Staffordshire County Council (23 015 453)
Category : Education > Special educational needs
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 13 Feb 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has failed to identify an appropriate school for the complainant’s son. This is because he has the right to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) and it would be reasonable for him to do so.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I will refer to as Mr X, complains that the Council has failed to identify an appropriate school for his son.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review 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 use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
- 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.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X’s son has an Education Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan). He says his son is currently being educated at home because the Council has failed to identify an appropriate school for him to attend. He says his son needs to be in school.
- The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. The school, or type of school, his son should attend is not something on which we can express a view. If Mr X is unhappy with the provision named in his son’s EHC Plan, he has the right to appeal to the SEND Tribunal.
- Where appeal rights exist, the Ombudsman normally expects them to be used. Mr X’s recourse is to appeal to the SEND Tribunal, and it would be reasonable for him to do so. The Ombudsman will not intervene.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it would be reasonable for him to use his right to appeal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman