The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council naming a school on Mr X’s child’s Education Health and Care Plan that is too far away. Mr X has used his right to appeal to the SEND Tribunal and the matters complained of are not separable from that.
The complaint
Mr X said the Council ignored medical advice in naming a school that was too far away. He said doctors could not attend a Tribunal hearing and he lost the appeal.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. (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 SEND Tribunal in this decision statement.
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The complaint concerns the school named in Section I of an Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan. Thus, it is not separable from matters where Mr X used his right to appeal to the SEND Tribunal. The Ombudsman cannot function as a review chamber for the SEND Tribunal.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the matters complained of are not separable from those in respect of which Mr X has used his right to appeal to the SEND Tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman