Service improvements

Buckinghamshire Council

Showing service improvements between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026

Find out more about service improvements

When we find fault, we can recommend improvements to systems and processes where they haven’t worked properly, so that others do not suffer from these same problems in future. Common examples are policy changes; procedural reviews; and staff training. Service improvements from decisions are published for 5 years and those from reports are published for 10 years.

Showing 1 - 6 of 6 cases with service improvements

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Downloads the current filtered list of service improvement decisions for Buckinghamshire Council as a CSV file.

  • Buckinghamshire Council (25 002 915)

    Category: Education Date: 06-Mar-2026

    Summary

    Miss X complained the Council failed to provide Z with suitable alternative education provision when Z was unable to attend school. Miss X also complained the Council delayed completing Z’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment, and about the Council’s communication and complaints handling. We have found the Council at fault for failing to properly consider its section 19 duty and for failing to maintain adequate oversight of Z’s educational arrangements. We have also found the Council at fault for a delay in issuing Z’s EHC Plan and for its complaints handling. We find the Council’s faults caused periods of missed educational provision, as well as avoidable uncertainty and frustration. The Council has agreed to apologise and pay a symbolic financial remedy. The Council will also act to improve its services. There are parts of Miss X’s complaint we have not investigated. We explain why in our statement.

    Service improvements

    The Council will consider the findings of the Ombudsman's investigation and identify ways to ensure it maintains oversight of education for students with reported low attendance and/or on part-time timetables, to give consideration to whether its section 19 duty applies. The Council will write to the Ombudsman with its findings and conclusions, and set out any improvements it proposes to make.

  • Buckinghamshire Council (24 021 695)

    Category: Education Date: 05-Jan-2026

    Summary

    Mrs X complained the Council did not provide her child, Y, with alternative provision when she stopped attending school and it failed to provide her with the provision in her Education, Health and Care Plan. Mrs X also complained the Council failed to provide Y with a personal budget to secure the provisions in her Plan and about its delays with the annual review process of her Plan. There were faults by the Council which caused injustice to Y and Mrs X. The Council will take action to remedy the injustice caused.

    Service improvements

    Review the Council’s procedures for considering, agreeing and arranging personal budgets. This is to ensure the Council puts in place any agreed personal budgets in a timely manner to secure the identified provision set out in a child and/or young person’s Education, Health and Care Plan.

  • Buckinghamshire Council (24 012 980)

    Category: Education Date: 13-Aug-2025

    Summary

    Ms X complained the Council failed to provide education in line with the EOTAS package since July 2023. The evidence shows that the Council failed to provide all the provision in Section F of the Education, Health and Care Plan for less than one term following a tribunal decision in January 2024. The Council has agreed to make a payment to recognise the loss of provision as well as the distress caused.

    Service improvements

    Remind SEN staff of the duty to provide all the SEN provision set out in an EHC Plan without delay and that it must ensure the provision identified meets the assessed individual need.

  • Buckinghamshire Council (24 012 873)

    Category: Education Date: 22-Oct-2025

    Summary

    There was delay in completing a phase transfer review of an Educational, Health and Care Plan and fault in the way a Council transferred the Plan to a new authority when Y moved home. This caused unnecessary time, trouble, distress and Y missed out on three weeks of college. The Council will apologise, make a symbolic payment and service improvements. The complaint is upheld.

    Service improvements

    The Council will review its processes, including training and guidance provided to officers, to ensure:• Phase transfer deadlines for updating EHC Plans are met.• There are monitoring systems in place to track actions after an annual review are met.• Consultations are carried out in sufficient time ahead of phase transfer deadlines.• Officers are aware of the process to transfer an EHC Plan to a different council and that final EHC Plans are transferred within the statutory timeframes.

  • Buckinghamshire Council (24 011 582)

    Category: Education Date: 06-Jul-2025

    Summary

    We found fault on Mrs Y’s complaint about the Council failing to follow statutory timescales with her son’s Education, Health and Care plan as well as its own timescales with its complaints procedure. These failings caused her injustice as it delayed her ability to appeal as well as causing some frustration. The Council agreed to send a written apology, pay £200 for failing to follow statutory timescales, and review why these failures happened along with the delay with it responding to her formal complaint.

    Service improvements

    The Council agreed to review why there was a failure to send the intended amendments to the complainant's son’s Education Health and Care plan within the statutory timescales and act to ensure this is not repeated on future cases.The Council agreed to review why there were delays issuing the final plan in this complaint and act to ensure this is not repeated on future cases.The Council agreed to review why the complainant's complaints were delayed and act to ensure these are not repeated on future complaints.

  • Buckinghamshire Council (24 010 348)

    Category: Education Date: 09-Apr-2025

    Summary

    Ms X complained the Council did not provide an appropriate remedy when it accepted it delayed completing an annual review of her son, Y’s, Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan and failed to provide his educational provision for one academic year. The Council did not provide an appropriate remedy for the year of education and special educational provision Y did not receive. The Council will pay Ms X £2,450 to recognise the injustice caused to Y.

    Service improvements

    The Council will remind relevant staff of the Council’s non-delegable duty to secure the specialist provision in a child’s Education, Health and Care Plan, and that while it can arrange for a school to organise alternative provision for a child on its behalf, the Council remains responsible and should retain oversight and control where a child is unable to attend school.

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