Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with an Education Health and Care needs assessment. This is because the issues raised have either been appealed to a tribunal or are not separable from that appeal.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about how the Council managed the Education Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment process for his son. Mr X says the Council issued a draft EHC Plan naming a specialist school but then issued a final EHC Plan with naming a mainstream school that could not meet his son’s needs. Mr X says his son was then out of education with no alternative provision arranged.

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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 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. The Council carried out an EHC needs assessment and issued a draft EHC Plan naming a specialist school. It issued a final EHC Plan in February 2024 with a mainstream school named. Mr X and the Council attended mediation where it was agreed that additional advice would be sought in regard to the naming of a specialist school.
8. The Council subsequently issued a further final EHC Plan with no school named in Section I. Mr X appealed the decision to the SEND Tribunal.
9. I cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s naming of schools in his son’s final EHC Plans. This is because Mr X has used his right of appeal to the SEND Tribunal about these decisions.
10. Mr X also complains about a lack of education provision for his son. However, I cannot investigate this element of Mr X’s complaint because the provision in place during the appeal to the SEND Tribunal is not separable from the appeal itself.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the issues raised have either been subject to a tribunal appeal or are not separable from that appeal.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman