Summary: Mrs X complained about the appeal panel’s decision to refuse her son a school place at his preferred secondary school. We find fault with how the panel considered Mrs X’s appeal. The Council has agreed to our recommendations to address the injustice caused by fault.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about the appeal panel’s decision to refuse her son (Y) a school place at his preferred secondary school. She says the matter has caused distress and upset.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. 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 significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), 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 considered information from Mrs X and the Council.
5. Mrs 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

School admissions and 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/carers have the right to appeal an admission authority’s decision not to offer their child a school place.
8. Appeals must be held in private and conducted in the presence of all panel members and parties. The admission authority must provide a presenting officer at the hearing to present the decision not to admit the child and to answer questions about the school’s case.
9. A clerk supports the appeal panel. Parents can submit information in support of their appeal. The clerk must send all papers required for the hearing a reasonable time before the date of the hearing. This includes information from the appellant and the admission authority. 
10. Panels must follow a two-stage decision making process. 
11. Stage 1: the panel examines the decision to refuse admission. The panel must consider whether: 

• The admissions arrangements complied with the mandatory requirements set out in the School Admissions Code; 
• The admission arrangements were applied correctly; and if 
• The admission of additional children would prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources.  

12. If a panel decides that admitting further children would “prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources” they move to the second stage two of the process.
13. Stage 2: balancing the arguments. The panel must balance the prejudice to the school against the appellant’s case for the child to be admitted.
14. The clerk must take an accurate record of the hearing, including the proceedings, attendance, voting and reasons for decisions.
15. The appeal panel must write to the appellant, the admission authority and the council with its decision and the reasons for it. The decision letter must be easy to understand and must contain a summary of relevant factors raised by parties and considered by the panel. It must also provide clear reasons for the panel’s decision.

What happened

16. Mrs X applied for Y to attend his preferred secondary school. The Council is the admission authority. Mrs X applied after the deadline for applications had expired. This meant the Council processed her application after applicants who had applied on time.
17. The Council awarded Y a place at his preferred school. However, this was a system error, and it later withdrew the place. It offered him a place at another school.
18. Mrs X appealed the Council’s decision. She said Y had a difficult six months, with his education being disrupted as he had moved abroad. He had struggled with the family separation and was looking forward to attending his preferred school with his friends now that he had returned to the country.
19. Mrs X could not attend the panel hearing. She asked it to go ahead on her behalf. The school said it was full, and it was three over its published admissions number (PAN) for Y’s year group. The PAN is the number of pupils in each year group the admission authority has agreed will be admitted. It said its site was small with no space to expand and there would be significant pressures if it accepted more pupils. The panel asked the school questions about its capacity and the waiting list.
20. The panel also considered Mrs X’s representations. It noted Mrs X could have made her application while she was abroad, and she was aware of the deadline date.
21. The panel decided the Council had made its case. It noted Mrs X’s late application, and the year group was now over capacity. It decided there were no significant exceptional circumstances to warrant overriding the school’s case and the school the Council had offered Y was a reasonable journey from home (one bus).
22. The clerk issued a decision letter after the hearing. The letter states the panel was satisfied the admission authority had properly implemented its own published admissions arrangements and they were compliant with the law. The panel was satisfied the admission of Y would prejudice the provision of efficient education and resources in the school. The panel also did not consider there were extenuating reasons for Y to attend the school.

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Analysis

23. I have considered whether the panel considered Mrs X’s appeal in line with the School Admission Appeals Code. The clerk’s notes state the Council proved its case. However, there is no information in the notes about whether the panel considered the admissions arrangements were applied correctly or compliant with the law. I cannot see any discussion about whether the panel considered the admission of additional children would prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources. This is fault. The decision letter addresses these points in detail. However, this is not in the clerk’s notes, and so I cannot be satisfied the panel properly considered them.
24. The clerk’s decision letter also provides much more detail on the prejudice to the school (for the stage two process) than is in the notes from the hearing. This is fault. The guidance is clear the clerk must take an accurate record of the hearing, including the proceedings, attendance, voting and reasons for decisions.
25. The faults identified call into question the decision reached. This has caused Mrs X an injustice as she cannot be satisfied the panel properly considered her appeal.

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Agreed action

26. By 27 February 2025 the Council has agreed to:

• Apologise to Mrs X for the uncertainty caused by how it considered her appeal.
• Arrange for Mrs X’s appeal to be re-heard with a new panel and clerk. The new panel should consider the appeal on the admission figures from Mrs X’s first appeal. This is to ensure Mrs X is put back in the position she would have been in had her appeal been properly considered.

27. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

28. There was fault by the Council, which caused Mrs X an injustice. The Council has agreed to my recommendations and so I have completed my investigation.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman