Summary: The Ombudsman has no legal power to investigate this complaint about how a safeguarding incident was investigated by a school and about how the Council dealt with a complaint about this.

The complaint

1. Mr Y complains the Council failed to properly investigate a safeguarding incident at his son’s school. Mr Y also complains that the Council’s investigation into his complaint was biased.

Back to top

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 complaints about what happens in schools. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5, paragraph 5(b), as amended)
4. The Ombudsman is not able to investigate complaints about schools. The Courts have said that we cannot investigate a complaint about any action by a council, concerning a matter which is itself out of our jurisdiction. (R (on the application of M) v Commissioner for Local Administration [2006] EHWCC 2847 (Admin))

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

5. I spoke to Mr Y and have considered the information he and the Council have provided.

Back to top

What I found

6. Mr Y complained to his son’s school about a safeguarding concern. The school’s chair of governors investigated the issue and provided a response in January 2020.
7. Mr Y complained to the Council, saying the school’s investigation had not been thorough enough at the end of January. The Council responded in June. It apologised for the delay in responding to the complaint. It said this had been due to staff working elsewhere to assist in education provision during the coronavirus pandemic. The Council said it would remind staff of the need to respond in a timely manner in future.
8. The Council’s response continued, explaining it could only consider if the school’s investigation was sufficiently rigorous and did not have the power to reinvestigate or overturn the original decision. The Council found the school’s investigation had been sufficient. It referred Mr Y to Ofsted if he remained unhappy.
9. Mr Y complained further in June and in August, including that a social worker had made a comment during a visit to his home. He also complained that the Council’s investigation had been biased as the complaint handler had a working relationship with staff at the school.
10. The Council gave a further response in September 2020. It said it was unable to make a finding about the social worker’s comment as there was no record of the conversation. It also said that the complaint handler had a working relationship, but this had not affected the investigation into Mr Y’s complaint. The Council referred Mr Y to Ofsted if he wished to pursue a complaint about the school’s investigation. It also referred Mr Y to the Ombudsman if he remained unhappy with the Council’s response.

Analysis

11. The Courts have said that we cannot investigate a complaint about any action by a council, concerning a matter which is itself out of our jurisdiction. The Ombudsman is not able to investigate complaints about schools. The Ombudsman cannot therefore investigate Mr Y’s complaint about how the Council dealt with his concerns about the school’s safeguarding investigation.

Back to top

Final decision

12. The Ombudsman has no legal power to investigate this complaint.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman