Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the educational provision for Miss X’s child. This is because Miss X appealed to a tribunal and so the complaint is not one we can consider.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Miss X, complained about a lack of educational provision for her daughter (Y) after she withdrew her from school. Y has an Education Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan). Miss X says she incurred costs while Y was out of school. This included legal costs during an appeal to the SEND Tribunal. Miss X says the Council often failed to respond to requests for information and is unhappy with how the Council dealt with her complaint.

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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. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal or a government minister or started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6), as amended)
4. 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

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

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My assessment

6. We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint. This is because Miss X appealed the school named in Y’s EHC Plan to the SEND Tribunal. This places all matters relating to her daughter’s special educational needs provision outside our jurisdiction. It prevents us from looking at the issue of alternative education which is inextricably linked to the school named in the EHC Plan. Miss X felt it was not suitable – the Council disagreed. The suitability of this school or otherwise is not a matter for the Ombudsman – nor is the alternative education provided while Y was out of school. We also cannot consider the Council’s conduct during the tribunal process and any costs Miss X incurred.
7. Miss X is unhappy with how the Council dealt with her complaint. But it is not a good use of our resources to look at complaint handling as a standalone issue if we are not going to look at the issue which led to the original complaint. This applies here.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because she has appealed to a tribunal. This places all related matters outside our jurisdiction.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman