Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about an unsuccessful appeal for a school place. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council’s school admissions panel’s decision to refuse his appeal against the refusal of his application for a place for his son (Y). He says the Council failed to properly consider his application for priority.

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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. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

Y’s case

5. Mr X initially applied for a place at his preferred school to the Council under the normal admissions process but the Council refused his application and allocated a place at a different school. It sent Mr X information about applying for priority for admission to a particular school, which Mr X then did, but the Council refused this application too.
6. Mr X was unhappy with the Council’s decision and appealed. He made his appeal in writing and presented his case to the panel. Mr X does not dispute the school’s case or the panel’s findings that the school is full, but he says the panel failed to properly consider whether the admissions arrangements were correctly applied when dealing with the circumstances of his application for Y.
7. While I appreciate the decision letter does not specifically address Mr X’s concerns, the Council has provided the clerk’s notes on the deliberations by panel members and these clearly state:

“The panel agreed that there had been no error made in how the application was considered… Although a complaint has been made to the local authority… the panel were satisfied that the local authority had provided a satisfactory response to the complaint and an error had not been made.”

8. The panel also decided the decision was not unreasonable.
9. I appreciate Mr X is unhappy with the panel’s decision but I have not seen enough evidence of fault in the way it was reached and I cannot say its decision is irrational or perverse. I cannot therefore question it or say the Council must carry out a new hearing to consider the matter again.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman