Service improvements

Kent County Council

Showing service improvements between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025

Find out more about service improvements

When we find fault, we can recommend improvements to systems and processes where they haven’t worked properly, so that others do not suffer from these same problems in future. Common examples are policy changes; procedural reviews; and staff training. Service improvements from decisions are published for 5 years and those from reports are published for 10 years.

Showing 11 - 20 of 30 cases with service improvements

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Downloads the current filtered list of service improvement decisions for Kent County Council as a CSV file.

  • Kent County Council (24 001 417)

    Category: Education Date: 10-Dec-2024

    Summary

    Mr X complained about how the failed to provide a suitable education for his son, Y, from September 2023. There was fault in how the Council arranged tuition for Y, failed to keep that tuition under review and took too long to reassess his needs. It also did not follow its policy when restricting how Mr X could contact the Council. The Council agreed to apologise, pay Mr X and Y a financial remedy and review the restrictions it has placed on Mr X’s contact. It also agreed to remind its staff of the importance of following its unreasonable behaviour policy.

    Service improvements

    The Council agreed remind staff of the existence of the Council’s policy on managing unacceptable behaviour from members of the public and the importance of following that policy when imposing contact restrictions.

  • Kent County Council (23 021 398)

    Category: Education Date: 28-Aug-2024

    Summary

    Mrs X complains the Council wrongly decided not to amend her child D’s Education, Health, and Care Plan following an annual review, and delayed in making this decision. There was fault by the Council which caused avoidable distress for D and Mrs X, and avoidable time and trouble for Mrs X. The Council agreed to pay a financial remedy and share a copy of our final decision with staff in its Children’s Complaints Team to share learning from the complaint handling faults identified.

    Service improvements

    The Council agreed to share a copy of our final decision with staff in its Children’s Complaints Team. It will remind them that where a complainant has appealed about an Education, Health, and Care Plan to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability), this does not prevent the Council from considering how it should remedy injustice caused by delays before the appealable decision.

  • Kent County Council (23 021 125)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 01-Nov-2024

    Summary

    Mrs D complained the Council delayed providing her son with an assisted living placement. She also complained the Council failed to provide her with support in setting up direct payments and it did not provide her with respite care. We find the Council was at fault for its delays in exploring an assisted living placement for Mrs D’s son. The Council has agreed to our recommendations to address the injustice caused by fault.

    Service improvements

    The Council will issue written reminders to relevant staff to ensure they are aware they must progress a service user’s request for an assisted living placement without undue delay.

  • Kent County Council (23 020 046)

    Category: Education Date: 12-Dec-2024

    Summary

    Mrs B complained about the Council’s handling of various matters concerned with their child’s special educational needs. We found fault with the Council’s delay in issuing an Education, Health and Care Plan and then for amending that plan without proper consultation. This caused injustice to Mrs B as distress and loss of opportunity to comment. The Council has accepted these findings. At the end of this statement, we set out the action it has agreed to remedy that injustice and make a service improvement to prevent a repeat.

    Service improvements

    As a result of this investigation, the Council agreed that it would provide advice to caseworkers in its special educational needs service of the approach to take if it changed its mind about undertaking an education, health and care needs assessment in the absence of an appeal. It would advise caseworkers to treat such cases as if it were conceding an appeal and complete the assessments within 14 weeks.In addition, the Council agreed to also brief its special educational needs caseworkers on the approach to take when it proposes amending an Education, Health and Care Plan. It will, in future, follow Government guidance and ensure parents or young people are formally consulted on any proposed amendment, even ones it considers minor.

  • Kent County Council (23 019 445)

    Category: Education Date: 02-Jan-2025

    Summary

    The Council delayed issuing K’s Education, Health and Care Plan, failed to respond to Mrs B’s requests for mediation and delayed responding to Mrs B’s complaints. The Council has agreed to make payments to Mrs B and K, and to take action to improve its services.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to remind relevant staff that they must arrange mediation, if requested, as an informal way to resolve disputes about decisions that can be appealed to the SEND Tribunal.The Council has agreed to remind relevant staff that they must complete reviews and amend EHC Plans by 15 February in the calendar year in which the child is due to transfer into or between school phases.The Council has agreed to provide details of the action it has taken or is taking to prevent delays in assessing and issuing EHC Plans.The Council has agreed to provide guidance to its complaint handling staff about the special educational needs complaints it can investigate when an appeal is ongoing, such as complaints about delays and complaints about mediation.The Council has agreed to review its procedures to ensure it is able to respond to complaints within the timescales set out in its policy.

  • Kent County Council (23 019 374)

    Category: Education Date: 06-Oct-2024

    Summary

    Miss Y complains the Council wrongly refused to provide transport assistance for her two children to attend a local primary school. There is no fault in how the Council considered the application and appeal for Miss Y’s youngest child because they are not attending their closest school. However, there is fault in how the Council considered the application for the other child because the closest school told Miss Y it had no spaces in that child’s year group. The Council has agreed to the actions listed at the end of this to statement to remedy the injustice caused by fault.

    Service improvements

    The Council will remind staff about the importance of providing clear information to school transport appeal panels about the availability of spaces in schools, especially when the Council is refusing transport on the basis there is a closer school with availability. If there is conflicting information (i.e. between the parent and the Council) the Council should obtain up to date information directly from the school.

  • Kent County Council (23 018 857)

    Category: Adult care services Date: 23-Oct-2024

    Summary

    Mrs X complained about the Council’s failure to properly consider her hidden disabilities when refusing her Blue Badge application. We found the Council to be at fault because it did not use the relevant assessment tool when making its initial decision. However, the personal injustice to Mrs X was limited because the Council corrected this mistake at the review stage. The Council has agreed with out recommendation to apologise to Mrs X and review its practices.

    Service improvements

    The Council will review its assessment procedures to ensure all Blue Badge applications involving a hidden disability are assessed using the relevant assessment tool at both the initial application and review stages of the process.

  • Kent County Council (23 017 650)

    Category: Education Date: 15-Oct-2024

    Summary

    the Council delayed putting in place alternative provision for Miss B’s daughter, delayed completing an education, health and care needs assessment and in issuing a final EHC Plan and failed to respond to Miss B’s communications. An apology, payment to Miss B, review of the case and an action plan to address the issues that arose is satisfactory remedy.

    Service improvements

    The Council will carry out a review of this case and draw up an action plan to address any learning points. The Council should then provide evidence to the Ombudsman of the action it has taken to address the issues that have arisen in this case.

  • Kent County Council (23 015 248)

    Category: Education Date: 18-Feb-2025

    Summary

    Mrs B complained that the Council in respect of her son C’s special educational needs, had failed to reassess C’s needs, to issue amended Education, Health and Care Plans following two annual reviews, to provide alternative education while he was out of school, to progress a personal budget request or respond to her complaints about the matter in a timely or accurate way. We found the Council was at fault in all these areas. C has missed out on education for a significant period of time and Mrs B had been caused distress, frustration and financial hardship. The Council has agreed to make payments to Mrs B and C and to provide an update on improvements to its SEND service.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to provide an update on the steps it has taken to improve the way it:deals with Annual Reviews and issuing amended EHC Plans;provides alternative education for children out of school due to anxiety;makes and communicates decisions around Personal Budgets; anddeals with complaints within a reasonable period of time and provides quality responses with a remedy where appropriate.

  • Kent County Council (23 014 736)

    Category: Education Date: 06-Jan-2025

    Summary

    Mr X complained the Council did not provide appropriate education to his son when he was not on roll at any school and that it did not organise provision set out in his Education, Health and Care Plan. We found fault because the Council failed to deliver an appropriate level of alternative education and failed to deliver the services specified in the plan. Mr X has suffered avoidable distress and frustration and his son has missed out on some of the education he should have received. To remedy the injustice caused, the Council has agreed to apologise, make a payment to Mr X, issue reminders and guidance to relevant staff and consider reviewing some of its policies and procedures.

    Service improvements

    The Council will remind relevant officers and managers of its statutory duties to provide alternative education provision under Section 19 of the Education Act 1996. This will help to ensure that those who are due alternative education provision receive an appropriate level of education in a timely manner.The Council will consider reviewing its policies and procedures related to its statutory duties to provide alternative education provision under Section 19 of the Education Act 1996. This will help to ensure the Council understands and retains oversight and control of its statutory duties and the process as a whole.The Council will share the Ombudsman's focus report 'Out of school, Out of Sight with relevant officers and managers. This will help to ensure officers are clear on their statutory duties to organise alternative education provision under Section 19 of the Education Act 1996.The Council will remind relevant officers and managers of its statutory duties under Section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014 which say it must deliver specialist provision set out in an Education, Health and Care Plan. This will help to ensure officers are clear on the Council's duties to organise specialist education set out in any such plans.The Council will consider reviewing its policies and procedures linked to its statutory duties under Section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014. This will help to ensure it retains oversight and control of its duty to deliver specialist education set out in any Education, Health and Care Plans.

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