Case Ref: 22 005 986 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council should ensure it has a policy in place for provide alternative education for children out of school which complies with section 19 of the Education Act 1996. It should include reference and guidance for children who reason for being out of school falls under the category of 'otherwise'.
• The Council should review its policy and procedure for handling Special Educational Needs personal budget requests, ensuring it has guidance which sets out the process by which it will review requests, in line with the Special Educational Needs code of practice 2015.
• The Council will provide training to all staff in the special educational needs department on how to deal with request for personal budgets.

Case Ref: 22 005 782 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Transition from childrens services

• The Council will reconsider its stage three panel’s second recommendationabout how access to information changes when a young person turns 18, and how the need for consent to access information is communicated to young people and others with parental responsibility. The Council will consider updating its guidance documents to ensure it is clear at what stage of the pathway planning process this will be communicated, and by whom.

Case Ref: 22 010 347 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will remind its SEND staff of the Council’s duty to provide post-16 educational provision to young people with EHC Plans without delay. This includes during periods where a placement has broken down and where emergency annual reviews are taking place.
• The Council will remind its staff to respond to complaints within the timescales set out in the Council’s Complaints Policy and inform complainants if there are delays in providing a response.

Case Ref: 22 008 428 Category: Education Sub Category: School admissions

• The Council has agreed to review its template decision letters to make sure it is clear that, when the Council is the admissions authority, it should give clear reasons for any refusals and that the refusal should accord with the three-part test detailed in Government guidance for admission authorities deciding which year group a child should be admitted to.

Case Ref: 22 004 381 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Disabled facilities grants

• The Council will review procedures so occupational therapy assessments are reviewed to ensure a person's needs have not changed before any adaptations are installed.

Case Ref: 22 000 997 Category: Education Sub Category: Alternative provision

• The Council will remind its officers of the need to review the suitability of elective home education, where there is evidence of a change in the child's circumstances.

Case Ref: 21 016 679 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Friends and family carers

• Finalise its revised Special Guardianship policy, including guidance on the process for considering requests for extensions and adaptations to properties occupied by those with an SGO.
• Be able to demonstrate how the Council’s record keeping has been improved to ensure clear audit trails are available in the future.

Case Ref: 21 016 059 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Assessment and care plan

• The Council has agreed to draw up an action plan for improving record keeping and provide evidence it has done this

Case Ref: 21 014 963 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will remind its staff to ensure SEN provision set out in children’s EHC Plans are planned and ready to be delivered at the start of the academic year, unless there are circumstances outside its control which prevents this.

Case Ref: 21 010 444 Category: Planning Sub Category: Building control

• The Council will draw up guidance for officers completing re-audits triggered by negative customer reviews or complaints. It is not for the Ombudsman to tell the Council what to include in the guidance but it should cover: •matters which should be taken into account during a re-audit, specifically referring to any issues identified as part of the consumer review/complaint; •clear communications with consumers about the re-audit process; and •completion of paperwork.