Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Education, Health and Care Plan delays and a lack of alternative education provision. The complaint is late, and Miss X has appealed to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability). This places the complaint outside our jurisdiction.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council did not carry out an EHC assessment or create an Education Health and Care (EHC) plan for her child. She also complains that the Council failed to arrange alternative education provision for her child for three years and incorrectly determined her child was electively home educated.

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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 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.
5. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council/care provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

8. Miss X’s child, Y, began education at a mainstream secondary school in September 2022. In January 2023, Miss X told the Council she was removing Y from the school and home educating them due to Y’s needs not being met and issues with bullying at the school. The Council provided evidence of a school exit form confirming Y would be home educated, signed by both parents.
9. In August 2023, following Miss X removing Y from school, she requested the Council complete an EHC assessment. In October 2023, following the assessment, the Council decided not to issue an EHC Plan for Y. Miss X successfully appealed this decision and a consent order was granted by the Tribunal ordering the Council to issue an EHC Plan.
10. I cannot investigate the Council’s decision not to issue an EHC Plan because Miss X exercised her right to appeal to the Tribunal.
11. Miss X says she felt she had no choice but to withdraw Y from the school because Y’s needs were not being met there and she found the environment was having a negative impact on Y. She complains the Council did not ensure Y received suitable education for three years following Y being removed from school.
12. However, this complaint is related to Miss X’s decision to remove Y from school. The evidence shows Miss X confirmed her decision to electively home educate Y. This meant Miss X had chosen to provide education for Y at home, instead of sending them to school full-time.
13. In choosing to educate Y at home, it was Miss X’s responsibility to provide a suitable education for Y. This also meant the Council’s section 19 duty to provide alternative provision would not have applied. Therefore, an investigation is not proportionate as we are not likely to find fault with the Council.
14. Further, the issue of the lack of suitable education is also likely linked to the Council’s decision to refuse to issue an EHC plan following the assessment. Therefore, we cannot investigate this as it is linked to matters the Tribunal has considered.
15. Finally, there is some discrepancy between when Miss X said she first requested the Council complete an EHC assessment compared to the date the request was actioned. There is some reference by Miss X to requesting an EHC plan in January 2023, but the Council’s first record of a request is in August 2023. I will not investigate this because this matter is late. We normally expect people to complain to us within twelve months of them becoming aware of a problem.
16. Miss X did not complain to the Ombudsman until April 2025. We look at each complaint individually, and on its merits, considering the circumstances of each case. But we do not exercise discretion to accept a late complaint unless there are good reasons to do so. I do not consider that to be the case here.

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Final decision

17. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the complaint is late, and Miss X has appealed to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability). This places the complaint outside our jurisdiction.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman