Council to check if children missed out on school places after allocation change

A council has agreed to check whether any children missed out on a place at their preferred school in September 2015, after the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) upheld a complaint about its schools allocation process.

The complainant was the mother of a boy who was due to start school last September. She contacted the LGO when an appeal about her son’s school place was not upheld.

The Ombudsman’s investigation found Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council changed the way it decided schools admissions mid-way through the application process, and without consulting people.

Bolton uses distance from the chosen school as the main criterion. Previously, where there was a tie for a place it would allocate any remaining places to those children whose alternate school would be the greatest distance from their homes. 

Midway through the round of allocations in December 2014 – seven months too late, according to the Ombudsman – the council instead decided to simply draw lots to determine the places.

The Ombudsman concluded that there had been fault with the way the council changed its admissions arrangements.

In the individual case, the investigation found the council was at fault for allocating the children a place by drawing lots.

But the LGO also decided that it was clear the boy would not have been allocated a place at the school requested even if the proper process had been followed.

To remedy the complaint, Bolton has agreed to check whether any parent lost a school place in its area for September 2015 because of its use of the incorrectly amended admissions arrangements. If any parent has lost a place for their child, they should be offered a place, the LGO said.

The Ombudsman added that it was satisfied Bolton’s arrangements for 2016-17 had been properly determined.

Dr Jane Martin, Local Government Ombudsman, said: “When making changes to policies which affect a wide number of people it is only right and fair that such changes are made with consultation and at the start of the process so that parents have a level playing field when applying for school places.

“I have taken the unusual step of issuing this report where the individual parent has not suffered an injustice, to highlight that other parents in the area may have been affected by the incorrect application of the allocation process.

“I am pleased that Bolton council has accepted my recommendations, and would urge other councils to ensure that they do not make the same mistakes.”