this case the PAN for Year 7 is 240 pupils.
9. Parents/carers have the right to appeal an admission authority’s decision not to offer their child a school place.
10. Panels must follow a two-stage decision making process. At stage 1 the panel examines the decision to refuse admission. The panel must consider whether:
• the admission arrangements complied with the mandatory requirements set out in the School Admissions Code;
• the admission arrangements were applied correctly; and if
• the admission of additional children would prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources.
11. If a panel decides that admitting further children would “prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources” they move to the second stage of the process.
12. Stage 2 involves balancing the arguments. The panel must balance the prejudice to the school against the appellant’s case for the child to be admitted.
13. Appeal panels must either uphold or dismiss an appeal. A panel’s decision that a child shall be admitted to a school is binding on the admission authority concerned.
14. The School Admission Appeals Code sets out that the clerk to the appeal panel must ensure an accurate record is taken of the points raised at the hearing, including the proceedings, attendance, voting and reasons for decisions. (section 2.29)

School admission policy

15. The oversubscription criteria for the school in this case, in priority order are:
1. looked after, or previously looked after children;
2. children who live in the school catchment area;
3. children with older siblings already at the school;
4. children who attended one of the school’s named feeder primary schools since Year 3; and
5. children who live closest to the school, where distances are measured using straight line distances from home to school.

What happened

16. Ms X applied for a secondary school place for her child, Child Y in the national October 2022 school admissions round. Ms X’s school preference was School 1. At the time of application Ms X did not include any information about Child Y’s medical condition.
17. In early March 2023 the Council wrote to Ms X and said it gave Child Y a place at School 2 and not School 1 which was her preferred choice. The Council said School 1 had reached the admission number for Year 7 pupils. It said admitting further pupils would be detrimental to the education of all pupils. The Council gave Ms X a right of appeal.
18. In early March 2023 Ms X received a hospital letter from a paediatric consultant explaining it carried out tests on Child Y and their medical condition was causing pain, weight loss, reduced appetite and increased school absence. In early March 2023 Ms X also received letters from Child Y’s doctor and primary school head teacher which confirmed Child Y’s medical condition and increase in school absence.
19. In mid-March 2023 Ms X appealed to the Council, which was the admission authority and sought a place at School 1. Ms X said:
• the admission arrangements were not correctly and impartially applied;
• a hospital specialist was investigating Child Y’s medical condition and Child Y’s condition had rapidly declined since the school application was submitted;
• the medical condition had an effect on Child Y’s physical, social and emotional development;
• Child Y’s father could transport Child Y to School 1 and they could not take the bus to School 2 because of their condition; and
• she attached letters from Child Y’s hospital paediatric consultant, doctor and primary school head teacher.
20. The appeal took place in late May 2023. The clerk’s notes recorded the appeal was attended by three appeal panel members, School 1 head teacher, two Council officers, Ms X and the clerk.
21. School 1 made the following points:
• it had a Published Admission Number (PAN) of 240 pupils for Year 7 and it had received more than 240 applications, 22 applications were refused a place because of distance;
• if it accepted more than 240 pupils it would need to create and staff an additional tutor group, which would require employing more teaching staff which it did not have physical room or funding for;
• Child Y’s application was refused because the school received more applications than places available. Applying the oversubscription criteria Child Y’s preference could not be accommodated; and
• no more children could be admitted without it adversely affecting the provision of efficient education and the efficient use of resources.
22. In response to the question, has the school made its case, the clerk’s notes recorded: ‘Allocated correctly in accordance with guidance, Yes. Year group full and filled correctly, admission of further would prejudice efficient use of resources etc’.
23. The panel then considered the second stage of the appeal and if Ms X’s case outweighed the school’s case of prejudice. Ms X made the following points at the appeal:
• Child Y’s medical problems were not included on the school application because it had not been diagnosed at that time;
• Child Y’s health had declined rapidly, they were very ill, they had a severe form of the condition which caused Child Y anxiety, depression and weight loss and they were on medication for the condition;
• if Child Y attended School 2 they could not go on the school bus;
• Child Y’s father worked five minutes away from School 1 and could take and collect Child Y; and
• it should consider Child Y’s safety and welfare.
24. The clerk’s notes recorded the panel’s decision: that ‘School 1 is full, no exceptional circumstances, medical circumstances can be met at any school, dismissed’.
25. Two days later the appeal panel clerk wrote to Ms X and said her appeal was unsuccessful.
26. Ms X remained unhappy and contacted us.

My findings

27. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. In cases such as this, our role is to decide whether the appeal panel followed the correct procedure in making its decision.
28. There was no fault in how the Council processed Ms X’s application, the appeal letters it sent to Ms X in March and May 2023 or how it undertook the appeal. The correct procedure was followed without delay.
29. The code states the independent appeal clerk must take an accurate record of the appeal hearing, including the reasons for the decisions made.
30. The clerk’s notes provide a record of both School 1’s case and Ms X’s case and show the panel correctly considered the appeal in two stages.
31. At stage 1 of the appeal the clerk’s notes recorded the panel’s decision that the admission of further children would prejudice efficient use of resources. However there was no record of how the panel reached its decision and the reasons for the decision it made. The clerk’s notes do not include any discussion which shows how the panel decided admitting further children would cause prejudice. Without this evidence I cannot be sure the panel properly considered this issue which is fault.
32. At the second stage of the appeal the panel needed to consider whether Ms X’s case was stronger than School 1’s case. Ms X explained Child Y had a medical condition and could not travel to School 2 by bus but Child Y’s father could take them to School 1. The clerk’s notes stated the panel concluded any school could manage Child Y’s medical condition. However they make no reference to the other issues Ms X raised regarding the transport to School 1 by Child Y’s father or the problems Child Y would have going on the bus to School 2. The clerk’s notes do not evidence that the panel properly considered Ms X’s reasons for wanting School 1 and how it reached its decision which was fault.

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Agreed action

33. Within one month of the final decision the Council will:
• arrange a fresh appeal for Ms X with a new panel and clerk; and
• remind all clerking staff of the need to clearly record how the panel reached its decisions and the reasons for the decisions at both stages of the appeal process.

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Final decision

34. I have completed my investigation finding fault, causing injustice. The Council has agreed to take action to remedy the injustice caused and prevent reoccurrence of the fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman