Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to provide education to a child or the content of an education, health and care plan because the complainant has appealed to a Tribunal and the law says we cannot investigate.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council has failed to provide her child with a suitable education and the provision in her education, health and care (EHC) Plan since March 2025 when she was no longer able to attend the school named in the EHC Plan. Mrs X says this is the third specialist school placement that has broken down.

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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. 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)
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.

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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. An annual review of the child’s EHC Plan was held in November 2024. Following this review, Mrs X exercised her right to appeal to the Tribunal.
8. We cannot investigate this complaint. The courts have established that if someone has appealed to the Tribunal, the law says we cannot investigate any matter which was part of, was connected to, or could have been part of, the appeal to the Tribunal. (R (on application of Milburn) v Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman [2023] EWCA Civ 207)
9. This means that if a child or young person is not attending school, and we decide the reason for non-attendance is linked to, or is a consequence of, a parent or young person’s disagreement about the special educational provision or the educational placement in the EHC Plan, we cannot investigate a lack of special educational provision, or alternative educational provision.

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Final decision

10. We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint because she has appealed to a Tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman