The Council has agreed to remind complaints officers by way of staff training or a briefing to issue complaint responses within the timescales set out in the corporate complaints policy.

The Council will remind relevant officers to record clear decisions about whether a child can reasonably attend school and whether alternative provision is required. Where the Council decides alternative provision is not necessary, it will record the reasons for that decision and the evidence it relied on.The Council will remind relevant staff that they should not insist on medical evidence from specific professionals, such as consultants or CAMHS clinicians, before considering whether the Section 19 duty applies. Officers should consider all available information about the child’s circumstances, recognising that some families may not be able to obtain evidence from specialist services.The Council will review its ‘Medical Needs Tuition’ policy (September 2022) to make sure it reflects the Department for Education’s statutory guidance, which says councils should consider all available medical evidence, including evidence from GPs, when deciding what education a child may need. The Council’s current policy requires consultant level evidence at the point of referral and only accepts GP evidence in limited circumstances and on an interim basis.