London Borough of Waltham Forest (25 018 814)
Category : Education > Special educational needs
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 26 Apr 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint that the Council failed to secure a school placement for her child. This is because it was reasonable for Mrs X to have used her right of appeal to a tribunal.
The complaint
- Mrs X complains that the Council failed to secure a secondary school placement for her child who has an Education Health and Care (EHC) plan.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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)
- 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.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council issued a final EHC plan for Mrs X’s child which named a type of school but did not name a specific school.
- I will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint. This is because she had a right of appeal against the decision not to name a specific school to the SEND Tribunal. Whilst the Council has agreed to make changes to the letters it sends informing them of their right of appeal, I am satisfied that it provided Mrs X with sufficient information to allow her to submit an appeal. For this reason, I consider that it was reasonable for Mrs X to have used that right of appeal.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it was reasonable for her to have used her right of appeal to a tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman