Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to name a suitable school in her daughter’s Education, Health and Care Plan. We have ended our investigation as Mrs X’s complaint is outside our jurisdiction.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council failed to name a suitable school in her daughter’s EHC Plan, only a type of placement was named. She said the Council would not name the only offer it had of a placement, namely a maintained specialist residential placement. Mrs X said the matter has affected hers and her daughter’s mental health.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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.
4. The courts have established that if someone has appealed to the SEND Tribunal, the law says we cannot investigate any matter which was part of, was connected to, or could have been part of, the appeal to the tribunal. (R (on application of Milburn) v Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman [2023] EWCA Civ 207)
5. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. We also cannot investigate a complaint if in doing so we would overlap with the role of a tribunal to decide something which has been or could have been referred to it to resolve using its own powers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I have considered Mrs X’s complaint and have spoken to her about it.
7. I have also considered the Council’s response to Mrs X and to my enquiries.
8. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

9. A child or young person with special educational needs (SEN) may have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. This document sets out the child’s needs and what arrangements should be made to meet them. The EHC Plan is set out in sections. We cannot direct changes to the sections about their needs, education, or the name of the educational placement. Only the tribunal or the council can do this.
10. For young people moving from secondary school to a post-16 institution or apprenticeship, the council must review and amend the EHC Plan – including specifying the post-16 provision and naming the institution – by 31 March in the calendar year of the transfer.
11. Mr X’s daughter, Y has SEN and an EHC Plan.
12. The Council issued Mrs X’s daughter’s (Y) final Education, Health Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) in March 2022, before the 31 March deadline. This followed a post-16 transition annual review. The Council named a type of setting (specialist) but not a specific placement in Section I. Mrs X appealed this in June 2022.
13. Mrs X said the Council delayed carrying out a social needs assessment for Y. An assessment would have informed the content of Y’s EHC Plan. Mrs X appealed the content of the EHC Plan. I cannot look at issues that are connected to the matters being considered at Tribunal.
14. In July 2023, the Tribunal issued Y’s final EHC Plan naming the preferred school in Section I.
15. The law says I cannot investigate any matters related to the content of the Plan or that arose after the Council issued the final Plan.
16. Mrs X’s complaint is out of our jurisdiction, and I have therefore ended my investigation.

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Final decision

17. I have ended my investigation as the complaint is outside our jurisdiction.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman