LGO renews attack on grammar school over admissions appeals

The Local Government Ombudsman has taken the rare step of issuing a second report after a leading grammar school refused to remedy injustice identified in the original report.

The LGO, Anne Seex, called on the governors of Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School in Sutton Coldfield to reconsider its position.

In her first report Seex described the school’s handling of admissions appeals as “seriously flawed”.

Amongst other things, she identified a number of areas where the school failed to comply with the statutory Admissions Appeals Code. The clerk to the governors was also involved to a far greater extent in the appeal process than he should have been.

The LGO recommended that the school hold new appeals for boys affected and pay £200 in compensation to the parent who complained.

Bishop Vesey’s had agreed to arrange a fresh appeal for the complainant. However, the LGO said at the time of the first report that the school had reneged upon that agreement. It claimed that the case was weak and a proper decision had been made.

Seex has now expressed dissatisfaction with the governing body’s response.

“It has failed to understand that it is not for the governing body to judge the strength of [the complainant]’s case for appeal or the decision made by the Independent Appeal Panel,” she said.

The LGO added: “The purpose of having an Independent Appeal Panel is for people independent of the school to make a decision on the merits of an appeal, having followed the correct process and given proper consideration to all relevant information. The Ombudsman’s role in investigating complaints is to ensure that an Independent Appeal Panel has followed the correct process and given proper consideration to all relevant information.

“A governing body cannot substitute its opinion for one made properly by a Panel or substitute its view on how a Panel has operated for my view.”

Seex added that the clerk to the governing body appeared to have played a significant role in advising the governing body on how to respond to her original report.

She said: “The school says that the Appeals Code is not suited to a small single school. The Appeals Code is statutory guidance intended to ensure that both parties to an appeal feel there has been a fair and transparent consideration of the issues. The school is not entitled to ignore parts of the Code because it is difficult for them to follow.”