Summary: Mrs M complains the Council refused her request for her summer-born daughter, G, to be admitted to reception rather than year one when she starts school in September 2022. On the evidence seen, the Council had not considered Mrs M’s request properly. The Council has agreed to make the decision again.

The complaint

1. Mrs M complains the Council refused her request for her daughter, G, to be admitted to reception rather than year one when she starts school in September 2022. Mrs M does not believe the Council considered her request properly.

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What I have investigated

2. I considered how the Council made its decision. I do not decide whether Mrs M’s daughter should be admitted to reception or year one. This is the Council’s job.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
4. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
5. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I have considered:
• information provided by Mrs M;
• information provided by the Council;
• Advice on the admission of summer born children. For local authorities and school admission authorities issued by the Department for Education in September 2020;
7. I invited Mrs M and the Council to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

The admission of summer born children

8. ‘Summer born children’ are children born between 1 April and 31 August. These children are not required to start school until the September following their fifth birthday. Ordinarily, they would then start school in year 1 with their ‘chronological year group’.
9. Parents can request their summer born children are admitted to a reception class in the September following their fifth birthday rather than year 1. This means they are educated outside their normal age group.
10. Parents decide when their children start school. The admission authority (in this case, the Council) decides whether they start in reception or year 1.
11. The Government has issued guidance for admission authorities deciding which year group a child should be admitted to.
12. The admission authority must:
• make decisions in the best interests of the child; and
• take account of the child’s individual needs and abilities and consider whether these can best be met in reception or year one; and
• take account of the potential impact on the child of being admitted to year one without first having completed the reception year.
13. The guidance says, “In effect, this means that the authority is making a decision about whether it would be in the child’s best interest to miss the reception year.”
14. The guidance says it is reasonable to expect parents to provide information to support their request, but they are not expected to obtain professional evidence they do not already have.
15. Admission authorities must set out clearly the process for requesting admission outside the normal year group, including what information and evidence parents should provide and when. There is no prescribed process admission authorities must follow, although the guidance notes some authorities use decision making panels to consider requests, and some invite parents to attend panel meetings.
16. The admission authority must, however, give reasons for its decision.

The Council’s procedures for summer born admissions

17. The Council published information on its website for parents of children aged 3 and 4 who would be starting school in 2021.
18. An e-booklet, “Starting school full-time. Information for parents about children starting school in 2021” has a section headed, “Can I delay my child’s start date or let them attend part time?” Here, the Council says parents must write to the school admissions team before 31 August 2021 and the Council will consider their request.
19. In a section headed, “How can I educate my child outside their usual year group?” the Council says parents should write to the School Admissions Team during the normal round of admissions for their child, and the Council will consider their request. The Council says parents must still apply for a 2021 reception place as usual while the Council considers their request. The Council invites parents to ask for more details.
20. The Council’s website and literature do not specifically mention “summer born children”.

Mrs M’s request

21. Mrs M’s daughter, G, is a summer born child. Mrs M decided G will not start school until September 2022, the September following her fifth birthday.
22. Mrs M applied for a reception place for G for September 2021 and made a written request to defer G’s admission to reception until September 2022. Her request explained why she wanted G to start in reception in September 2022 and referred to research about the educational achievement of summer born children.
23. On 16 April 2021, National Offer Day, the Council offered G a reception place for September 2021at one of Mrs M’s preferred schools.
24. The Council wrote to Mrs M on 7 May 2021 to explain its decision in respect of her request to admit G to a reception class in September 2022. The letter said a panel of six professionals had considered Mrs M’s request but had not agreed to her request. The letter gave four reasons:
• There was no evidence submitted to show that G should be educated out of year group.
• There were no educational issues listed in the paperwork Mrs M submitted.
• The panel acknowledged that G is young, but said she does not appear to have any additional needs.
• The panel believes it is in G’s best interest to be educated in her correct chronological year group.
25. Mrs M challenged the panel’s decision. She wrote to the Council to explain why she disagreed.
26. There is no right of appeal against the Council’s decision, but the panel reconvened on 21 May to reconsider Mrs M’s request.
27. The Council wrote to Mrs M on 10 June to explain the panel did not agree to her request and address the points raised in her challenge.
28. The Council addressed each of the points Mrs M made. I will not repeat the Council’s correspondence with Mrs M here, but I will highlight one point that is most relevant.
29. Mrs M was particularly concerned G should not miss the reception year when she starts school in September 2022. The Council said, “The panel is not suggesting that it is in G’s best interest to start school in year 1. The panel is of the view that G and the vast majority of children are best educated in their chronological year group alongside their peers with support given by the school when necessary. The Local Authority has offered a place for G in a reception class at a school of your preference to start in September 2021.”
30. Mrs M complained to the Council about its handling of her application by letter dated 12 June. The Council referred to previous correspondence and suggested Mrs M contact the Ombudsman.

Consideration

Mrs M’s request for G to be admitted to reception in September 2022

31. I do not take a view on the merits of Mrs M’s request for G to be admitted to a reception class in September 2022. This is entirely a matter for the Council. My job is to check the Council made its decision properly.
32. Mrs M has decided G will not start school until September 2022 when she will be five years old. It appears the Council does not agree with Mrs M’s decision. However, it is a decision she is entitled to make and one the Council must accept.
33. The Council must decide whether it will be in G’s best interests to join a reception class or to miss the reception year entirely and join year 1 when she starts school aged five in September 2022.
34. This is no doubt a difficult decision to make 18 months before G starts school, but nevertheless, it is a decision the Government expects the Council to make.
35. The minutes of the second panel meeting and the Council’s correspondence with Mrs M suggest the Council has not made the decision properly.
36. The Council set out its views about the best interests of ‘children in general’, which it believes are met by starting school with their chronological year group as soon as possible. The Council believes deferred entry to reception should only be in ‘exceptional cases’. This is irrelevant. The Council is required to consider G’s individual needs and abilities in light of Mrs M’s decision on when she will start school, and consider whether these can best be met in reception or year 1.
37. The Council noted Mrs M did not provide specific information about G, other than her statement, but it did not ask for any other information and its website does not suggest the information a parent should provide. Government guidance suggests the Council should consider the views of a nursery or early years setting about a child’s progress to date, for example.
38. As a result, the Council has not considered G’s individual needs and ability. This is fault.
39. In its final response, the Council said, “The panel is not suggesting that it is in G’s best interest to start school in year 1.” This is an odd statement for the Council to make, since in effect it is what will happen as a result of the Council’s decision. On balance, it probably reflects the panel’s view it would be in G’s best interests to start school in 2021. However, this is not a decision for the panel to make.
40. Government guidance requires the Council to consider whether it is in G’s best interests to miss the reception year and start school in year one. There is no evidence the Council considered this question. The panel clearly recognises the importance of the reception year. However, it has not given any reasons why it would be in G’s interests to miss the reception year. This is fault.
41. The Council also referred to the fact it has offered G a reception place she can take up at any time during the 2021 school year. This is irrelevant.
42. In considering Mrs M’s request for G to be admitted to a reception class in September 2022, the Council has not considered relevant information (G’s individual needs, abilities and best interests) and has taken account of irrelevant information (the availability of a reception place in 2021). The Council has not addressed the central question: whether it is in G’s best interests to miss reception and start school in year 1. This calls the Council’s decision into question. The Council’s apparent failure to properly consider Mrs M’s request for G to start school in reception in September 2022 is an injustice.

The Council’s published information and procedures

43. There is little information on the Council’s website or in its e-booklet about how parents can request deferred entry to a reception class for summer born children.
44. The Council’s literature does not specifically mention “summer born children”.
45. A parent who is not already aware they can request deferred entry to reception for their summer born child would not find this information in the Council’s literature.
46. As summer born children are a defined group of children with additional rights, about which the Government has published guidance, I consider this omission and lack of clarity is fault.
47. Further, although the Council invites parents to request further information, its literature gives no details about the information required or the evidence they might submit to support their requests. It does not clearly set out parents’ rights or the process the Council follows to consider applications. This is fault.

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Agreed action

48. We have published guidance to explain how we recommend remedies for people who have suffered injustice as a result of fault by a council. Our primary aim is to put people back in the position they would have been in if the fault by the Council had not occurred. We may also make recommendations to prevent the same faults happening to others.
49. To remedy the injustice caused by the Council’s failure to properly consider Mrs M’s request, I recommended the Council:
• apologises to Mrs M for the faults I have identified;
• reconsiders her request in line with Government guidance, and in time for her to make any necessary applications for school places for September 2022;
• reviews the Council’s admissions literature to ensure it sets out the rights of parents of summer born children to request deferred entry to reception and explains the process they must follow;
• explains the steps it intends to take to ensure future decisions are considered in line with Government guidance.
50. I recommended the Council completes these actions as soon as possible, and within one month of my final decision.
51. The Council accepted my recommendations.

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Final decision

52. I have completed my investigation as the Council accepted my findings and recommendations.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman