Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council failing to provide special educational provision to her child. Mrs X has already used her right of appeal about this and other matters to a tribunal.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council failed to provide Section F provison when her child was out of school from September 2024 until June 2025.

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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. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. We also cannot investigate a complaint if in doing so we would overlap with the role of a tribunal to decide something which has been or could have been referred to it to resolve using its own powers. (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 Mrs X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. The Council issued Mrs X’s child’s Education, Health, and Care (EHC) Plan in July 2024. Mrs X appealed the named school, saying her child could not attend a mainstream school because the environment was unsuitable.
8. The provisions in Section F were to be provided at the named school, which Mrs X was also appealing. There was no separate Speech and Language therapy or Occupational Therapy in the EHC Plan.
9. 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)

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Final decision

10. We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint because she has used her right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal about the special educational provision.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman