Case Ref: 24 012 631 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Looked after children

• Following an investigation under the children's statutory complaint process, the Council agreed to review its practice around arranging child in care reviews and carry out a quality assurance exercise on its social work practice. The Council will update the Ombudsman on the changes to its social work practice standards and the quality assurance work agreed.
• Following an investigation under the children's statutory complaint process, the Council agreed to develop good practice for its children's homes around the handling of young people's belongings. The Council will update the Ombudsman on the changes to its policies and procedures around ownership of items in young person's care placements agreed.
• The Council failed to make its findings clear in a stage one complaint response under the children's statutory complaint process. It will review its approach to stage one statutory children's complaints to ensure its findings on each complaint are clear.

Case Ref: 24 011 848 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Transition from childrens services

• The Council will issue written reminders to relevant staff to ensure they complete a Care Act 2014 assessment and create a care and support plan in good time to ensure a smooth transition from children’s services to adult care services. If adult care and support is not in place on the child’s 18th birthday, the Council should continue providing services until adult care and support is in place to take over.

Case Ref: 24 008 518 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Transport

• The Council will provide staff training or a briefing paper to officers responsible for making blue badge decisions. The officers should be reminded of the requirements in the current guidance, specifically around walking distances and hidden disabilities.

Case Ref: 24 007 318 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Disabled children

• Remind all relevant staff who deal with statutory children’s complaints about the Council’s, and individual officer’s, duties at each stage of the statutory children’s complaint process. These are set out in the statutory guidance, ‘Getting the Best from Complaints’.

Case Ref: 24 003 469 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Assessment and care plan

• Provide us with an explanation about how it will ensure that open cases will be reallocated and progressed when social care workers are absent for more than a month.

Case Ref: 24 002 702 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council agreed to consider what measures it will put in place to ensure children with Speech and Language provision in an Education Health and Care Plan receive that provision while on a waiting list to be assessed by an NHS therapist.

Case Ref: 24 002 562 Category: Transport and highways Sub Category: Traffic management

• The Council will collect information to consider if HGVs using the route complained about impacts on other road users, including pedestrians, bikers, and horse riders. The Council should record this in writing.
• The Council will seek advice from highways, legal and planning departments and consider if and what action is required. The Council should record the decision and reasons in writing.

Case Ref: 24 000 810 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will review how it manages and has oversight of Education, Health and Care Plan mediation requests to ensure they are responded to within the timescales set out in law.

Case Ref: 24 000 238 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will provide the Ombudsman with an update on its recruitment of Special Educational Needs and Disability staff and case officers and explain how it intends to reduce delays in issuing final Education, Health and Care Plans after it has received Educational Psychology advice.

Case Ref: 23 021 501 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council has agreed to take relevant action to ensure staff respond to parent’s and school’s concerns in a timely manner.
• The Council has agreed to issue a reminder to staff about the Council’s legal duty to make sure the child or young person receives the provision set out in section F of their education, health and care plan.
• The Council has agreed to take action to ensure it has a mechanism in place to quickly investigate and act on complaints or concerns raised regarding education provision not being in place for a child or young person at any time.