The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the school named in an Education, Health and Care Plan. It is reasonable for Mr X to use his appeal rights.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr X, complained about the school named in his child’s Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan). Mr X is unhappy with the school named and wants it changing.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (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.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint.
Parents who are unhappy with the content of their child’s EHC Plan have a right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal. It is the mechanism established by Parliament for parents to challenge such decisions. The Tribunal can decide if an EHC Plan should be amended. That is not a decision the Ombudsman can take. It is therefore reasonable for Mr X to use his right of appeal and so we will not investigate.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is reasonable for him to use his right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal.
Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman