Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to make appropriate arrangements for Mr X to sit his A-level exams. This is because the Council was bound by the exam board’s requirements and we cannot overturn them. We cannot therefore achieve any worthwhile outcome for Mr X.

The complaint

1. Mr X has special educational needs and an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. He complains the Council failed to make suitable arrangements for him to sit his A-level exams at home as he did with his GCSEs. The Council informed him on the evening before his first exam that he would need to attend an exam centre but his representative (Mrs Y) says this is not reasonable and fails to take into account his disabilities.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mrs Y and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. I understand Mr X is unhappy the Council has failed to make arrangements for him to sit his exams at home but this was not its choice. Rather, it is a requirement of the exam board and the Council has no power to overturn its decision.
6. In response to Mr X’s complaint the Council provided a link for him to choose the exam centre which is most convenient and best fits his needs and this is all it can do. Further investigation will not change this and cannot achieve the outcome Mr X wants.
7. I appreciate Mr X was taken by surprise by the need to attend an exam centre and that the Council told him about this at short notice but this does not alter the fact that it could not overturn the exam board’s decision. I make no finding on whether the delay in notifying Mr X of the arrangements was due to any fault by the Council but I do not consider, on the balance of probabilities, that more advanced warning would have led to a different outcome or that we could achieve any worthwhile remedy for the issue.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because we cannot achieve any worthwhile outcome for Mr X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman