Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the education of Ms X’s children. This is because the law prevents us from investigating most things that happen in schools and because it is reasonable for Ms X to use her right of appeal to a tribunal.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains that her children are not safe at their current school due to a lack of supervision and bullying and that the school cannot meet their needs. Ms X wants supervision to be included in Section F of their Education Health and Care (EHC) Plans and for a new school to be named.

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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 most complaints about what happens in schools. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5, paragraph 5(2), as amended)
4. 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)
5. The First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) considers appeals against council decisions regarding special educational needs. We refer to it as the Tribunal in this decision statement.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. I will not start an investigation into Ms X’s complaint.
9. The law is clear that the Ombudsman cannot investigate most complaints about what happens in school. This includes complaints about bullying and supervision (unless that supervision is specified in a child’s EHC Plan). This exclusion applies here and therefore the school’s actions are outside our jurisdiction.
10. Ms X feels that a new school should be named in her children’s EHC Plans, and that supervision should be included in Section F. The Council carried out a review of the EHC Plans and did not agree to make the amendments Ms X seeks. She now has a right of appeal against those decisions to the SEND Tribunal, which is the mechanism set up by Parliament for parents to challenge such decisions. The SEND Tribunal can consider how the content of an EHC Plan was decided and if it should be changed. This is not a decision we can take. An appeal to the Tribunal could have given Ms X the outcome she wants. An investigation by the Ombudsman could not. It is therefore reasonable for Ms X to use her right of appeal and so we will not investigate. 

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because the law prevents us from investigating most things that happen in schools and because it is reasonable for Ms X to use her right of appeal to a tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman