The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the support provided to Mrs X’s child who has an Education, Health and Care Plan. This is because it was reasonable for Mrs X to appeal to The First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability).
The complaint
The complainant, Mrs X, complained about a lack of support in school for her child (Y) who has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan). Mrs X says Y requires 1:1 support and wants the Council to increase the funding paid to their school. Mrs X says a lack of 1:1 support means Y is at risk of exclusion.
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 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.
The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has or had 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)
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 Mrs X’s complaint.
The issue at the heart of this complaint is the content of Y’s EHC Plan and the support it gives them in school. Parents who want to challenge the content of their child’s EHC Plan have a right of appeal to the Tribunal. It is the mechanism set up by Parliament for parents to challenge such decisions. The Tribunal can order a council to change an EHC Plan and put in place extra support. It was therefore reasonable for Mrs X to use her right of appeal as it could have given her the outcome she wants. An investigation by the Ombudsman could not and so we will not investigate.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it was reasonable for her to appeal to a tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman