Summary: We have upheld this complaint about a school admissions appeal but will not investigate it further. This is because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Mrs X.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains that an admissions appeal outcome letter did not properly explain how points raised in her case were considered by the panel.
2. Mrs X is concerned that her child, Child Y, now has to attend a different school to their sibling. Mrs X is upset that the distress caused by the appeal process has not provided her with closure on the matter. Mrs X wants the Council to correct the second admissions round error and admit Child Y to the preferred school, or less preferably, arrange a new appeal.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Mrs X applied for a place for her child, Child Y, to start at her preferred school in September 2026. Mrs X’s application was made in time. Child Y was allocated a different school. Mrs X appealed the decision. Her appeal was unsuccessful in July 2026. She complained to us in August 2026.
7. We made enquiries of the Council. In its response, it provided us the clerk notes and a panel decision sheet, alongside the appeal outcome letter.
8. The evidence provided did not demonstrate how the panel had considered the relevant points made by Mrs X in her submissions. Point 2.19 of the School Admissions Appeal Code 2022 gives questioning by an appellant as a step in a suggested order of proceedings. The Council’s record of the hearing did not demonstrate Mrs X had this opportunity, or how any points she raised were considered by the panel.
9. Its decision letter noted relevant factors in Mrs X’s appeal, but not how the panel had considered them. This is required under 2.28 of the School Admissions Appeal Code 2022.
10. We invited the Council to remedy any injustice caused to Mrs X. To its credit, it has agreed to do so.

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Agreed actions

• Carry out a new appeal hearing. This will be before a new appeal panel and clerked by a different officer.
• Share an accurate record of the meeting with Mrs X, alongside the decision letter.

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Final decision

11. We have upheld this complaint about a school admissions appeal but will not investigate it further. This is because the Council has agreed to resolve the complaint early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused to Mrs X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman