Summary: Mrs X complained about an unsuccessful appeal for her child to attend Pittville School. We find procedural fault because the clerk’s notes of the appeal hearing do not comply with the School Admission Appeals Code. They do not show how the appeal panel reached its decision, how it assessed and balanced the competing arguments, or how the panel voted. This creates uncertainty about whether the appeal was properly decided. The School has agreed to remind panels and clerks of their duty to properly record decision-making in line with the Code. We would normally also recommend that the School arrange a fresh appeal hearing with a different panel, however Mrs X has confirmed she no longer wishes to pursue a change of school.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about an unsuccessful appeal for her child, Y to attend Pittville School.
2. She says instead they have been offered a school which conflicts with their religious views.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. 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(1), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

5. I considered evidence provided by Mrs X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
6. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

Back to top

What I found

Relevant law and guidance

7. 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.
8. Parents/carers have the right to appeal an admission authority’s decision not to offer their child a school place. In this case, Gloucestershire County Council administers admission appeals on behalf of the school.
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. Stage 1: the panel examines the decision to refuse admission. The panel must consider whether: 

• the admissions arrangements complied with the mandatory requirements set out in the School Admissions Code; 
• the admission arrangements were applied correctly; and if 
• the admission of additional children would prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources.  

12. If a panel decides that admitting further children would “prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources” they move to the second stage of the process. 
13. Stage 2: balancing the arguments. The panel must balance the prejudice to the school against the appellant’s case for the child to be admitted. 
14. The clerk to the panel must write to the appellant, the admission authority and the council with the panel’s decision and reasons. 

What happened

15. Pittville School is a foundation school, and its governing body is the admissions authority. While Gloucestershire County Council (the Council) oversees the administration of admissions, Pittville School retains overall responsibility.
16. Mrs X has a child, Y, who was due to start secondary school in September 2025.
17. Mrs X applied for two secondary schools, naming Pittville School as her first preference and School 2 as her second preference.
18. During the 2025 admissions round, Y was not offered a place at either of the schools applied for and was instead offered a place at School 3.
19. Mrs X appealed the decision, asking for Y to be admitted to Pittville School, and submitted additional information in support of her appeal.
20. The Council arranged an appeal hearing in June 2025, which Mrs X attended. She was given the opportunity to make oral representations and present her case to the appeal panel.
21. Following the hearing, the Council wrote to Mrs X to inform her that the appeal had not been upheld. The decision letter advised her to contact the Department for Education’s School Complaints Compliance Unit if she believed there had been maladministration in the appeal process.
22. In response to my enquiries, the clerk provided a different version of the decision letter, which signposted Mrs X to the Ombudsman instead. The clerk also confirmed that they do not record panel members’ discussions or deliberations when making their decision.

My findings

23. I have reviewed the clerk’s notes of the appeal hearing and the decision letter sent to Mrs X. The notes provide a good record of what was said by the parties during the hearing. However, they do not record the panel’s private deliberations or explain how the panel reached its decision.
24. In particular, the notes do not show how the panel decided that admitting an additional child would cause prejudice to the school, how strong that prejudice was, or how the panel balanced that prejudice against Mrs X’s case and supporting evidence. There is also no record of the panel’s voting.
25. The School Admission Appeals Code requires clerks to make an accurate record of the hearing, including the panel’s reasoning and voting. Without this information, I cannot be satisfied that the panel properly followed the two-stage appeal process or that it lawfully balanced the competing considerations at stage two.
26. The failure to adequately record the panel’s decision-making and voting was fault. This fault creates uncertainty about whether the appeal was fairly and properly considered.
27. I also note that the decision letter sent to Mrs X signposted her to the Department for Education’s School Complaints Compliance Unit if she believed there had been maladministration in the appeal process. However, the clerk later provided a different version of the decision letter to the Ombudsman which correctly signposted to us.
28. Providing incorrect signposting in the original decision letter was fault. However, I am satisfied this fault did not cause Mrs X significant injustice, as she was able to bring her complaint to the Ombudsman without delay.

Back to top

Action

29. To remedy the injustice caused by the above faults, within four weeks of the date of my final decision, the School has agreed to:  
• apologise to Mrs X in line with our guidance on Making an effective apology; 
• remind all clerking staff of the requirement to make a clear and accurate record of appeal hearings, including how panels reach their decisions, the reasons for those decisions at both stages of the appeal process, and the votes cast; and
• review appeal decision letter templates to ensure they include accurate and consistent signposting about how appellants can complain about maladministration in the appeal process.
30. I have not recommended the School to arrange a fresh appeal with a new panel and a new clerk for the hearing. This is because, during my investigation, Mrs X decided that given the time Y has already spent at School 3, she no longer wished to pursue a move to Pittville School.
31. The School should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

Back to top

Decision

32. I find fault causing injustice. The School has agreed actions to remedy injustice.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman