Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about her son’s Education, Health and Care Plan. Miss X appealed to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) and so the case is outside our jurisdiction.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Miss X, complained about the content of her son’s Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan). Miss X says the Council named an inappropriate school leaving her child without an education. Miss X is also unhappy with how the Council decided the content of the EHC Plan and says the Council ignored her views.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal about the same matter. We also cannot investigate a complaint if in doing so we would overlap with the role of a tribunal to decide something which has been or could have been referred to it to resolve using its own powers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
4. The First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) considers appeals against council decisions regarding special educational needs. We refer to it as the SEND Tribunal in this decision statement.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. We will not start an investigation into Miss X’s complaint.
8. Miss X exercised her right of appeal against her child’s EHC Plan. Where appeal rights have been used, the matter is outside our jurisdiction from the point at which the appeal rights were available until the appeal process concludes This exclusion applies to any matter closely related to the appeal. This includes the process followed to decide the content of the EHC Plan as it is too closely linked to the matter appealed. Miss X’s complaint is not therefore one we can consider.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because she has appealed to a tribunal and so the case is outside our jurisdiction.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman