Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Councils School Admission Independent Appeal Panels handling of an appeal to offer her child a place at her preferred school. We are unlikely to find fault by the Appeal Panel.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council’s School Admission Independent Appeal Panel (the panel) was held incorrectly. She says this meant it did not properly consider her appeal for a place for her son, Y, at her preferred school (School Z).

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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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
4. I considered the School Admission Appeals Code 2022.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mrs X appealed for a place for her child, Y, to transfer into Year 10 at School Z, to start in September 2024. Mrs X’s younger son has been given a place at school Z.
7. Independent appeal panels must follow the law when considering an appeal. They need to consider if the school’s admission arrangements comply with the law, and if they were properly applied to the appellant’s application. They need to decide if admitting a further child would “prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources”. If they think it would, they need to consider if an appellant’s arguments outweigh the prejudice to the school.
8. Mrs X and her partner attended the appeal online. The clerks’ notes show the Council explained the difficulties offering a place would cause School Z. The panel decided the admission arrangements were lawful and properly applied.
9. The panel considered what Mrs X and her partner said and the written information she had sent before the appeal. The panel decided the evidence put forward in support of Mrs X’s appeal was not strong enough. The panel refused the appeal.
10. Mrs X contacted the Council after appeal with concerns about how it had been held. She said:
• A panel member from an appeal for a place in Year 9, for Y at School Z, was also on this appeal and Mrs X says this could cause bias,
• Incorrect paperwork was used during the appeal by a panel member,
• A panel member left the appeal after being disturbed by a family member. This went unnoticed and the appeal was not paused.
11. The Council provided Mrs X with the names of the panel members before the appeal. Mrs X could have raised concerns before the appeal. The appeal panel met the School Admissions Appeals Code.
12. The clerk’s notes show the panel’s decision-making. They show how the panel reached the key decisions. The panel considered the information presented by Mrs X. Some wrong admissions criteria was sent to the panel before the appeal, this was noted, the correct information was used by the panel members at appeal. The clerk’s notes show the panel considered all the information before it decided the appeal.
13. The School Admissions Appeals Code advises that where a panel member leaves an appeal it should be postponed and that appeals should take place in private. I have not seen any evidence of fault to say the code was not followed.
14. Our role is to check appeals have been carried out properly. We do not provide a further right of appeal or decide whether a child should be given a place at a school, and we cannot question the merits of decisions properly taken. If the panel has been properly informed, and used the correct procedure, then it is entitled to come to its own judgment about the evidence it hears.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate this complaint. We are unlikely to find fault in the way the panel conducted Mrs X’s appeal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman