Summary: Mrs X complained the school admission panel failed to follow proper process or properly consider her appeal for a place for her son. Mrs X complained the appeal hearing was rushed and they were not given the opportunity to present their case fully. We found the failure to record the panel's consideration and the reasons for its decision is fault. As is the failure to explain or provide a summary of the issues the panel considered and the reasons for the panel's decision in the decision letter. These faults have caused Mrs X an uncertainty and frustration. The School had agreed to arrange a fresh appeal Mrs X and take action to improve how decisions are recorded.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mrs X complained the school admission panel failed to follow proper process or properly consider her appeal for a place for her son. Mrs X complained the appeal hearing was rushed and they were not given the opportunity to present their case fully. She is also concerned the panel had not read all of the information they had submitted prior to the hearing.

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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. As part of the investigation, I have:
• considered the complaint and the documents provided by Mrs X;
• made enquiries of the School and considered the comments and documents the School provided;
• discussed the issues with Mrs X; and
• Mrs X and the School 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

The appeal process

5. Independent appeal panels must follow the School Admissions Appeals Code when considering an appeal. The law says the size of an infant class must not be more than 30 pupils per teacher. There are only limited circumstances in which more than 30 children can be admitted. An admissions authority can also refuse an application on the basis it will breach the infant class size limit in the future.
6. When a school receives more applications than it has places (the ‘published admissions number’, or PAN), the applications will be ranked according to its over-subscription criteria. Each application will be placed into the highest appropriate criterion, and places are then allocated in descending order of rank.
7. Appeals under these rules are known as “infant class size appeals”. The rules say the panel must consider whether:
• admitting another child would breach the class size limit;
• the admission arrangements comply with the law;
• the admission arrangements were properly applied to the case;
• the decision to refuse a place was one which a reasonable authority would have made in the circumstances.
8. An appeal panel can only overturn an admissions authority’s decision to refuse a place if they find one or more of these points do not apply and that had the decision been taken properly, the child would have been allocated a place at the school.
9. What is ‘reasonable’ is a high test. The panel needs to be sure that to refuse a place was “perverse” or “outrageous”. For that reason, panels rarely find an admission authority’s decision to be unreasonable in light of the admission arrangements.
10. The clerk must ensure an accurate record is taken of the points raised at the hearing, including the proceedings, attendance, voting, and reasons for decisions.

What happened here

11. The governing body is responsible for admissions to All Souls Catholic Primary School. The admissions process is part of the Coventry Local Authority coordinated admissions scheme, however the School retains overall responsibility for admissions.
12. Mrs X applied to the School for her son, Y to start in Reception in September 2024. The School was oversubscribed and unable to offer Y a place because it was full with children who qualified under a higher criteria under its admission policy. Instead, the Council offered Y a place at Mrs X’s second choice school.
13. Mrs X appealed against the School’s decision to refuse Y a place. The appeal took place in June 2024 via video conferencing.
14. The clerk’s notes show that rather than ask the representative from School 1 to present the School’s case the panel chair said they had read the School’s statement and would ask the representative some prepared questions.
15. The School’s PAN was 30 and all places offered had been accepted. The current Years 1 and 2 exceeded PAN due to children being admitted under appeal or through the Fair Access Protocol.
16. Mrs X was also given the opportunity to ask questions of the representative.
17. Mrs X had submitted a number of documents in support of her appeal. A few days before the appeal she also submitted a power point presentation for the appeal setting out why she considered Y should be offered a place at the School.
18. As with the School’s case, the panel chair confirmed they had read the information Mrs X had submitted. The clerk’s notes say they asked Mrs X whether there was anything she would like to add or highlight before they asked a few questions. The panel’s questions largely focussed on Y’s allocated school and his autism assessment and diagnosis. Mrs X responded to the questions and reiterated a conversation she had had with Y about what he likes about the School.
19. A learning disability nurse also attended the appeal at Mrs X’s request. The clerk’s notes say the nurse confirmed they had concerns for Y’s mental health and anxiety.
20. The clerk’s notes say the panel Chair ended the hearing by asking Mrs X if she was satisfied she had received a fair hearing and had been able to tell the panel everything she had wanted to. The notes say Mrs X confirmed she was and was reassured when they were told about the panel’s background and experience in SEND.
21. The notes record the panel was satisfied that:
• admitting another child would breach the class size limit;
• the admission arrangements complied with the law;
• the admission arrangements were correctly and impartially applied in this case; and
• the decision to refuse a place was one which a reasonable authority would have made in the circumstances of the case.
22. It found there were no grounds to uphold the exceptions for admission and dismissed the appeal.
23. The Clerk wrote to Mrs X the following day advising her that her appeal was unsuccessful. The decision letter does not set out what the panel considered or give any reasons for the decision.
24. Mrs X remains unhappy and has asked the Ombudsman to investigate her concerns. Mrs X disputes the accuracy of the clerk’s notes and complains she was not given the opportunity to present her case. She says she did not agree they had been given the opportunity to say all they had wanted. Mrs X believes the panel had already made up their mind about the case and told her to keep comments short and that the learning disability nurse could summarise Y’s needs on their behalf.

Analysis

25. 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.
26. When considering complaints we make findings based on the balance of probabilities. This means that we look at the available relevant evidence and decide what was more likely to have happened.
27. The School Admission Appeals Code states the independent appeal clerk must take an accurate record of the appeal hearing, including the reasons for the decisions made.
28. Given Mrs X’s concerns about the accuracy of the clerk’s records, I contacted the learning disability nurse for their view on the way the appeal was conducted and on whether Mrs X was given sufficient opportunity to present her case. Unfortunately I have not received a response.
29. It is clear from the documentation available that Mrs X was able to participate in the hearing and ask questions. However I cannot establish from the information available whether or not Mrs X was able to present her case fully, in the way she wanted. I will not be able to resolve this issue by further investigation.
30. I do however consider there to be fault in the way the panel decision is recorded and in the way it was communicated to Mrs X.
31. The clerk’s notes record that the panel was satisfied the tests set out in the School Admission Appeals Code were met. That is: admitting another child would breach the infant class size limit, the admission arrangements were lawful and the decision to refuse a place was reasonable in the circumstances. However, there is no record of how the panel reached this decision or the reasons for the decision it made.
32. Without this evidence I cannot be sure the panel properly considered this issue, which is fault.
33. In addition, there is no reference to the decision reasons in the clerk’s letter to Mrs X advising her appeal was dismissed.
34. The Code states the panel must communicate the decision, including reasons for that decision in writing to the appellant. And must ensure that the decision is easily comprehensible so that the parties can understand the basis on which the decision was made. It says the decision letter must contain a summary of the relevant factors raised by the parties and considered by the panel and must give clear reasons for the panel’s decision.
35. In this instance the decision letter appears to be a generic template letter. It has not been tailored in any way to summarise the issues or explain the decision reached in Mrs X’s case. The failure to properly communicate and explain the reasons for the decision is fault.

Agreed action

36. The School has agreed to:
• arrange a fresh appeal for Mrs 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 and in the decision letter.
37. The School should take this action within one month of the final decision on this complaint and provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

38. The failure to record the panel's consideration and the reasons for its decision is fault. As is the failure to explain or provide a summary of the issues the panel considered and the reasons for the panel's decision in the decision letter. These faults have caused Mrs X an injustice.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman