Summary: We cannot investigate some of Miss X’s complaint about how the Council secured her child’s Education, Health and Care Plan because she appealed to a tribunal. We will not investigate the remainder because the tests in our assessment code are not met.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council failed to:
1. deliver the content of her child, Y’s, Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan to them from late February 2025 when Y was unable to attend school;
2. attend an annual review meeting for Y’s EHC Plan held in March 2025;
3. update Y’s EHC Plan following the annual review;
4. engage in mediation;
5. properly consider her request for school arrangements in Y’s EHC Plan; and
6. consider her complaints through its complaints process correctly.
2. Miss X said the matter caused her frustration, distress, and uncertainty.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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 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)
6. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect 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 an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

Delivery of Y’s EHC Plan

9. Miss X said Y was unable to attend the named school in their EHC Plan from late February 2025 because the transport arrangements were unsuitable for Y.
10. The school held an annual review meeting for Y’s EHC Plan in March 2025. The Council sent Miss X a decision to maintain Y’s EHC Plan in early April 2025.
11. Miss X later appealed the decision to the SEND Tribunal.
12. The reason Y is not receiving the content of their EHC Plan is because Miss X disagrees with the provision in the EHC Plan. The matter Miss X appealed to the Tribunal includes the suitability of the school arrangements. Consequently, the law says we cannot investigate how the Council provided the content of Y’s EHC Plan to them from April 2025 onwards.
13. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about this matter between late February 2025 and early April 2025. This is a period of five weeks. Therefore, any injustice is not significant enough to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman, and we will not investigate this complaint.

Attendance at the EHC annual review

14. Miss X complained the Council did not attend an EHC annual review meeting held in March 2025.
15. Although Miss X said the Council officer told her they would attend the meeting, the Council later considered the information from the meeting and decided to maintain the EHC Plan. The claimed injustice is not significant enough to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman, and so we will not investigate this complaint.

Updating Y’s EHC Plan following the annual review

16. We will not investigate this complaint. The Council sent Miss X a decision to maintain letter which set out her right to appeal to the SEND Tribunal. The Council does not have to update an EHC Plan where it decides to maintain it.
17. There is insufficient evidence of fault to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman.

Mediation

18. Miss X said the Council failed to engage in mediation. We will not investigate this complaint. The primary issues that would have been considered via mediation are now being considered by the SEND Tribunal. An investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to achieve a worthwhile outcome, and so we will not investigate.

The school arrangements in the EHC Plan

19. We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint about how the Council decided the school arrangements outlined in Y’s EHC Plan. Miss X appealed the content of the EHC Plan to the SEND Tribunal, and the law says we cannot investigate.

Complaints process

20. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue. Therefore, we will not investigate how the Council considered Miss X’s complaint.

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Final decision

21. We cannot investigate some of Miss X’s complaint because she appealed to a tribunal and the law says we cannot investigate. We will not investigate the rest because the tests in our assessment code are not met.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman