The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the school(s) named in an Education, Health and Care plan, the delivery of the provision in the plan or how the Council has dealt with a request for reasonable adjustments. The complainant had a right of appeal to the tribunal about the content of the plan and could have used this right. We are unlikely to find fault in the Council’s actions for the remaining complaints.
The complaint
Ms X complains the Council has failed to: Place her daughter, C, in a suitable school, Provide the support outlined in C’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan, Make reasonable adjustments when Ms X tried to apply for home to school transport.
She says this has left her daughter without the support she needs and without transport to school.
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 late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended) 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 Tribunal in this decision statement.
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, or (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 maintains an EHC plan for C, and she began attending her present school in September 2024. Ms X has complained the schools named in C’s EHC plan have not been suitable and that her current school is failing to provide the 1:1 support. She also complains the Council has failed to make reasonable adjustments for her in its application process for home to school transport.
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the school(s) named in C’s EHC plan. Ms X had a right of appeal to the tribunal about the school(s) named in the plan and could have used that right of appeal. The law says we cannot investigate matters which have been or could have been considered at tribunal.
I appreciate Ms X is concerned about the provision provided to her daughter since September 2024. The Council responded it had satisfied itself that C was receiving the 1:1 support outlined in her EHC plan. I understand Ms X may feel C needs more 1:1 support but I am satisfied the Council has confirmed the support offered by the school is in line with her plan. There is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s actions to warrant further investigation.
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about reasonable adjustments. The Council has offered Ms X options to allow her to make a transport application outside the normal process. It has told her that she must agree to the terms and conditions before it can process the application. Ms X does not agree to the terms and conditions, but this is not evidence of fault on the Council’s behalf.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because she had a right of appeal to the tribunal which it was reasonable to expect her to have used for part of the complaint. There is not enough evidence of fault to warrant further investigation into the remaining issues.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman