Manchester City Council (23 008 914)
Category : Education > School admissions
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 28 Sep 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about school admissions. This is because the complainant has appealed to a tribunal.
The complaint
- The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Ms X, complained a mistake by the Council meant her son was not offered a place at her preferred school.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
- We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. We cannot investigate the actions of bodies such as academies (Local Government Act 1974, sections 25 and 34A, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- We cannot investigate Ms X’s complaint. Parents can appeal a decision not to offer their child a place at a school. School admission appeals are statutory tribunals. Ms X has appealed, and this means her complaint is outside our jurisdiction. We have no powers to consider a complaint when a parent has appealed to a tribunal.
- Also, the school Ms X would like her son to attend is an academy. We cannot consider complaints about appeals to academy schools. If Ms X has any concerns about her appeal, they are a matter for the Department for Education, not the Ombudsman.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate Ms X’s complaint about school admissions because she has used her right of appeal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman