Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint that the council failed to arrange a suitable school placement for her son. This is because it would have been reasonable for Mrs X to use her right of appeal to challenge the placement listed in her son’s Education Health and Care Plan.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council failed to arrange a suitable school placement for her son (Y) capable of meeting the needs set out in his Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan. She also says the Council has failed to explain why schools took differing views about Y’s needs, with some saying they were too high to meet and others saying they are not high enough.

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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 complain

5. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. On 4 July 2024 the Council issued an EHC Plan and named a school for Y. Mrs X complained to the Council on 7 August 2025. She said the school named could not meet Y’s needs and other settings consulted were unable to offer him a place. The Council responded to the complaint explaining why, in its view, the school could meet Y’s needs. It said it had provided additional funding to support Y but that it was also prepared to continue exploring other options for Y. It explained schools take account of a number of factors in deciding whether they can meet a child’s needs and that it had no control over their responses.
8. I appreciate Mrs X believes the school named by the Council is unsuitable and cannot meet Y’s needs, but this is a matter for the appeals process. The law provides a specific right of appeal against the setting named in a child’s EHC Plan and if Mrs X disagrees with this it would have been reasonable for her to use her right of appeal to the Tribunal.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it would have been reasonable for her to use her right of appeal to the Tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman