Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about how the Council considered safeguarding concerns in a school and its handling of an Education, Health and Care Plan. The law prevents us from investigating most complaints about what happens in schools, and Miss X used her right to appeal to the First-Tier Tribunal.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about how the Council considered her safeguarding concerns about governance at a school.
2. Miss X also complained about the Council’s handling of her child’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan.

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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 most complaints about what happens in schools. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5, paragraph 5(2), as amended)
5. 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)
6. 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

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

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My assessment

9. Miss X complained about how the Council investigated her safeguarding concerns about governance at her child’s school.
10. We cannot investigate this part of Miss X’s complaint. The law prevents us from investigating complaints about governance in an academy.
11. Miss X also complained about the Council’s handling of her child’s EHC Plan. Miss X said the Council decided to maintain the EHC Plan without amendment.
12. 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)
13. 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.
14. We cannot investigate this part of Miss X’s complaint. Miss X appealed to the Tribunal. The Tribunal can direct changes to the EHC Plan, we cannot.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because the law prevents us from investigating most complaints about what happens in schools, and she has used her right to appeal to the Tribunal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman