Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the School’s admissions appeal panel refusing her appeal. It is unlikely we would find fault which caused Miss X to lose out on a school place.

The complaint

1. Miss X says the School’s admissions appeals panel should have granted her child, B, a place at the School.

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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 Miss X and the appeal papers.
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. Miss X applied for a place for B in year seven at this School starting in September 2026. There were more applicants than places. This is their catchment school, but the last place went to a child who lived closer to the school than them.
18. Miss X only stated one other school on her school application. Their application for that school was also unsuccessful. The Council allocated a place at the nearest school with places. Which Miss X says was 20 miles away.
19. Miss X appealed the School’s decision to refuse her application. It considered her appeal in July 2026. Miss X told the appeal panel they were in catchment and could not manage a school run of 20 miles.
20. The appeal panel dismissed the appeal. It said Miss X’s case did not outweigh the prejudice to the School of having B in the school.
21. Miss X believes they have been unfairly treated. She believes the appeal panel did not properly consider their case. She says the appeal panel did not weigh their individual circumstances properly against the school’s reasons. She said there was no way she could get B to the allocated school.
22. Since, Miss X has confirmed B has now obtained a place at the school closest to their home and less than three miles.

Analysis

23. Our role is not to say the appeal panel’s decision is wrong unless the decision was flawed in a way which could have affected the decision. The appeal panel’s detailed decision letter records the reasons Miss X gave the appeal panel for wanting a place. The Clerk’s notes show the appeal panel actively consider the points Miss X made. The appeal panel did not agree with her the problems caused to B outweighed those to the School would have with one further pupil attending. 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 one Miss X does not agree with but is a decision it was entitled to take.

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Final decision

24. We will not investigate Miss 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 this School.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman