Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has failed to make a place available for the complainant’s son at an appropriate school. This is because investigation would not achieve the outcome the complainant is seeking.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Mrs X, complains that the Council has failed to make a place available for her son at an appropriate specialist school.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 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

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mrs X’s son has special educational needs and an Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan. She says the mainstream school he attends cannot meet his needs and he is therefore missing out on educational provision. She wants the Council to make a place available at the specialist school she believes is appropriate. She complains that it has failed to do so.
6. In response to Mrs X’s complaint, the Council says the school has refused to offer a place, and that it will explore the refusal further. It will carry out a review of Mrs X’s son’s EHC Plan to identify his current needs and will work towards finding an appropriate school.
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8. The Ombudsman will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because we would not achieve anything significant by doing so. It is not for the Ombudsman to express a view on which school a pupil should attend. A review of Mrs X’s son’s EHC Plan will provide the opportunity for her to express her preference, which the Council must consider.
9. If the Council does not agree to name her choice of placement in the amended EHC Plan, Mrs X will have the right to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability). This is the appropriate route by which to achieve the outcome Mrs X is seeking.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because we cannot achieve the outcome she is seeking.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman