Bracknell Forest Council (24 019 672)
Category : Education > Special educational needs
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 11 Apr 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint that the Council was at fault in naming a school in the complainant’s child’s Education Health and Care plan. This is because the complainant has used her right to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability), and this places the matter outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.
The complaint
- The complainant, Mrs X, complains that the Council was at fault in naming an inappropriate placement for her child in their Education Health and Care 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 Tribunal in this decision statement.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mrs X says the Council issued an EHC plan for her child naming a school her child is unable to attend. She says the Council unlawfully failed to consult the school before doing so. She says the decision to name the school has caused her child significant distress.
- The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint. This is because she has used her right to appeal to the SEND Tribunal about the content of the EHC plan. This places all matters relating to its content, including the procedure used in naming the provision in Section I, outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction. This is the case even if the matter does not proceed to a hearing. There is no discretion available to us on this point and we cannot intervene.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint because she has used her right to appeal to the Tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman