Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s school’s admissions Appeal Panel refusing his appeal. It is unlikely we would find fault which caused Mr X to lose out on a school place.

The complaint

1. Mr X says the Council’s school’s admissions Appeals Panel should have granted his child, D, a place at School Y.

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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 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. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended).

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X, the Appeal Panel decision letter, the Clerk’s notes and Mr X’s written appeal, plus his follow on complaint to the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

The appeals’ process

5. 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. 
6. Parents/carers have the right to appeal an admission authority’s decision not to offer their child a school place.  
7. 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. 
8. A clerk supports the appeal panel. Parents can give information in support of their appeal.
9. 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. 
10. Appeal panels must allow appellants the opportunity to make oral representations.
11. 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. 
12. The clerk to the panel must write to the appellant, the admission authority and the council with the panel’s decision and reasons. 
13. Panels must follow a two-stage decision making process. 
14. 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.  
15. 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. 
16. 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.  

Events in this case

17. Mr X applied for a place for his child, D, to attend a grammar school, School Y. D had not passed the entrance test, and was not therefore given a place. Mr X appealed this decision. He told the appeal panel why he thought D was of grammar school ability and why School Y is the right fit for D.
18. D’s primary school Head Teacher provided a letter in support.
19. The Appeal Panel dismissed the appeal. It said:

“There was no evidence from the school as to the current levels D is attaining or the expected levels D will achieve at the end of the year. A grammar ability student should be working at greater depth across all the curriculum.”

20. Mr X complained to us. He said they felt the Appeal Panel was not fair. He said the Appeal Panel had not decided the appeal on a factual basis that was internally consistent, and it had not given adequate reasons for its decision.

Analysis

21. It is clear from the Clerk’s notes provided by Mr X, and the Appeal Panel’s decision letter, the Appeal Panel actively considered the evidence Mr X provided and arguments he put forward.
22. The factual evidence in front of the Appeal Panel and, that Mr X has provided, supports this decision. The Appeal Panel had SATS mock results from February, whilst the appeal was in June. Mr X believes the February results are ‘current’, the Appeal Panel has decided not. The February SATS show only one test was potentially at greater depth the other two were not. D’s primary school Head Teacher’s letter says D is working at the ‘expected standard’ throughout. The Head Teacher believes the grammar school test result is not reflective of D’s overall ability and expects D to improve. But they do not say D is expected to be at greater depth in the SATS finals.
23. Mr X believes the Appeal Panel should not have considered D’s year 4 and 5 results even though they support his argument that D is on an upward trajectory. We are unlikely to find fault in it considering any evidence presented to it.
24. It is unlikely we would find fault in the Appeal Panel’s decision based on the information I have seen which supports its decision. It is a decision it was entitled to take.
25. The Appeal Panel’s detailed decision letter records the reasons Mr X gave the Appeal Panel for wanting a place, including their personal reasons. Given the clear statement in paragraph 19 above, we are unlikely to find the Appeal Panel decision letter does not meet the Code requirements to be easily comprehensible and give clear reasons.

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Final decision

26. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is unlikely we would find fault in the Appeal Panel’s decision which has caused them to lose out on a place at School Y.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman