Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a school’s decision to exclude Miss X’s child because there is not enough evidence of fault in the appeal process. We cannot investigate other school actions and Miss X has not yet complained to the Council about any failure to provide the education set out in an Education Health and Care Plan.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the school wrongly excluded her child and the review was flawed. She says the school did not follow her child’s Education, Health and Care Plan (ECHP) and did not properly support her child’s disability.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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))
3. We cannot investigate complaints about what happens in schools unless it relates to special educational needs, when the schools are acting on behalf of the council to secure educational provision as set out in Section F of the young person’s Education, Health and Care Plan. (Section 26(8) and Schedule 5 para 5 of the Local Government Act 1974)
4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the organisation knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the organisation of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5), section 34(B)6)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. Miss X says her child was wrongly excluded from school and the appeal process was flawed. We cannot look at a school’s decision to exclude a pupil. But we can look at how the Independent Review Panel processed the review. There is not enough evidence of fault in the way the panel made its decision, so we cannot question the outcome.
8. Miss X says the school did not follow her child’s Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan). This part of the complaint was not raised in Miss X’s complaint to the school. The Council is the responsible education authority. The Council should have the opportunity to investigate this point through its complaint procedure.
9. We cannot investigate other actions of the school which are not about making EHC Plan provision, such as those about conduct and discipline.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault in the panel’s review to warrant further investigation. We cannot look at other school actions. The Council should have the opportunity to investigate whether it has made the provision required by an EHC Plan using its complaint procedure.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman