The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council have assessed a child’s special educational needs, which the complainant says will result in an inadequate Education Health and Care plan. This is because the contend of the plan carry the right of appeal to a tribunal.
The complaint
The complainant, who I will call Mrs X, complains about how the Council have assessed her daughter’s Special Educational Needs (SEN). Mrs X says the Councils failure to seek the correct advice will lead to an insufficient Education Health and Care (EHC) plan which will not meet her daughters needs.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended) 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.
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
I will not investigate this complaint. This is because the EHC plan is currently at draft stage and changes are currently being considered. Once a final plan is issued Mrs X will have the right to appeal the contents of the plan to the SEND tribunal, this is the appropriate way to challenge the contents of an EHC plan.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because she has the right to challenge the contents of the EHC plan to a tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman