The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint about how the Council handled her application for a school place. This is because the school concerned is an academy and we cannot investigate complaints about actions taken on behalf of academies. The Council’s actions in relation to the appeal stem from a private arrangement with the school rather than an administrative function; they therefore fall outside our jurisdiction to investigate.
The complaint
The complainant, Mrs X, complains about the Council’s handling of her appeal against a decision not to award her daughter a place at her preferred school, School Y. She says the distance from her home to School Y was incorrectly calculated and the decision to refuse her application for a place was flawed.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
We cannot investigate complaints about actions which are not the administrative function of the council complained about. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(1) as amended).
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
School Y is an Academy and its own admissions authority. The Council handles applications for admissions on behalf of the school but this is a private arrangement rather than being an administrative function of the Council.
School Y is ultimately responsible for decisions about whether to admit a child to the school and for the conduct and outcome of any appeal hearings against its refusal to offer a place. We do not have any jurisdiction over School Y and we cannot therefore investigate any complaint about its decision not to offer Mrs X’s daughter a place.
Final decision
We cannot investigate this complaint. This is because the complaint does not concern an administrative function of the Council. We have no power to investigate processes and decisions undertaken/made on behalf of Academies.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman