Summary: Mrs X complains the Council did not properly consider her appeal for home to school transport provision. Based on the evidence the Ombudsman has seen, there is no fault by the Council in the way it decided a school transport appeal.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mrs X, complains about the Council’s decision not to provide free school transport to her daughter (D). Mrs X says:
• The school is over three miles away and she will struggle to afford the transport costs.
• She was not advised by the Council that school preference would have an impact on eligibility for transport costs.
• Her first choice of school was a designated 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 cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. As part of my investigation I have:
• Considered the complaint made by Mrs X.
• Spoken to Mrs X on the telephone.
• Considered the documents provided by the Council in response to my enquiries.
• Given the Council and Mrs X the opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

5. Councils must provide free school transport for children who meet a certain criteria. The duty to provide free school transport arises when children of compulsory school age live beyond the statutory walking distance and they attend their ‘qualifying school’.
6. The relevant qualifying school is the nearest school with places available that provides education appropriate to the age, ability and aptitude of the child and any special educational needs the child may have.
7. The categories of children who are eligible for free school transport are:
• Children unable to walk to school by reason of their special educational needs, disability, or mobility problem (including temporary medical conditions).
• Children unable to walk in safety to their nearest suitable school because of the nature of the route.
• Children living outside ‘statutory walking distance’, which is two miles for children under eight and three miles for older children.
8. The Department for Education has published statutory guidance about school transport appeals (“the Guidance”). The Guidance says that, where a parent wishes to challenge a decision on school transport, the Guidance recommends councils should provide a right of review by a senior officer and then an appeal to an independent appeal panel. Both the review and the appeal decision should set out:
• The nature of the decision reached.
• How the review was conducted.
• What factors were considered.
• Information about other departments and/or agencies consulted as part of the process.
• The rationale for the decision.

The Council’s policy

9. The Council’s policy on school transport, ‘Policy for Home to School Transport’, says where parents select alternative schools to their designated or nearest schools, they accept responsibility for making their own transport arrangements for their children.
10. The policy allows for circumstances where schools outside of the designated area can be treated as qualifying schools for transport assistance. This is where parents have made an application for places at their designated schools but the local authority has been unable to meet this or any of their preferences.
11. The Council also provides guidance to parents about school admissions and transport: ‘A Parent’s Guide to Secondary School Admissions in the Wokingham Borough.’ This guidance says parents will be responsible for transport to and from school where they express a preference for a mainstream school outside the usual designated area and where this is agreed.
12. The Council has a two stage process for appealing decisions about school transport. At the first stage appeal forms are reviewed by a Panel of three officers. The role of the appeal decision makers is to decide whether the Council properly applied its policy to an applicant’s child and whether there are special circumstances which justify departure from Council policy.
13. The stage one panel has the role of deciding whether the appeal should be escalated to the second stage. The Council’s policy on school transport does not provide an automatic right to an appeal at the second stage. Where an appeal is simply challenging the Home to School Transport Policy or simply disagreeing with the decision without providing evidence to support, the stage one Panel can make a final decision.

What happened

14. Mrs X applied for a secondary school place for D at three secondary schools (school A, school B and school C). Schools A and C were in the designated areas for her address. School B was not. The admission authority was unable to offer D a place at school A, but did offer D a place at school B. Mrs X accepted this offer.
15. Mrs X applied for free home school transport for D to school B. The Council refused to offer free home school transport because D was not entitled to this under the Council’s policy, which is not to provide free home school transport to a school which is not in the applicant’s designated area. School B was outside of the designated area for Mrs X’s home address. The Council wrote to Mrs X in March 2019 confirming this.
16. Mrs X appealed against this decision and submitted a completed school transport appeal form. In the details of appeal section of the form Mrs X gave the following reasons for her appeal:
• The high cost of the transport.
• Due to work commitments and health issues it was not possible for the parents to drop off and pick up D from school B.
• The walking distance to school B exceeds 3 miles and school B is not within safe walking distance so D would have to use a bus. To access the bus stop D would have to walk along a duel carriageway.
• School A was within safe walking distance and was the first choice. It was not their fault school A was oversubscribed.
17. The Panel considered the appeal at stage one on 27 March 2019 and refused the appeal. The Panel noted that schools A and C were designated schools for Mrs X’s address however, school B was not a designated school and was parental preference. The Panel found that D could have attended school C which is nearer and a designated school. The Panel felt there were no special grounds for the Council’s full school transport appeals panel to consider. The Council advised Mrs X if she remained unhappy she could complain to the Ombudsman.

Analysis

18. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. It is not our role to decide whether the Council should provide school transport for D. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached.
19. I am satisfied the Panel properly considered whether D was eligible for free transport to school B. Mrs X chose school B which was outside of the designated area for her address. The Council’s policy is not to award free transport where parents select alternative schools to their designated or nearest schools, regardless of the walking distance. The Panel considered that there was a school place available for D at school C which was in Mrs X’s designated area.
20. The appeal decision letter should show what factors and information the Panel considered before making its decision. In the decision letter to Mrs X the Council should have summarised Mrs X’s special reasons outlined in her appeal form, namely her concerns about the walking route to school B. This would have suggested to Mrs X the Panel had considered them. It was a shortcoming the letter did not include this information, but I do not consider it so serious as to make a formal finding of fault.
21. The Panel decided it would not escalate the case to the second stage appeal. I am satisfied the Panel considered the relevant factors when deciding to refuse access to stage two. The clerk’s notes show it considered the walking distance to school B and there was a place available at a nearer school. In response to my enquiries the Council confirmed Mrs X did not provide developed reasons and evidence saying why school C was unsuitable. On this basis, I am satisfied the Council’s decision not to escalate the appeal was soundly made.

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Final decision

22. There is no evidence of fault in the way the transport appeal was decided. I have therefore ended the investigation and closed the complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman