Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about an unsuccessful school admissions appeal. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council told her a solicitor’s letter would be enough to evidence her change of address for school admission. She said she provided this within the deadline, but her appeal was refused.
2. Miss X said this caused emotional distress and the appeal process has taken up a lot of her time. She wanted the Council to:
• apologise;
• provide financial compensation; and
• re-imburse her for the private education she is funding for her child.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Miss X applied for a school in the Council’s area. During the application process Miss X wrote to the Council and told it she was scheduled to move imminently.
7. The Council told Miss X a letter from a solicitor confirming the completion date for the new property may be sufficient for school admission. It also explained it may require additional documentation as part of the process. It provided her with a deadline to provide this information.
8. Miss X said she provided a solicitor’s letter before the deadline, but the application was refused. Miss X appealed the decision.
9. The appeal panel considered Miss X’s comments and evidence but decided the circumstances did not mean it should admit the child. This is because the child was not residing in the new property on the closing date for submitting evidence.
10. The final response explained the panel considered each point of the relevant legislation and made its decision in line with the schools published admission policy.
11. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong.
12. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating this complaint.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate this complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman