Case Ref: 22 013 835 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council should evidence how it collects information about young people so that those who are not participating or are not in education, employment or training (NEET), can be identified and given support to re-engage.
• The Council should also issue written reminders to relevant staff to ensure they are aware of:• The Council’s duty to decide on whether to keep, cease or amend the EHC plan within four weeks of the review meeting, and notify parents in writing. • The Council’s duty to start the amendment process without delay.

Case Ref: 22 012 634 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council should consider the Ombudsman’s focus report ‘Equal access: getting it right for people with disabilities’, and remind staff of its anticipatory duties under the Equality Act.

Case Ref: 22 012 146 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Safeguarding

• Share this decision with the relevant staff, reminding them the Council retains responsibility for the care it commissions.
• Review its policy for responding to concerns raised about the care it commissions so that it intervenes when these are not resolved.

Case Ref: 22 012 013 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• review its procedures for completing reviews of EHC plans within the required timescales
• provide us with details of the steps it has taken to increase the capacity of its SEN team to complete EHC plan reviews in a timely way and respond promptly to requests and communication

Case Ref: 22 008 979 Category: Education Sub Category: Alternative provision

• The Council will carry out training on the alternative provision duty (the duty to provide suitable alternative education for children who are out of school due to exclusion, illness or other reasons) for relevant staff. It will send the Ombudsman a copy of the proposed training before carrying it out.
• The Council will review the form it uses to seek information from medical professionals on a child's health needs and how they impact on the child's ability to access school. It should ensure the form includes prompts for the professional to send the information the Council considers it needs to evidence illness preventing education in school.

Case Ref: 22 008 927 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Other

• The Council (alongside the ICB) will take action to ensure that responsibilities set out in Section 117 aftercare plans are clearly assigned, to prevent recurrence of the fault identified in this complaint.

Case Ref: 22 008 777 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council agreed to remind Special Educational Needs and Disability staff who carry out Education, Health and Care needs assessments, to consider whether it is reasonable and necessary to seek advice and information from relevant health professionals such as Occupational Therapists and Speech and Language Therapists, regardless of whether the child is 'known to service'. The Council should ensure staff make a record of its consideration at the time based on the individual circumstances of the child. If it considers it reasonable, it must seek advice. If it does not, then it should briefly explain its reasons to the parents who asked for the advice to be included.

Case Ref: 22 008 723 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Residential care

• The Council will review how it allocates cases for review where a care provider has terminated a contract to ensure negotiations and/or placement changes are completed in good time. It will identify any changes it will make as a result of that review and a timeline within which it will make those changes.
• The Council will remind relevant staff to accept complaints verbally and respond to them within six months or inform the complainant why there will be a delay.
• The Council will remind Edenmore Nursing Home that all residents should be treated in line with the fundamental standards for dignity and respect, including when discussing them, or their care within email correspondence.
• The Council will remind Edenmore Nursing Home to follow its own complaint policy when dealing with complaints about the care it provides.

Case Ref: 22 008 327 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Transition from childrens services

• Produce an action plan to set out how it intends to address delays in EHC plan reviews, and report on the action plan to the relevant committee.
• Review its policies and procedures to ensure it monitors and audits the funding of placements to ensure payments do not continue to be made when a child or young person is no longer on roll.

Case Ref: 22 006 644 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will provide the Ombudsman with a summary of the action it has taken to improve its service provision and case handling.