Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council failed to properly consult with the complainant’s preferred choice of school for their child’s Education Health and Care plan. This is because the complainant appealed to the SEND Tribunal which places the matter outside of our jurisdiction.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will call Mrs X, complains that the Council failed to properly consult with her preferred school before naming a school in her son’s Education Health and Care (EHC) plan.

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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 about the same matter. (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 and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. The Council carried out an assessment of Mrs X’s son’s Special Educational Needs (SEN) and subsequently issued an EHC plan naming a school. Miss X complains about the Council’s decision to name that school rather than her preferred school. She also complains that when the Council consulted with her preferred school, the Council emailed a wrong, unmanned, email address.
8. I cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint. This is because the contents of the plan, including the school named, have been subject to an appeal to the SEND Tribunal. This places the matter outside of the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction due to the restriction laid out in paragraph 3. How the Council carried out its assessment, including the school consultation process, is not separable from the matter appealed to the tribunal.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because the matter concerns something that has been appealed to a tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman