Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decisions regarding a looked after child’s education. We are unlikely to find fault.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has failed to invite him to meetings about B’s education and to provide him with information about B’s education. Mr X says the Council used the wrong complaints procedure.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X which included the Council’s reply to him.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. B is looked after by the Council under a full Court Care Order. Mr X is a member of B’s family. B has an Education Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan). Mr X says he should be invited to meetings about B’s education. In 2024 the Council did not invite Mr X to B’s EHC Plan annual review or personal education plan meeting. Mr X complained about this. The Council replied within its corporate complaints’ procedure. It said it had considered who to invite. It did not have to invite Mr X as the Council as corporate parent would be B’s carer’s representative.
6. Mr X says the Council has not obtained his consent to changes to B’s education. The Council says it does not have to, as it is B’s corporate parent.
7. Mr X says the Council should have replied within its Children Services statutory complaints’ procedure. The Council says the complaint does not qualify for that procedure.

Analysis

8. Mr X’s complaint is about matters which directly affects him, not B. The Children Act statutory complaints’ procedure is for complaints about matters which directly affect the child. We are unlikely to find fault in the Council using the corporate complaints’ procedure.
9. The Council as B’s corporate parent is entitled to decide that a family member should not attend meetings about that child. The Council in arranging an EHC Plan annual review can decide that only the corporate parent attends. We are unlikely to find fault in its decision not to invite Mr X to the meetings or obtain his consent to changes to B’s education.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we are unlikely to find fault in the Council’s decisions not to include Mr X in education meetings and decisions about B and in using the corporate complaints’ procedure.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman