Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about what happened at a mediation meeting after the Council issued a final Education Health and Care Plan for Mrs X’s child. This matter is not separable from the content of the Plan, in respect of which Mrs X had a right to approach the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal it was reasonable to use.

The complaint

1. Mrs X said Council officers were unable to discuss a document at a mediation meeting as they had been unable to open it.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
3. The First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) considers appeals against council decisions regarding special educational needs. We refer to it as the SEND Tribunal in this decision statement.

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. The Council issued a final Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan for Mrs X’s child in June 2021. That gave her a right to appeal to the SEND Tribunal she could reasonably have used. It was her choice to enter mediation. The conduct of the mediation meeting is not separable from its purpose, which concerned the content of the EHC Plan.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because she had an alternative remedy available to her for the matter of the disputed content of the EHC Plan in the form of an appeal to the SEND Tribunal. It would have been reasonable for her to use this right after the Council issued the EHC Plan.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman