Summary: Mr X complained the Council failed to deliver the support in his child’s Education, Health and Care Plan, delayed his child’s educational placement, and failed to engage in mediation. We cannot investigate this complaint because Mr X has asked the courts to consider the same issues and the law says we cannot investigate anything which has been raised, or could reasonably be raised, in court.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council failed to secure his child, Y’s, support when they could not attend the placement named in their Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. He said the lack of education or support for Y for seven months caused Y to regress in their learning, increased their anxiety and left them isolated.
2. Mr X also complained the Council failed to arrange or attend a mediation meeting about Y’s EHC Plan. He said this meant he had to appeal Y’s EHC Plan to a tribunal instead of trying to resolve the issues with the Council.

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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. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered evidence provided by Mr X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
6. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Relevant law and guidance

EHC Plans

7. A child or young person with Special Educational Needs (SEN) may have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. This document sets out the child’s needs and what arrangements should be made to meet them.

Appealing EHC Plans

8. 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.
9. There is a right of appeal to the Tribunal against a council’s description of a child or young person’s SEN, the special educational provision specified, the school or placement or that no school or other placement is specified in their EHC Plan.

What happened

10. In July 2024 the Council sent Mr X a final amended EHC Plan for Y. The EHC Plan did not name a school or college for Y to attend in September 2024.
11. Mr X then asked the Council to arrange a mediation meeting about Y’s EHC Plan so both sides could agree a placement for Y to attend in September 2024.
12. The Council did not respond to Mr X’s request for mediation, so Mr X appealed the EHC Plan to the Tribunal.
13. In September 2024 the Council sent a new final amended EHC Plan for Y which named an educational placement for Y to attend.
14. However, the educational placement told Mr X it could not provide a place for Y due to staffing issues.
15. In April 2025, seven months later, Y was able to start the education placement named in their EHC Plan.
16. Mr X complained to us the Council failed to provide the right support or education for Y during the seven months they could not attend their placement.
17. Mr X told us his family has started civil legal action against the Council about these issues, and the case is waiting to be processed by the court.

Analysis

18. Although Mr X’s legal case is still in the early stages, he told us he plans to ask the court to consider the same issues that he raised in his complaint to us. Therefore, it would be reasonable for Mr X to raise these issues in court.
19. The law says we cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because once someone has started court action, we cannot investigate matters which could reasonably be raised as part of that court case.

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Decision

20. We cannot investigate this complaint because Mr X has started court action about the same matters.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman