Summary: We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint about how the Council has managed her child’s education provision. This is because she has used her right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about how the Council has managed her child’s education provision. She feels the Council should name a different school on her child’s Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan. She also complains about how the Council has communicated with her about these matters.

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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 any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
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 Tribunal in this decision statement.

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. I cannot investigate the contents of Miss X’s child’s EHC Plan, including the school named in the plan. This is because Miss X has used her right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal which prevents us from investigating it. We also cannot investigate the education provision in place whilst the Tribunal considers the appeal. This is because this is not separable from the appeal itself.
8. Miss X also complains about poor communication from the Council. However, whilst I acknowledge that this causes a certain level of frustration, this alone has not caused Miss X a significant enough injustice to warrant investigation by the Ombudsman.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because she has used her right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman