Case Ref: 25 002 762 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Other

• The Council has agreed to remind its relevant officers of the legal requirements and best practice by sharing this decision statement and our guide to help local authorities handle complaints under the children’s services statutory complaints process. It should focus on the parts of the guide that suggest what a council should do if:only some of the complaint comes under the statutory complaints procedure;the complainant adds further issues to their complaint at stage two; andit takes a long time to find an investigating officer or to carry out a stage two adjudication.It should also refer to the key lessons from our investigations listed in the guide.

Case Ref: 25 002 018 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• The Council will adhere to published allocations scheme rather than using non-published policy on direct offers of housing

Case Ref: 24 020 298 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will review why the it did not consider Ms X’s complaint under the children’s statutory complaint process. It should then ensure appropriate training or reminders are provided to relevant staff to ensure complaints are correctly considered and responded to under the correct complaints process without delay.

Case Ref: 24 016 644 Category: Education Sub Category: Alternative provision

• The Council will review its Annual Review process to ensure the relevant team send the parents or the young person the Council’s decision within four weeks from an Annual Review meeting. If the Council intends to amend a child’s EHC Plan, within the same timescale it should also send proposed amendments.
• The Council will remind the SEN staff dealing with Annual Reviews of the mandatory stages of the process and the statutory timescales.

Case Ref: 24 012 183 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Other

• The Council has agreed to remind staff of the need to record all communications with familiesand confirm meeting arrangements.
• The Council has agreed to remind staff dealing with statutory children’s complaints of the criteria for early referral, and the need to consider whether redress for injustice or recommendations for service improvements are appropriate. It will be asking staff to attend our new workshops for complaints relating to children’s services.

Case Ref: 24 011 826 Category: Education Sub Category: Alternative provision

• The Council will share a copy of the Ombudsman's focus report Out of school, out of sight? with relevant officers, alongside the findings of the Ombudsman's investigation. This is to emphasise the Council's responsibility to decide whether it owes a child a duty under section 19 of the Education Act 1996, as well as the Ombudsman's expectations of good practice in adhering to this duty.

Case Ref: 24 011 434 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council has told the Ombudsman about the actions it is taking to address delays within its SEND team. However, considering the significant concerns raised in this case including delays with EHC Plans, lack of alternative provision, and not considering a request for a specialist school, the Council should share this decision with its relevant scrutiny committee or panel.

Case Ref: 24 009 634 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• Remind staff of the need to make a Section 19 decision regardless of whether the child is on roll at a school.

Case Ref: 24 009 366 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will provide written guidance to relevant staff members on when and how it should consider its section 19 duty to children who are not attending school. The guidance will include the importance of identifying those children through information provided on Education, Health and Care need assessment requests and communicating this to the relevant office or education welfare officers.
• The Council will review the capacity in its Education, Health and Care (EHC) team to identify the action it needs to take to ensure: EHC needs assessment and EHC Plan writing is conducted in line with the timescales set out in statutory guidance;it communicates with parents, children and young people at appropriate intervals during the process; andcomplaints are responded to without undue delay.The Council will create a specific, measurable and timebound action plan to complete any actions it has identified.

Case Ref: 24 005 201 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council agreed to share this decision with relevant staff to ensure that the Council keeps relevant contemporaneous notes about any decision it makes about its section 19 duty and remind relevant staff of the importance of issuing EHC Plans within the statutory timeframes, whether this is in time for phase transfer or following an annual review.