Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council not providing a suitable school for Miss X’s child for September 2025. The Council issued an Education Health and Care Plan naming a school for the child for September 2025. This gave Miss X an alternative remedy it would have been reasonable to use by way of appeal to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal. Following her subsequent unsuccessful application to a school in another area, it would be for her to appeal to the same Tribunal against any refusal of the Council to name that school on her child’s Plan.

The complaint

1. Miss X said the Council failed to provide a suitable school for her child for September 2025.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
3. 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

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

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My assessment

6. Miss X’s child was due to start school in September 2025. I have seen a copy of the Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan the Council issued for her child in November 2024. It named a school for September 2025. That gave a right of appeal to the Tribunal if she preferred another school.
7. Miss X applied for a place at another school after the national offer day in April 2025 and was unsuccessful. The other school is not in the Council’s area, and the Council is not the admissions authority. It therefore had no responsibility for the refusal. Because her child had an EHC Plan, Miss X could have instead asked the Council in to issue a new EHC Plan naming the school, and she would have had a right of appeal to the Tribunal if it had refused. It remains open to her to do this.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because she had and has an alternative remedy available by way of an appeal to the SEND Tribunal against any refusal by the Council to name the school she considers best meets her child’s needs.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman