Summary: Ms X complained about the Council’s handling of her school transport application and the appeals process. The Council has acknowledged it was at fault because it sent the invite for Ms X’s final stage appeal hearing to an incorrect email address. As a result, Ms X was not given the opportunity to put forward her case, which caused her frustration and distress. The Council has offered to arrange a fresh final stage hearing, which is an appropriate remedy. The Council has also agreed to apologise to Ms X.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained about the Council’s handling of her school transport application and the appeals process. She said this caused her stress and anxiety. She wants the Council to provide transport assistance for her son, Y, and the opportunity to put her case forward at the appeal.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. Under our information sharing agreement, we will share this decision with the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(1), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered evidence provided by Ms X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
6. Ms X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Relevant legislation and guidance

7. Local authorities must make suitable home to school travel arrangements as they consider necessary for ‘eligible children’ of compulsory school age to attend their ‘qualifying school’. The travel arrangements must be made and provided free of charge. 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. ‘Eligible children’ include:

• children living outside ‘statutory walking distance’ from the school (two miles for children under eight, three miles for children aged eight and above);
• children living within walking distance of the school but who cannot reasonably be expected to walk to school because of their special educational needs, disability or mobility problem;
• children living within walking distance of the school but who cannot walk to school because the route is unsafe; and
• children entitled on low-income grounds. (Education Act 1996, 508B(1) and Schedule 35B)

8. Councils should have an appeals process in place for parents who wish to appeal about the eligibility of their child for travel support.
9. The statutory guidance recommends councils adopt the following appeals process:

• Stage 1: review by a senior officer. Within 20 working days of receiving a parent’s written request to appeal the decision, a senior officer reviews the original decision and sends the parent a detailed written notification of the outcome of the review setting out the nature of the decision, how the review was conducted, what was taken into account, the rationale for the decision reached, and how to escalate their case to stage 2; and
• Stage 2: Within 40 working days of receipt of the parent’s request for an independent appeal panel to consider written and verbal representations, a detailed decision is sent setting out: the nature of the decision reached; how the review was conducted; what factors were considered; the rationale for the decision reached; and information about appealing to us.
  (Department of Education, Travel to school for children of compulsory school age statutory guidance 2023, Part 5)

What happened

10. Ms X made a transport application for her son Y in March 2025. Y has an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. This document sets out the child or young person’s needs and what arrangements should be made to meet them. Ms X said Y cannot travel to school by himself, and she is not able to accompany him as she has another child who attends a different school.
11. The Council rejected Ms X’s application, stating Y did not meet the eligibility criteria for transport assistance. It said the distance between Y’s home and the school is less than the statutory walking distance. It also said there was no evidence to suggest he would not be able to get to school safely if accompanied by an adult.
12. A representative, on behalf of Ms X, requested the Council review its decision at stage one of its appeals process.
13. The Council held a stage one review the following week and upheld its decision.
14. Ms X requested the Council review its decision at stage two of its appeals process.
15. At the end of June, the Council emailed Ms X to advise her of the appeal hearing it had scheduled for the following week and provided a link to join the hearing online.
16. The Council did not hear from Ms X and called her on the morning of the appeal to check if she was able to attend. Ms X told the Council she had not received the meeting invite and was not able to attend the meeting at such short notice. The Council went ahead with the hearing without Ms X in attendance.
17. The Council wrote to Ms X the following day, stating that it upheld its original decision. It said it understood getting Y to school was a logistical challenge for Ms X, but the evidence supplied did not persuade it that Y met the eligibility criteria for transport assistance.
18. Ms X approached the Ombudsman in July.

Analysis

19. The Ombudsman made enquiries of the Council. It confirmed it sent the appeal hearing invitation to the email address for Ms X listed on Y’s EHC Plan. Ms X said she no longer used this email address and regularly corresponded with the Council using a new email address, which she had provided on her transport assistance application. It is unclear why the Council did not use the email address Ms X provided on her school transport application. This is fault, and as a result, Ms X was denied the opportunity to make representations at the appeal, which caused her frustration and distress.
20. In response to our enquiries, the Council offered to hold a fresh stage two appeal. I welcome this offer to give Ms X an opportunity to present her case. While this partially remedies the injustice to Ms X, I have also recommended the Council apologise for denying her that opportunity and for the distress and frustration this has caused.

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Agreed action

21. Within one month of the final decision the Council has agreed to:
1. Apologise to Ms X for the frustration and distress caused by the identified fault.
2. Hold a fresh stage two appeal hearing, giving Ms X the opportunity to make representations.
22. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

23. I find fault causing injustice, for which I have recommended a suitable remedy. I have completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman