The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about an unsuccessful appeal for a school place. This is because the Council has now offered the complainant a fresh appeal and it is unlikely further investigation would achieve anything more.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mrs X, complained about an unsuccessful school admission appeal. Mrs X complained incorrect and misleading information was presented during the hearing.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether an independent school admissions appeals panel’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider if there was fault in the way the decision was reached. If we find fault, which calls into question the panel’s decision, we may ask for a new appeal hearing. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended) We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint. This is because in response to the Ombudsman’s enquiries the Council agreed to offer a fresh appeal. An investigation would be unlikely to achieve anything more.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman