Hertfordshire County Council (23 004 143)
Category : Education > Special educational needs
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 06 Aug 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint her daughter’s school wrongly off-rolled her despite it being named in her Education Health and Care plan. That is because we cannot investigate the actions of schools. In addition, the Council complained about is not responsible for the Education Health and Care plan.
The complaint
- Miss X complained to the Council about her daughter’s, Y’s school. She said the School had failed to safeguard Y properly since 2019. She also said the School had off-rolled Y in November 2022 despite it being named in her Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. She also disagrees with the content of the EHC plan and says it is preventing Y from finding a new placement.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- We cannot investigate most complaints about what happens in schools. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5, paragraph 5(2), as amended)
We cannot investigate a complaint where the body complained about is not responsible for the issue being raised. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(1), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint that Y’s school failed to safeguard her, or that the School wrongly off-rolled her. We have no legal power to investigate what happens in schools. Therefore, any complaints about Y’s school are outside our jurisdiction. The Council has advised Miss X to complain to the School. That is the correct advice.
- We will also not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council not helping Y find a new school place. Miss X moved out of the Council’s area in October 2022. The Council transferred Y’s EHC plan to the new responsible Local Authority. The Council is no-longer responsible for Y’s EHC plan or education. Therefore, Miss X would need to complain to the council responsible for Y’s EHC plan if she is unhappy with delays in finding a suitable educational placement.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because we cannot investigate the actions of Schools, and the Council complained about is not responsible for Y’s education.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman