Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about alleged failures to meet Miss X’s child’s special educational needs. The complaint principally concerns the alleged actions of an academy school in issuing informal exclusions, which we cannot investigate. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council in meeting its duties to offer alternative educational provision and to assess the child’s special educational needs to warrant investigation by us.

The complaint

1. Ms X said her child was unofficially excluded by a primary school and the Council failed to act in accordance with its special educational needs duties.

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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 complaints about what happens in schools unless it relates to special educational needs, when the schools are acting on behalf of the council to secure educational provision as set out in Section F of the young person’s Education, Health and Care Plan.
4. 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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

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

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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. Ms X’s child did not have an Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan at the time of the matters complained of. That means the Council had no duty to the child in terms of delivering special educational needs (SEN) provision. The matter of alleged unofficial exclusions was an internal matter concerning a primary academy that did not involve the Council. We are also legally prevented from investigating the actions of the school concerning the child’s SEN other than where they concern the delivery of provision laid out in EHC Plan, for which the Council has responsibility. That does not apply here.
8. The Council’s duties would only have been triggered when it either received a request for alternative education provision if the child was unable to attend school, or a request to assess the child’s SEN for a possible EHC Plan. The evidence I have seen suggests the Council discovered the child was out of education in October 2024. The Council stated it had offered some alternative educational provision and that it would assess the child’s SEN to see if an EHC Plan was needed.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because:

• The principal matters relate to the actions of a school that we cannot investigate; and
• The remaining matters that concern the Council do not indicate enough evidence of fault to warrant our further involvement.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman