Summary: Mrs X complained that the Council failed to follow procedures when it rejected her school admissions appeal against the decision to place her child (Y) in a school closer to their home. The Council considered Mrs X’s application and appeal in line with the relevant law and policies without fault.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained that the Council failed to follow proper procedures when it rejected her school admissions appeal against the decision to place her child (Y) in a school closer to their home. This has caused Mrs X distress, frustration and uncertainty about whether the Council has properly reached this decision.

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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 an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (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. I considered evidence provided by Mrs X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
5. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Relevant law and guidance

6. 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. 
7. Parents/carers have the right to appeal an admission authority’s decision not to offer their child a school place.  
8. 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. 
9. 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. 
10. The clerk must take an accurate record of the hearing, including the proceedings, attendance, voting and reasons for decisions. 
11. 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. 
12. Appeal panels must allow appellants the opportunity to make oral representations.
13. Appeal panels must either uphold or dismiss an appeal and must not uphold an appeal subject to any conditions. 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. 
14. The clerk to the panel must write to the appellant, the admission authority and the council with the panel’s decision and reasons. 

The Council’s Appeal Panel Decision Making Procedure

15. The panel will follow a two-stage process. The panel first has to decide if it believes that the admission authority has proved that admitting another child into the relevant year group at the school will cause prejudice to the provision of education to the other pupils at the school. To do that the panel will hear from the authority, and the appellant and panel will be able to question the authority. For some infant class admissions the type of prejudice is referred to as class size prejudice.
16. If the panel members accept that the authority has made a case it will move to the second stage. In this the panel will consider the factors that the appellant puts forward in support of the appeal and weight up the interests of the child against the interest of the school. They will decide whether the appellant’s case is sufficiently strong as to outweigh the prejudice that will be caused by the admission, or, if the admission is for an infant class, whether the decision was properly made and is not perverse. The clerk will remain with the panel whilst it makes a decision on the appeal.

What happened

17. Mrs X has a son Y who attends primary school A at key stage two level. In August 2024, Mrs X applied for Y to attend another school (B) as she was struggling to drop off and pick up Y from school A. Mrs X advised the Council she had bought the house she lived in to be close to school B. This was within walking distance whereas school A was a 45 minute journey which comprised of a 20 minute walk and 25 minute bus journey. Mrs X could not drive for health reasons and Mr X worked shifts so was unable to assist with getting Y to and from school. Mrs X was currently not working but was going back to work soon and had nobody else to support getting Y to school.
18. In September 2024, the Council advised Mrs X there were no vacancies at school B or any nearer schools. It advised her she could appeal this decision which she did in October 2024. Mrs X advised the panel during the hearing of her circumstances as outlined in the paragraph above.
19. In October 2024, the Council rejected the appeal. It said it was satisfied that the school had proved the admission of more children to school B would prejudice the efficient use of resources. The panel then considered whether the factors Mrs X had provided for wanting Y to attend school B outweighed the prejudice the admission would have on resources. The Council said it noted and deliberated Mrs X’s submissions and did not consider the circumstances to be exceptional. Therefore, it could not allow the appeal.
20. The Council has provided a copy of the clerk’s notes made during the appeal. The clerk has written that the appeal was rejected by all three panel members for the following reasons:
• Mrs X can get the bus to school A which is not too far away and a reasonable distance for Y to travel
• The school had a strong argument for not admitting more children
21. Mrs X remained dissatisfied with the Council’s handling of the matter and complained to us.

My findings

22. The Ombudsman’s role is to consider whether the appeal panel followed the Admission Appeals Code. We do this by examining the panel’s papers and the notes taken by the Clerk during the hearing. We do not have the power to overturn the panel’s decision, and we cannot give a child a place at the school. It is for the panel to decide what weight to give the evidence. As long as it properly considered the evidence put forward, the Ombudsman cannot say what conclusion the panel should have come to.
23. The clerk’s notes show the panel was satisfied the school had put forward a good case that the admission of another child would prejudice the efficient use of resources. The clerk’s notes of proceedings at the hearing and of the decision-making, and the panel’s decision letter, also show that panel members noted and understood the points Ms X put forward in her appeal case, and took these into account in reaching their conclusions. The clerk’s notes of the appeal show the panel properly considered the case and as there was no fault in the way the panel reached its decision, I cannot question the panel’s decision to refuse the appeal.

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Decision

24. I have completed this investigation. I found no fault with the Council’s actions.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman