Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the content of an Education Health and Care Plan. It is reasonable to expect Miss X to have appealed to the Tribunal.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall call Miss X, says the Council has wrongly removed support from her child, Y’s Education Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan).

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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 about the same matter. 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 Miss X which included the Council’s reply.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Y has an EHC Plan. A child with special educational needs may have an EHC plan. This 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 education, or name a different school. Only the tribunal can do this.
7. There is a right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal against a decision not to assess, issue or amend an EHC plan or about the content of the final EHC plan. Parents must consider mediation before deciding to appeal. An appeal right is only engaged once a decision not to assess, issue or amend a plan has been made and sent to the parent or a final EHC plan has been issued.
8. The Council issued an amended EHC Plan in February 2023. Miss X disagrees with the amendments made.
9. Miss X had a right of appeal to the Tribunal and it is reasonable to expect her to have appealed.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect Miss X to have appealed to SEND.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman