Summary: Miss X complained the Council refused her request for her summer-born child, Y, to be admitted to reception rather than year one when they start school in September 2027. We have found the Council at fault for not properly considering Miss X’s request. The Council has agreed to apologise and reconsider Miss X’s request.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council refused her request for her child, Y, to be admitted to reception rather than year one when they start school in September 2027. Miss X does not believe the Council considered her request properly.

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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. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), 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)

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What I have and have not investigated

5. I considered how the Council made its decision. I have not decided whether Miss X’s child should be admitted to reception or year one. This is the Council’s job.

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How I considered this complaint

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

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What I found

Law and guidance

The admission of summer born children

8. ‘Summer born children’ are children born between 1 April and 31 August. These children are not required to start school until the September following their fifth birthday. Ordinarily, they would then start school in year 1 with their ‘chronological year group’.
9. Parents can request their summer born children are admitted to a reception class in the September following their fifth birthday rather than year 1. This means they are educated outside their normal age group.
10. Parents decide when their children start school. The admission authority (in this case, the Council) decides whether they start in reception or year 1.
11. The Government has issued guidance for admission authorities deciding which year group a child should be admitted to.
12. The admission authority must:
• make decisions in the best interests of the child; and
• take account of the child’s individual needs and abilities and consider whether these can best be met in reception or year one; and
• take account of the potential impact on the child of being admitted to year one without first having completed the reception year.
13. The guidance says, “In effect, this means that the authority is making a decision about whether it would be in the child’s best interest to miss the reception year.”
14. The guidance says it is reasonable to expect parents to provide information to support their request, but they are not expected to obtain professional evidence they do not already have.
15. Admission authorities must set out clearly the process for requesting admission outside the normal year group, including what information and evidence parents should provide and when. There is no prescribed process admission authorities must follow, although the guidance notes some authorities use decision making panels to consider requests, and some invite parents to attend panel meetings.
16. The admission authority must, however, give reasons for its decision.

The Council’s procedures for summer born admissions

17. The Council published information on its website for parents of children aged 3 and 4 who would be starting school in 2026.
18. An e-booklet, “Starting school full-time. Information for parents about children starting school in 2026” has a section headed, “Can I delay my child’s start date or let them attend part time?” Here, the Council says parents must write to the school admissions team before 30 August 2026 and the Council will consider their request.
19. In a section headed, “How can I educate my child outside their usual year group?” the Council says parents should write to the School Admissions Team during the normal round of admissions for their child, and the Council will consider their request. The Council says they should receive the request before the closing date (15 January 2026). It says parents must still apply for a 2026 reception place as usual while the Council considers their request. The Council invites parents to ask for more details.

What happened

Miss X’s request

20. Miss X’s child, Y is a summer born child. Miss X decided Y will not start school under September 2027, the September following their fifth birthday.
21. Miss X wrote to the Council requesting that Y start in reception instead of year 1 in September 2027. Her request explained why the delay would be in Y’s best interests. She raised concerns about Y’s communication and sensory needs and referred to professional advice she had received.
22. The Council rejected Miss X’s request stating that Y should start in reception in September 2026.

Reconsideration

23. Miss X complained that the Council’s decision did not reflect the School Admission Code. The Council upheld Miss X’s complaint and agreed to reconsider her request.
24. In December 2025, the Council issued a reconsideration letter. It stated that it needed to carry out a home visit before reaching a decision. It assured Miss X that it would reach a decision before 15 January 2026.
25. Miss X brought her complaint to the Ombudsman in April 2026 when she had still not received the Council’s decision.

Further reconsideration

26. In May, the Council issued Miss X with a final reconsidered decision. It rejected her request again stating that Y’s needs could be supported within a mainstream reception class from September 2026. Miss X escalated her complaint stating the Council had applied the wrong legal test.
27. The Council issued another reconsidered decision in June. It did not uphold Miss X’s complaint and confirmed the panel had applied the correct test and weighed up all the evidence. It maintained that a start date of September 2026 would be in Y’s best interests.

My findings

28. I have not taken a view on the merits of Miss X’s request for Y to be admitted to a reception class in September 2027. This is entirely a matter for the Council. My job is to check the Council made its decision properly.
29. Miss X decided Y will not start school until September 2027 when they will be five years old. It appears the Council does not agree with Miss X’s decision. However, it is a decision she is entitled to make and one the Council must accept.
30. The Council must decide whether it will be in Y’s best interests to join a reception class or to miss the reception year entirely and join year 1 when they start school aged five in September 2027.
31. This is no doubt a difficult decision to make 18 months before Y starts school, but nevertheless, it is a decision the Government expects the Council to make.
32. The Council’s correspondence with Miss X suggests it has not made the decision properly. It stated that Y would benefit from starting reception with his cohort in September 2026. This was not the decision the Council was being asked to make.
33. The Council has not addressed the central question: whether it is in Y’s best interests to miss reception and start school in year 1. This calls the Council’s decision into question. The Council’s apparent failure to properly consider Miss X’s request for Y to start school in reception in September 2027 is fault.
34. The Council has agreed to apologise to Miss X and to reconsider her request again.

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Agreed action

35. Within 4 weeks of my decision or by 28 August 2026 (whichever is sooner), the Council has agreed to:
1. Apologise to Miss X for failing to properly consider her request for her child to start reception in September 2027.
2. Reconsider Miss X’s request in line with Government guidance. The Council must give reasons for its decision. If it rejects Miss X’s request, it must explain why it considers it to be in Y’s best interest to miss reception entirely when they start school in September 2027 and provide the evidence on which it based its decision.
3. Retrain panel members and officers on summer born admissions to ensure the correct decision-making process is followed.
36. The Council has agreed to provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

37. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed to take action to remedy injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman