Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the way the Council handled a school admissions request. The Council has arranged an appeal and there is nothing significant further we could achieve.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about the way the Council handled her application for a school place.

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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:

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation; or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (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 says she asked in June 2024 for a place at School Y to start in September. The Council has accepted it failed to reply quickly to her request and tell her how to appeal or re apply in September. In its reply to her in January 2025, it said the school year was still full.
6. Miss X says if the Council had processed her application quickly she would have been offered a place to start in September 2024.
7. If we were to investigate this complaint, the likely outcome we could achieve would be for the Council to arrange a school admissions appeal hearing. The Council has now done so and the hearing was due in early May 2025. There is nothing further we could achieve.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is no significant further remedy we could achieve.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman