The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the way the Council dealt with his applications for school places. This is because it is reasonable for Mr X to use his right of appeal to an Independent Appeal Panel.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr X, complained the Council had not offered his children places at their preferred schools. Mr X questioned why the Council had offered other families places while his own applications had been refused.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended) Parents can appeal to an Independent Appeal Panel if their application for a school place is refused. These panels are a statutory tribunal.
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X complained to the Council his children had not been offered places at their preferred schools. He said the Council had offered places to other families living close by who had only recently moved into the area. The Council responded and explained why it did not offer his children places. It explained it cannot comment on other applications. The Council said that while Mr X has previously appealed the decision not to offer places, there is a fresh right of appeal for each academic year a place is refused.
We will not start an investigation into Mr X’s complaint. This is because it is reasonable for Mr X to use his fresh appeal rights. The panel can look at how the Council dealt with his applications and decide if there were any mistakes which denied his children a place. If Mr X had concerns about how the appeal was conducted, and the Council was the school’s admission authority, he could make a fresh complaint to the Ombudsman.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is reasonable for him to use appeal rights.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman