Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council failed to arrange suitable education provision for a child. This is because the complainant has used their right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal, and this matter is not separable from that appeal.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains that the Council has failed to provide a suitable full-time education for her child after issuing a final Education Health and Care (EHC) plan naming a mainstream school. Mrs X says evidence was provided to the Council in February 2024, supporting her claim that a change of placement was needed.

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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. We also cannot investigate a complaint if in doing so we would overlap with the role of a tribunal to decide something which has been or could have been referred to it to resolve using its own powers. (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. The Council issued an EHC plan for Mrs X’s child in October 2023. Mrs X disagreed that her son’s needs could be met in the school named in the EHC plan and so appealed to the SEND Tribunal.
8. I cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the provision named in Section I of her child’s EHC plan. This is because Mrs X has appealed to the SEND Tribunal about the same matter, and it therefore falls outside of our jurisdiction.
9. I also cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint about what education provision has been arranged while her appeal is waiting to be heard. The courts have established that if someone has lodged an appeal to the SEND Tribunal, we cannot investigate any matter that is closely linked to the matters under appeal. When issuing its final EHC plan, the Council concluded that Mrs X’s child’s education provision would be met by the school named. Mrs X disputes this and says the Council arranged a different placement. This matter is therefore not separable from her appeal to the SEND Tribunal.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because the issues raised are not separable from her appeal to the SEND Tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman