Case Ref: 21 003 667 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council should set a timetable for assessing the suitability of elective home education, I suggested three months should be sufficient.

Case Ref: 21 003 302 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Direct payments

• The Council accepts that it communicated poorly about direct payments. The Council says it has already taken steps to improve its systems for monitoring direct payments. It has agreed to write to the Ombudsman within four weeks to explain what these steps are and provide evidence.

Case Ref: 21 002 583 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council has agreed to remind staff, through appropriate training, of: the importance of regularly monitoring the progress of a child's alternative education package while they are being educated outside of school and; the Council's legal duty to ensure that alternative education being accessed by a child is suitable and continues to be suitable for the entire period they are out of school.

Case Ref: 21 002 569 Category: Education Sub Category: Alternative provision

• the Council has agreed to: • circulate a reminder to relevant staff about the need to promptly decide whether it has a duty to secure alternative provision (the section 19 duty) or consider taking enforcement action (pursuant to its section 426A duty) under the Education Act 1996. This covers situations when it comes to the Council’s attention that a child may not be receiving suitable education; and • share the Ombudsman’s decision with relevant staff.

Case Ref: 21 001 549 Category: Education Sub Category: COVID-19

• The Council will remind relevant school admission appeal officers of the importance of recording procedural decisions.

Case Ref: 21 001 237 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Child protection

• explains to Mr B and to us what improvements the Council has made to its procedures to ensure the fault identified does not recur: specifically, the need to adhere to the timescales in the statutory complaints process, the inclusion of all relevant parties in the child protection process, the circulation of reports prior to the ICPC and the accuracy of report writing.

Case Ref: 20 012 246 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: COVID-19

• The Council will ensure the Care Provider, BUPA, reminds staff at Ashley Lodge Care Home of the importance of thorough and accurate record keeping, with particular reference to ensuring any instructions on the hospital discharge sheet are transferred accurately to the resident’s care plan.

Case Ref: 20 010 226 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Other

• The Council will review lessons learned from this complaint and identify, so far as possible, measures it will implement to avoid recurrence of the faults identified by this complaint, including delays in completing mental capacity assessments and best interests decision making.

Case Ref: 20 009 978 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will review its processes for special educational needs to ensure decisions after annual reviews are made promptly and letters informing of appeal rights issued. Also that requests for change of a school are dealt with without delay.

Case Ref: 20 009 961 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• Within three months of my final decision the Council will: Arrange training for its staff in effective complaint handling
• include complaints handlers in its ongoing training on annual reviews