Summary: Ms X complained the Council failed to support her in finding an in-year school place for her child. We did not find fault with the Council’s actions.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council failed to offer adequate assistance in finding an in-year school place for her child. She says this impacted on her child as they missed some education, and it caused significant frustration and distress through a challenging period in their lives.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with an organisation’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

4. I discussed the complaint with Ms X and considered her views.
5. I made enquiries of the Council and considered its written responses and information it provided.
6. Ms X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Law and administrative background

School Admissions

7. The Department for Education issues statutory guidance about school admissions in The School Admissions Code (“the Code”).
8. A parent can apply for a place for their child at any school, at any time. Local authorities are not required to co-ordinate in-year applications for schools for which they are not the admission authority. (School Admissions Code 2021, 2.23)
9. Local authorities must, on request, provide information to prospective parents about the places still available in all schools within their area. To enable them to do this, the admission authorities for all schools in the area must provide the local authority with details of the number of places available at their schools whenever this information is requested, to assist a parent seeking a school place. (School Admissions Code 2021, 2.27)

Fair Access Protocols

10. Each local authority must have a Fair Access Protocol (“FAP”) for vulnerable and/or hard to place children (The School Admissions Code 2021, 3.17). The Council’s Fair Access Protocol says children placed under this have to meet its criteria, including: they are not already on the roll of a school; and who are having difficulty in securing a school place in-year, and it can be demonstrated that reasonable measures have been taken to secure a place through the usual in-year admission procedures.

Background

11. Several years ago, Ms X and her family moved to the Council’s area. Ms X’s child (“J”) commuted a long distance to continue attending School A (located in the area they previously lived in).

What happened – summary of key relevant events

12. In July 2023, Ms X made a formal complaint to the Council. She had not been able to secure a school place for J in their home area and she said the Council had not supported her with this. She said the daily commute heavily impacted on J’s wellbeing, and they relied on the help of relatives. She had appealed for a place at their desired school (“School B”) but was unsuccessful.
13. In August 2023, the Council responded at Stage One. This included advice that at the time of writing, two named schools within a reasonable distance had places. This included School C.
14. Ms X updated the Council about a personal family situation which had affected the whole family, particularly on J. She asked J to be placed at School B through its FAP arrangements without further delay.
15. At the start of September 2023, Ms X informed the Council J was not attending School A.
16. The Council responded at Stage Two after Ms X escalated her complaint. It said:
• Its in-year admissions team did not co-ordinate or make offers on behalf of schools in its area. The team would advise parents of schools with places available at the time an enquiry is made.
• School place information held by the Council is current at the time but due to the fluidity of pupil movement, this could change.
• At the time of writing, it noted places were available at three named schools, including School C.
• It understood they were not her preferred schools, but it could not resolve the situation by offering a place at School B.
• It said J’s circumstances did not meet the eligibility criteria to be referred to the FAP.
17. After a successful appeal, J started attending School D at the start of November 2023. In April 2024, Ms X complained to us.

The Council’s response to my enquiries

18. In response to my enquiries, the Council said J did not meet the criteria to access its FAP as J was on the roll of School A and other schools had submitted information to say there we were places available at varying times, throughout the period.
19. The Council provided records showing it advised Ms X of schools which said it had spaces available at least six times between April and September 2023; these also included School C.

Analysis

20. The Ombudsman makes impartial decisions based on evidence. When considering complaints, we make findings based on the balance of probabilities. This means that we look at the available relevant evidence and decide what was more likely to have happened.
21. Ms X said to me she contacted several schools without success. This included School C but Ms X said it did not respond to her and she did not make a formal application.
22. But in any event, Ms X states the Council’s vacancy list was outdated as the spaces were gone by the time she contacted the schools directly. I do not find fault by the Council. The schools are required to provide information about potential spaces. This is data the Council receives from schools, and the Council forwards the information it has at the time. It is not responsible for the accuracy (it is the schools who submit this data) in real time as events can change and there can be limitations with unavoidable delay by the schools.
23. I do not criticise the Council for not using the FAP for J. The Council explained why it decided J did not meet its criteria. This is triggered when a child has not secured a place but only when it can be demonstrated that reasonable measures have been taken to secure a place and there are no places within a reasonable distance. The Council said J remained on roll and it was satisfied information from other schools showed places available each time it contacted Ms X (this was not just School C).
24. Ms X felt unsupported by the Council. However, in accordance with the Code, it is not under a duty to co-ordinate in-year school admissions. With this, the Code (referred to in Paragraphs 8 and 9) requires councils to provide information to parents about available spaces at nearby schools; the Council acted in line with this.
25. I understand Ms X’s distress and significant frustration at the situation, especially through an emotionally difficult personal period alongside other challenges. While J was out of school for two months, on balance, I do not consider this is due to fault by the Council.

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Final decision

26. I have completed my investigation. I do not find fault with the Council’s actions.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman