The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about school admissions. This is because we have no power to investigate complaints about admission to free schools or academy schools.
The complaint
Mr X complains that his child was refused a place at two schools and that the Council has refused to issue his child an Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan.
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 investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. We cannot investigate the actions of bodies such as Academies and Free Schools. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 25 and 34(1), as amended) 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 - SEND) considers appeals against council decisions regarding special educational needs. We refer to it as the 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
I cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about how his school admissions appeals were considered. This is because we have no powers to consider complaints about academy and free schools. This exclusion applies to any actions the Council has taken on behalf of such a school.
I cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint that his child was refused an EHC Plan. This is because he has used his right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal, placing the matter out of our jurisdiction.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we have no power to investigate complaints about admission to free schools or academy schools
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman