Summary: Miss X complained her child was wrongly removed from the school roll. We have not investigated the decision to remove the child as this is out of our jurisdiction. We find no fault with the Council’s actions once it was aware of the matter.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained her child was wrongly removed from the school roll.
2. She says this has caused the family distress and resulted in her child missing education.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(1), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered evidence provided by Miss X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
6. Miss 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

What happened

7. In May, Miss X informed the Council that she intended to take her child, Y, abroad temporarily.
8. After Y left England, the school removed Y from its admission register.
9. Miss X says she became aware shortly afterwards that Y had been removed from the school roll and contacted the Council to raise the issue.
10. Y returned to England during the summer holidays.
11. In mid-September, Miss X complained to the Council that Y remained out of school and was not receiving an education.
12. Two days after receiving the complaint, the Council convened an admissions meeting. At that meeting it was agreed that Y would be immediately reinstated at the school.
13. The Council investigated Miss X’s complaint and upheld it. As part of its response, it arranged for Y to receive one-to-one tuition to help them catch up on missed education and made a payment of £100 to recognise the distress caused to the family.

My findings

14. We cannot investigate most complaints about actions taken by schools. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5, paragraph 5(2), as amended).
15. The decision to remove Y from the school's admission register was made by the school, not the Council. As this was a school decision, it falls outside our jurisdiction, and I have not considered that matter further.
16. I have therefore considered the Council’s actions once it became aware of the situation. The evidence shows that, after Miss X raised the error, the Council acted promptly to address the matter. An admissions meeting was arranged shortly after her complaint, and Y was reinstated at the school. I find no fault in the Council’s actions.
17. While I have found no fault in the Council’s actions once it became aware of the situation, the Council nevertheless recognised that Y had suffered an injustice because of the events. It took appropriate action to remedy that injustice by arranging one-to-one tuition to support Y in catching up on missed learning and making a payment of £100 to acknowledge the distress caused to Miss X and her family. In the circumstances, I consider the Council has taken appropriate action to remedy the injustice and no further action is required.

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Decision

18. I find no fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman