Summary: We have ended our investigation into Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her son’s school admissions appeal. There is nothing more we could achieve by further investigation.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council’s independent school appeal’s panel allowed children who had not passed the relevant test to be added to the waiting list for admission to a secondary school she wished her son to also attend. She says that as his appeal was declined, this then affected her son’s priority on the waiting list for admission to the school.
2. She says this has caused the family frustration and distress and meant her son should have been higher on the waiting list than he was.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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:
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered all the information Mrs X provided and discussed this complaint with her. I have also considered information the Council sent in response to our enquiries.
5. Mrs X and the Council had the opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I have taken any comments received into consideration before reaching my final decision.

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What I found

The law and guidance on admission appeals

6. Statutory guidance about school admissions and appeals can be found in The School Admissions Code and School Admission Appeals Code. Both are published by the Department for Education. 
7. Parents and carers have the right to appeal an admission authority’s decision not to offer their child a school place.  
8. Appeal hearings must be held in private and conducted in the presence of all panel members and parties.
9. Appeal panels must either uphold or dismiss an appeal and must not uphold an appeal subject to any conditions. Appeals must be decided by a simple majority of votes cast.
10. The appeal panel must write to the appellant, the admission authority and the council with its decision and the reasons for it.

What happened

11. Mrs X has a son, Y. Y was due to move from primary to secondary school in September 2024. In September 2023, Y took and passed the Council’s grammar school test. This meant he was assessed as being a suitable candidate to be considered for a secondary grammar school place. Mrs X’s preference was for Y to attend a grammar school, School A.
12. Following the national 2024 school admissions round, in March 2024, Y was allocated a place at a local comprehensive school, School B.
13. As School B was not Mrs X’s preferred choice, she appealed to the Council, which was the admissions authority, and requested a place at School A.
14. In the time before Mrs X’s appeal was heard, she says an appeal panel allowed children who had not passed the grammar school test or had their appeal upheld to be added to School A’s waiting list.
15. The Council held Y’s appeal at the end of June 2024.
16. At the beginning of August 2024, the Council sent a letter to Mrs X explaining the appeal panel’s decision. It had decided not to give a place to Y at School A.
17. Y started at School B early in September 2024 as planned.
18. Towards the end of October 2024, School A offered Y a place. Mrs X declined the school’s offer as Y had settled at School B. He remains on roll and attending School B.

Analysis

19. Mrs X complains the process for admitting children onto the waiting list to be allocated a place at School A after their appeal had been denied was flawed. She says this affected Y’s chances of being allocated a place whilst he was on the waiting list.
20. Regardless of whether or not there was fault in adding additional children to School B’s waiting list which may or may not have affected Y’s priority on the list, he was later offered a place within the first half term of the 2024-25 school year. The family chose to decline the offer.
21. One of Mrs X’s desired outcomes was that she would like a place held open at School A for Y until Year 9, in case he decides he wishes to move from School B to School A in the future. This is not something the Ombudsman can achieve.
22. In the circumstances of this complaint, I am not persuaded it is proportionate to investigate the matter further as there is insufficient injustice to do so. Y has already been offered a school place which the family declined and we cannot achieve other outcomes Mrs X wants. I am therefore satisfied there is no worthwhile outcome that can be achieved by further investigation.

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Final decision

23. I have ended my investigation. There is no worthwhile outcome achievable by further investigation.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman