Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about school admissions as the schools are either an Academy or a Free School and we cannot investigate those types of schools.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Ms X, says the Council has provided her with inaccurate advice about school applications.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. We cannot investigate the actions of bodies such as Academies and Free Schools. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 25 and 34(1), as amended)
3. The courts have said we can decide not to investigate a complaint about any action by a council concerning a matter which is outside our jurisdiction. (R (on the application of M) v Commissioner for Local Administration [2006] EHWCC 2847 (Admin))
4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide: there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Ms X which included the Council’s reply to her.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Z, for whom Ms X is their mother, turned 16 in August 2022. In April 2022, Z changed schools but they did not settle at the new school. Ms X asked the Council for a school place. Z had been in the year below their new year group since primary school. Ms X asked for a place in Year 11 to start in September 2022. Z’s normal cohort would be Year 12, sixth form.
8. The three schools Ms X asked for all said no. Two are Academies and one is a Free School. We have no power to investigate the admissions to these schools. We also cannot investigate the advice or information the Council gave Ms X about her applications to these schools, including whether she could appeal.
9. Ms X says the Council should have used the Fair Access Protocol to place Z. Z was not of compulsory school age by the end of June 2022. The Council had no duty to find Z a school place.
10. Ms X says Z has missed out on their education because of the Council’s bad advice. The Council had no duty to provide education to Z from the end of June 2022 because Z was no longer of compulsory school age.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because we cannot investigate the admissions to Academies and Free Schools. We are unlikely to find fault in the Council’s actions about the Fair Access Protocols or in providing an education.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman