Suffolk County Council (24 016 116)
Category : Education > Special educational needs
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 24 Feb 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the content of an Education, Health and Care Plan. This is because Miss X has appealed to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability). The complaint is therefore outside our jurisdiction.
The complaint
- The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Miss X, complained about the content of her child’s Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan).
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 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)
- 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.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Miss X is unhappy with the content of her child’s EHC Plan. Miss X wants the Council to name a specific special school. The Council has instead named a type of school and left the name of the setting blank.
- We will not start an investigation into Miss X’s complaint. Parents who disagree with the content of an EHC Plan have a right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal. When a parent has appealed the complaint is outside our jurisdiction from the point the appeal rights were engaged until the SEND Tribunal issues it decision. Miss X’s complaint is therefore outside our jurisdiction.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint because she has used her right of appeal to a tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman