North Yorkshire Council (23 009 552)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about a headteacher’s handling of Mr X’s child’s education needs in school. This is because the matter relates to the internal management of a school, which falls outside of our jurisdiction. The law says we cannot consider complaints about the actions of councils in relation to matters that are out of our jurisdiction.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I will call Mr X, says a headteacher failed to manage his child’s special educational needs properly. He says this resulted in his child being kept back a year-group for two years running.
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 what happens in schools. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5, paragraph 5(b), as amended)
- The Courts have said that we cannot investigate a complaint about any action by a council, concerning a matter which is itself out of our jurisdiction. (R (on the application of M) v Commissioner for Local Administration [2006] EHWCC 2847 (Admin))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- I cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because it concerns a matter which relates to the management of a school. The internal management of schools fall outside of our jurisdiction. The Courts have said we cannot investigate complaints about the actions of councils about matters that are out of our jurisdiction. Therefore, I cannot investigate how the Council dealt with Mr X’s concerns.
- I note the Council informed Mr X that its Schools Improvement and casework team would be asked to liaise with the school in order to resolve his concerns. This is appropriate and we cannot investigate any aspect of this complaint as these are matters for the Schools governing body to investigate.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because the matters relate to the management of a school.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman