Summary: Mr X complained the Council did not conduct his daughter’s school admissions appeal correctly. We have found fault because details of the panel’s discussions and decision have not been recorded in sufficient depth. To remedy the injustice caused, the Council has agreed to apologise and arrange a fresh appeal.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council did not correctly determine the outcome of his appeal to get his daughter, Y, into the second school of his choice. Mr X says the appeal panel did not follow the correct procedures in hearing his appeal.
2. Mr X says this has caused him distress and frustration and that he would like Y to be admitted to the school.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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)
4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
5. We cannot question whether a decision by a body is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
6. An admission appeal panel is a statutory tribunal but, it is also within our jurisdiction. (Local Government Act 1974, section 25). When considering a complaint after an appeal has been rejected, there may be parts which relate to what happened at the appeal and parts which relate to the original admission process (for example, something about the way a decision was taken by the admissions authority which the appeal panel did not consider) which we can investigate.
7. 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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What I found

The law and guidance on admission appeals

8. Statutory guidance about school admissions and appeals can be found in The School Admissions Code and School Admission Appeals Code. Both are published by the Department for Education. 
9. Parents and carers have the right to appeal an admission authority’s decision not to offer their child a school place.  
10. Appeal hearings must be held in private and conducted in the presence of all panel members and parties. Appeal panels must act according to the principles of natural justice. 
11. A clerk supports the appeal panel. Parents can submit information in support of their appeal. The clerk must send all papers required for the hearing a reasonable time before the date of the hearing. This includes information from the appellant and the admission authority. 
12. The admission authority must provide a presenting officer at the hearing to explain the decision not to admit the child and to answer questions from the appellant and panel. 
13. Appeal panels must allow appellants the opportunity to make oral representations.  
14. Panels must follow a two-stage decision making process. 
15. 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.  
16. 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. 
17. Stage 2: balancing the arguments. The panel must balance the prejudice to the school against the appellant’s case for the child to be admitted. It must take account of the appellant’s reasons for expressing a preference for the school, including what the school can offer the child the allocated or other schools cannot.
18. Where the panel considers the appellant’s case outweighs the prejudice to the school, it must uphold the appeal.   
19. Appeal panels must either uphold or dismiss an appeal and must not uphold an appeal subject to any conditions.
20. Appeals must be decided by a simple majority of votes cast. A panel’s decision that a child shall be admitted to a school is binding on the admission authority concerned. 
21. The clerk must take an accurate record of the hearing, including the proceedings, attendance, voting and reasons for decisions. 
22. The appeal panel must write to the appellant, the admission authority and the council with its decision and the reasons for it.

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How I considered this complaint

23. I have considered all the information Mr X provided and discussed this complaint with him. I have also considered information the Council sent in response to our enquiries.
24. Mr X and the Council had the opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I have taken any comments received into consideration before reaching my final decision.

What happened

25. Mr X has a daughter, Y, who was due to start secondary school in September 2023.
26. Following the 2023 admissions round, Y was allocated a place at school B. Mr X had a higher preference for Y to attend school A.
27. Mr X appealed to the Council, which was the admissions authority, and requested a place at school A. Both the Council and Mr X submitted evidence before the appeal was held.
28. In mid-October 2023, the Council held stage one and two of the appeals process in order to establish the facts.
29. Two days later, the Council sent its appeal decision letter. It said that after giving full consideration to both parties’ arguments it did not uphold his appeal. The letter outlined how the home-to-school distance for Y to school A was 2242 metres and that the last place offered for school A had been to a child who lived 1615 metres from the school.
30. The letter also outlined that at stage one of the process (as explained in paragraphs 15 and 16) the appeal panel was satisfied that Year 7 at school A was full and that arrangements were lawful.
31. Regarding stage two of the process, the Council’s decision letter explained that it had considered the information ‘very carefully’ and balanced Mr X’s appeal against the prejudice that would take place if Y was admitted to Year 7 at school A. The panel had made the decision that the points Mr X had made in his appeal did not outweigh the prejudice that would be caused to the school and therefore denied his appeal. The Council signposted Mr X to the Ombudsman.
32. Mr X then complained to the Council to say that he had been unhappy with how the appeal hearing had been conducted. He listed various reasons he thought meant Y should have been given a place at school A. These included it being difficult for Y to travel for more than 40 minutes, pick up time at school A clashing with the time for his younger child to be picked up from a different school and his own health issues.
33. Mr X then brought his complaint to the Ombudsman.

Analysis

34. As part of the investigation, we requested the Council send us the minutes of the appeal panel meeting and the clerk’s notes made at the time. This would allow us to understand how the decisions had been reached and whether the correct process had been followed. The clerk’s notes do not have to reflect what took place word for word, but it should be possible to tell how the panel arrived at its decision.

Stage one of the appeals process

35. As outlined in paragraph 21, the clerk at the meeting must take an accurate record of the hearing and amongst other things, record the reasons for decisions.
36. I have viewed the written evidence provided by the Council. For stage one of the process, the only notes recorded were yes and no answers, accompanied by the statement that “all panel members agreed.”
37. Based on this evidence, it is not at all possible to understand what was discussed at the meeting or understand the reasons why the panel decided that Y’s admission would prejudice the provision of efficient education or use of resources at the school. The Council had a duty to record how and why the decisions were reached. Not doing so was fault. It meant that Mr X could not be certain that all relevant facts had been properly considered by the panel concerned. I have made a recommendation below to remedy this injustice.

Stage two of the appeals process

38. As with stage one of the process, the clerk’s notes for this section only record a ‘no’ answer along with “all panel members agreed” and “it was unanimously agreed.” Whilst there is a prompt on the recording sheet to list reasons for the decision and the panel’s considerations, the only statement recorded was “encourage child and mum to be independent by going on her (Y) own to gain confidence.”
39. Again, based on the evidence provided, it is not possible to understand what the panel’s discussions were or why it reached the decision it did. Whilst there are brief accompanying handwritten notes to show the conversation between the Council, the panel and Mr X, these notes do not themselves show how or why the decision was reached not to admit Y. I am satisfied there is little evidence of careful balancing, as per the Council’s decision letter.
40. As with stage one of the process, the Council had a duty to record how and why the decisions were reached. Not doing so was fault. It again meant that Mr X could not be certain that all relevant facts had been properly considered by the panel at stage two. I have made a recommendation below to remedy the injustice caused.

Notification of the decision

41. The letter sent to notify Mr X of the panel’s decision should also be easy to understand so that those involved can be aware of the basis on which the decision was made. When explaining the second stage of the appeal, the letter repeated parts of the panel’s discussion with Mr X.
42. However, as this letter would be written from the notes of the meeting and panel discussions, I am satisfied it lacks relevant detail in giving clear reasons for the decision, including how and why any issues or facts of law were decided by the panel during the hearing. This lack of detail is fault. It again meant that Mr X could not be certain all relevant facts had been considered or how and why the decision had been made. I have made a recommendation below to remedy the injustice caused.

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Agreed action

43. To remedy the injustice caused by the faults I have identified, the Council has agreed to take the following action within four weeks of the date of my final decision:
• apologise to Mr X for the frustration and distress caused by the lack of sufficiently detailed panel minutes at stage one and two of the appeals process and for the linked decision letter also lacking relevant detail; and
• arrange a fresh appeal with a new panel and a new clerk for the hearing.
44. We expect the fresh appeal to be presented using the same information about the availability of places at the time Mr X made his first appeal. This is to ensure he is not disadvantaged by other successful appeals decided since the original appeal, which may have increased pupil numbers at school A. We also expect the new panel to be advised of the fault identified in the first appeal.
45. The apology written should be in line with the Ombudsman’s guidance on remedies on making an effective apology.
46. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

47. I have now completed my investigation. I uphold this complaint with a finding of fault causing an injustice.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman