The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint that the Council failed to properly investigate an allegation made about a teacher. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault.
The complaint
Mrs X complains that the Council failed to properly investigate a safeguarding allegation made about a teacher.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council received a safeguarding referral which included an allegation about an incident that is said to have occurred between Mrs X’s child and a teacher. The Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) concluded that the threshold for investigation had been met so co-ordinated an investigation by the school.
The LADO considered the school’s investigation which had involved speaking to Mrs X’s son, the teacher and witnesses. The investigation found that none of the accounts given supported the claims made in the safeguarding referral. The allegation was later found to be unfounded.
I will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. The role of the LADO is not to investigate concerns raised about people who work with children, but to oversee the process as it has done in this case. We have no powers to investigate the actions of the school or the investigation it carried out as part of the safeguarding process.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman