Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Education Health and Care Plan process. This is because the complainant has appealed to a tribunal which places the matter outside our jurisdiction.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mrs X, complained about the Education Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) process for her son. Mrs X is unhappy with the school named in her son’s EHC Plan and how the Council decided to name the school. Mrs X is unhappy the Council has not named her preferred school and believes the school named in the EHC Plan will place her son at risk.

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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. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), 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 information provided by the complainant.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint. This is because Mrs X has appealed her son’s EHC Plan to the SEND Tribunal. By law, this places all matters which relate to the EHC Plan outside our jurisdiction. This includes the school named in the EHC Plan and how it was decided. Any alleged failings in the assessment process are not separable from the matter appealed to the Tribunal. The complaint is therefore outside our jurisdiction with no discretion to investigate.

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Final decision

8. We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint because she has appealed to a tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman