Case Ref: 23 018 188 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Charging

• The Council should review what happened in the safeguarding process to see whether any changes are needed to ensure as far as possible the same fault does not occur again;
• The Council should remind staff, and if necessary, provide staff training on the need to give proper reasoned decision when making decisions on a deprivation of capital.

Case Ref: 23 017 017 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will complete a review of its transfer processes to ensure they are in line with the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) code of practice in relation to Service children with Education, Health and Care Plans, and have due regard to the Armed Forces Covenant. The Council will produce a timebound action plan to implement any improvements it identifies as necessary as a result of that review.
• The Council will remind relevant staff members dealing with transfers of children with Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans that it should accept the EHC Plan as it is, provide a placement and/or the provision in the Plan and then complete the annual review process set out in the SEND code of practice.

Case Ref: 23 014 723 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council has agreed to set out to the Ombudsman what steps the Council is taking as part of its Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) sufficiency planning to increase its number of specialist school placements, including expected timeframes for this.
• The Council has agreed to outline what steps it is taking as part of its SEND improvement strategy to improve its timeliness in carrying out annual reviews and finalising Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans, and when it expects it will begin to see improvements in this area.
• The Council has agreed to remind SEND staff that EHC Plans must be finalised within 12 weeks of annual review meetings.
• The Council has agreed to remind SEND staff that where a school has told the Council it can no longer meet a child or young person’s needs, it cannot rely on that school to continue providing the education in a person’s EHC Plan. Instead a suitable alternative education placement must be found for them.

Case Ref: 23 005 368 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Other

• The Council will complete a review and determine whether any other residents have been affected in a similar way to Miss D's situation. It will decide whether they have been caused injustice such as being out of pocket and put things right if necessary. It will confirm the out of the review to the Ombudsman detailing what action it has taken.
• The Council will ensure all staff whose responsibilities may include administering, commissioning, assessing for or providing section 117 aftercare have knowledge of the relevant law, guidance and policy, as appropriate to their roles. They will provide training as necessary.
• The Council will remind all its staff involved in this case that the duty to pay for accommodation which is part of section 117 aftercare services is imposed on the Council and relevant health authority until such time they are satisfied a person can be discharged from section 117 and not simply because the status of a property may change to supported living accommodation. It will remind its staff that those entitled to section 117 aftercare accommodation should not be told to claim housing benefit as set out in their joint policy.

Case Ref: 23 010 923 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council agreed to remind its staff, through appropriate training, of the Council's non-delegable duty to secure the Special Educational Needs provision set out in Section F of a child's Education, Health and Care Plan(EHC Plan).

Case Ref: 23 008 396 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Assessment and care plan

• This complaint was about a significantly disabled young woman with special educational needs who moved from a specialist school placement into supported living. The transition was too short and its impact worsened by poor communication between the Special Educational Needs and Disability department and the Adult Social Care department. The Council will review this complaint and identify what steps it should take to ensure the departments communicate effectively, particularly when a young person with an Education, Health and Care Plan is moving to an adult social care setting.

Case Ref: 23 003 607 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will remind staff they must issue a decision to amend, maintain or cease a child or young person's Education, Health and Care Plan after an annual review meeting.
• The Council will remind staff they must complete amendments to Education, Health and Care Plans within the timescales set out in law, guidance and by caselaw.

Case Ref: 23 003 097 Category: Education Sub Category: Alternative provision

• The Council will remind staff in the medical needs tuition team that when considering a referral for a child's tuition, the test they should apply is whether the child would receive a suitable education without the Council making arrangements.
• The Council should provide the Ombudsman with evidence it has completed the training programme for staff on the new alternative provision school referral process.
• The Council should remind staff that the recommendations they make for service improvements as part of complaint responses should be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-limited).

Case Ref: 23 001 848 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council is already reviewing its process for carrying out Education, Health and Care plan reviews. It will provide the Ombudsman with details of that review, including the steps it is taking to ensure annual reviews are completed in line with statutory timescales.
• The Council will ensure that where officers from its Inclusion Quality team make observations about specific pupils with special educational needs, they will make a record for the child's case file.
• The Council's Special Educational Needs and Disability training manager will ensure learning from the case is included in the Council's rolling training programme, and particularly that the Council either arranges a review or ensures by some other means that it has full and up-to-date information about a child's needs before considering a change of placement request or consulting with alternative schools.

Case Ref: 22 017 787 Category: Other Categories Sub Category: Other

• The Council will check the heat pump in the Market and confirm it is working correctly and undertake any necessary remedial works if it is found to be defective.
• The Council will monitor the temperature in the Market for a period of six weeks to confirm it meets the guidance set out in the Approved Code of Practice on the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations.
• The Council will review if any immediate action is required to improve the Market’s temperature including the maintenance of the air curtains, installation of thermometers, temporary heating fans and its remote temperature management system.