Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about a school admissions appeal. There is no worthwhile outcome and the Information Commissioner’s Office is better placed to consider a data protection complaint.

The complaint

1. Miss X says the Council’s school admissions appeals panel should have granted her child, D, a place at School Y. And she says its decision letter contained errors.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint; or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Miss X moved into the area and applied in January 2025 for a place for her child D to attend primary school. She was offered a place at School Z. She appealed for a place at School Y. The appeal in February 2025 refused to grant her a place. She says the appeal panel’s decision letter had significant factual errors.
6. Shortly after the appeal, and after Miss X had complained to us, D was offered a place at School Y and started to attend.
7. We will not investigate the appeals process as there is no worthwhile outcome as D now has a place at School Y.
8. Miss X has the right to request records are ‘rectified’. This means any factual inaccuracies are corrected. If the Council refuses to do so, she can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Parliament set up the ICO to consider data protection disputes which includes ‘right to rectification’ disputes. The ICO are better placed than us to consider if the Council should change its records.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is no worthwhile outcome and there is another body better placed.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman