The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the handling of her son’s education. Miss X has appealed to the First-Tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability). This places the complaint outside our jurisdiction.
The complaint
The complainant, Miss X, complained about her son’s education. Miss X’s son has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan). Miss X says the school named in the EHC Plan is unsuitable. Miss X says this has left her son without a suitable education.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. We also cannot investigate a complaint if in doing so we would overlap with the role of a tribunal to decide something which has been or could have been referred to it to resolve using its own powers. (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 the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
We will not start an investigation into Miss X’s complaint.
It is not for us to take a view on whether the content of an EHC Plan is appropriate. This matter carries a right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal. This is the proper route by which to challenge the school named in an EHC Plan. Miss X has used this right.
Where appeal rights have been used, the matter is outside our jurisdiction from the point at which the appeal rights were available until the SEND Tribunal issues its decision. Miss X says her child is out of school because the Council named an inappropriate school. The Council disagrees. This issue is too closely linked to the matter appealed and so we cannot consider it. We have no jurisdiction to consider Miss X’s complaint and so we will not investigate.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because she has used her right of appeal. This places the complaint outside our jurisdiction.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman