Summary: We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her child’s Education, Health and Care Plan. Miss X has used her right of appeal which places the matter outside our jurisdiction.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Miss X, complained about the Council’s handling of her child’s Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan). Miss X is unhappy with the school named in the plan and how it was decided. Miss X says the Council’s actions have left her child without a suitable school place.

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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 the complainant and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint.
8. Parents who want to challenge the content of an EHC Plan have a right of appeal to Tribunal. It is the mechanism set up by Parliament for parents to challenge such decisions. Miss X has used her right of appeal.
9. The law is clear that when a parent has appealed to a tribunal, the matter appealed, or anything closely linked, are outside our jurisdiction. In this case it includes the setting named and how this was decided. Miss X’s complaint is not one we can consider.

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Final decision

10. We cannot investigate Miss X’s complaint because her appeal to the Tribunal places it outside our jurisdiction.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman