Mother has to send three children to separate schools due to religious discrimination

According to a recently published decision report by the local government and social care ombudsman, the mother, named as "Mrs X", applied for one of her children ("D") to start at St John Fisher Catholic Primary School in September 2020.

However, all places at the school were allocated to children "in a higher category" than D. This is despite the fact D's older sibling attends the school, and that D had attended the nursery attached to the school.

Mrs X indicated that had D been categorised as 'Catholic', they would have been given higher priority according to the school's admissions criteria.

When Mrs X appealed against the school's decision to reject D, she said she would face "logistical difficulties" because her three children would attend three different schools.

She also said D had "settled in with friends and staff" at the school's nursery and moving to a different school "would not be in D's best interests". She said D was "upset" at having to go to a different school.

The ombudsman did not investigate the complaint further, noting that "the faith Mrs X belongs to is not the Catholic faith".

Note on ombudsman's role

• The local government and social care ombudsman is the final stage for complaints about local public services, including schools. Parents who believe that an incorrect decision has been made regarding school admissions can make a complaint to the ombudsman to try and overturn the decision.