Case Ref: 24 022 240 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council agreed to provide an Action Plan showing how it will ensure all Education Health and Care needs assessments are completed within statutory timescales in future.
• The Council agreed to take steps to ensure relevant officers are aware of, and promptly consider, whether it is appropriate to fund the support needs of children being home educated where it is aware of their Special Educational Needs/special needs.
• The Council agreed to act to ensure relevant officer's are aware of, and promptly consider, the need to exercise section 19 duties when children are being assessed for an Education, Health and Care plan who are, or have been, removed from school to be home educated.
• The Council agreed to remind relevant officers of the need to consider Education other than at school at the earliest opportunity for children with special needs who are removed from school.The Council agreed to remind relevant officers of the need to provide parents of children with special needs who are removed from school, with information about Education other than at school at the earliest opportunity.The Council agreed to remind relevant officers of the need to provide full information to parents wishing to home educate their children of the consequences of their decision, including financial.
• The Council agreed to remind relevant officers of the need to provide full information to parents wishing to home educate their children of the consequences of their decision, including financial.

Case Ref: 24 020 872 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• the Council has agreed to review its current procedures for the action required following the transfer in of an EHC Plan from another council to ensure it properly carries out its statutory duties in a timely way; and remind relevant officers, either through training or a briefing note, of these procedures.
• The Council has agreed to review its alternative provision procedures to ensure it:• properly considers its section 19 duty as soon as it is aware achild is not attending school; and• has a system in place for officers to make a contemporaneous record around their decisions about this duty.
• The Council has agreed to remind relevant officers, either through training or a briefing note, of these procedures and the need to act promptly to identify and arrange suitable alternative provision when it accepts a section 19 duty.
• The Council has agreed to report to us on the work it said it had done to put procedures in place to resolve the delay in allocating cases to its placements team.

Case Ref: 24 016 108 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Domiciliary care

• The Council will remind staff involved with safeguarding adults, through guidance or training, that they must consider all relevant facts in a safeguarding referral before deciding whether to take further action.
• The Council will ask Care At Home (Midlands) Limited to provide guidance or training for staff on the importance of keeping accurate records of care visits and the care provided.

Case Ref: 24 007 343 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will share a copy of our decision and the Ombudsman’s Focus Report “Out ofschool, out of sight?” with relevant officers, to highlight good practice andidentify wider points of learning.

Case Ref: 24 001 324 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Assessment and care plan

• Within one month of the date of the Ombudsmen’s final decision statement, the Council has agreed it will confirm the steps it has taken to remind staff about the need to follow the steps in its complaints policy, particularly about working with other organisations and with signposting to the Ombudsman.

Case Ref: 24 013 530 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Charging

• The Council will remind relevant staff of the importance of providing as much information as possible about the likely costs of adult social care at the time they arrange the care and ensuring the make a full record of the advice and information given.

Case Ref: 24 009 142 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council has agreed to consider if there is a systemic issue with delay in completing annual reviews and advise the Ombudsman if this is the case and if so, what steps the Council intends to take to ensure reviews are completed within statutory timescales.

Case Ref: 24 001 615 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Assessment and care plan

• Within three months of my final decision statement, the Council will explain what action it will take to ensure it offers a choice of discharge locations to people and their families, in line with the relevant legislation and guidance; andensure discharge decisions properly take into account the wishes of the person and their families; andproperly record the reasons for any discharge decisions, ensuring this includes the individual circumstances of each case and the reasons if a choice cannot be offered.
• Within three months of my final decision statement, the Council will explain what action it will take to ensure the Care Home takes appropriate action to clarify a person’s dietary requirements as soon as there are any concerns raised; andensure the Care Home properly considered all relevant information when designing an appropriate pressure care plan

Case Ref: 23 019 093 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• By training or otherwise remind relevant staff of the importance of arranging and securing any agreed personal budgets in a timely manner where provisions agreed in an Education, Health and Care Plans are to be delivered on the school or college premises.

Case Ref: 23 017 894 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Charging

• Review the Council’s systems and practice to ensure it completes financial assessments in a timely manner.
• By training or other means remind relevant staff they must issue service users with written record of the financial assessment outcome at an early stage which clearly sets out their assessed contributions towards their care and details of how the payments will be made.
• Remind relevant staff of the importance and need to issue care cost invoices to service users, their families and/or representatives in a timely manner and as soon as practicable after they start receiving care.