Summary: We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint about her child’s education provision. This is because she has used her right of appeal to a tribunal. Investigation into poor communication by the Council would not lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains that the Council delayed arranging alternative education provision for her child between October 2024 and March 2025, and that its’ communication with her during this period was poor.

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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 further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (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 – SEND) 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. In October 2024, the Council issued a final Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan for Mrs X’s child naming a school. Mrs X disagreed that the school could meet her child’s needs so appealed to the SEND Tribunal.
8. I cannot investigate the contents of the EHC Plan, including the school named, because the law prevents us from investigating matters that have been appealed to a tribunal. I also cannot investigate the education provision arranged whilst the appeal was engaged. This is because the provision in place is not separable from the appeal itself.
9. The Council acknowledged that its communication with Mrs X during the period in question had been poor and apologised. This is a proportionate and appropriate response and therefore investigation into this would not lead to a different outcome.

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Final decision

10. We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint about her child’s education provision because she has used her right of appeal to a tribunal. Investigation into poor communication by the Council would not lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman