Service improvements

London Borough of Bromley

Showing service improvements between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024

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 1 - 8 of 8 cases with service improvements

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Downloads the current filtered list of service improvement decisions for London Borough of Bromley as a CSV file.

  • London Borough of Bromley (23 012 074)

    Category: Education Date: 01-Mar-2024

    Summary

    Miss Y complains about the Council’s decision to refuse to provide transport assistance for her daughter, D, to attend the school named in her EHC Plan. There is fault because the Council based its decision on factors which were not relevant. This is because it said there are closer schools which D could attend, however those schools are not named in her EHC Plan. The Council will complete the agreed actions to remedy the injustice caused by fault.

    Service improvements

    The Council will arrange staff training for officers who make decisions about SEND transport eligibility and those who sit on transport appeal panels. The training should focus on how officers determine which school is deemed the nearest suitable for young people with EHC Plans. The training should be based on the statutory guidance.

  • London Borough of Bromley (23 008 968)

    Category: Education Date: 26-Mar-2024

    Summary

    There was fault the Council delayed issuing a final Education, Health, and Care Plan for Miss X’s daughter in 2022 and 2023. This fault caused Miss X an injustice because of avoidable uncertainty and a delayed right to appeal the Council’s final decision. There was also fault in how the Council evidenced its consideration of Miss X’s request for Elective Home Education and then a request for support while home schooling. The Council have agreed to remedy Miss X’s injustice in line with my recommendations.

    Service improvements

    The Council was at fault in the way it dealt with a request for a review of an Education, Health, and Care Plan. It was also at fault in how it considered a request for elective home education of a child. It has agreed it will share our decision statement with its caseworkers to improve their awareness of the Council's policy.

  • London Borough of Bromley (23 007 234)

    Category: Education Date: 04-Mar-2024

    Summary

    Miss X complained the Council failed to review her daughter’s Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) and it failed to provide Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) she was entitled to. We found the Council had not carried out the EHC Plan reviews that it was required to, it had issued an EHC Plan in 2021 without consultation and it delayed issuing the 2023 EHC Plan. The Council also failed to provide Y’s SALT. We recommended and apology and payment to the complaint to recognise the impact.

    Service improvements

    The Council should write and distribute a briefing note for all staff dealing with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHC Plans) to remind them of the Councils obligations to carry out Annual Reviews of plans and the correct process to follow to consult families and relevant professionals before issuing EHC Plans.

  • London Borough of Bromley (23 005 344)

    Category: Education Date: 29-Nov-2023

    Summary

    Mrs X complained the Council delayed assessing and issuing her daughter, Y’s, Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). Mrs X also complained the Council did not use her private Educational Psychologists report she paid for. She complained about poor communication from the Council. Mrs X said this has affected her mental health and Y’s health. There was fault in the way the Council delayed issuing Y’s EHCP, delayed dealing with Mrs X’s complaint and communication with the Council was poor. Mrs X suffered distress, frustration and the Council delayed her appeal rights to the Tribunal. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a financial payment and provide guidance to its staff.

    Service improvements

    Remind relevant staff of the importance of effective complaint handling.Remind relevant staff of the importance of accurately recording information.

  • London Borough of Bromley (23 000 664)

    Category: Education Date: 14-Sep-2023

    Summary

    Mrs X complained the Council did not assess her child D’s Education, Health, and Care needs properly, within statutory timescales. She also said it failed to provide D with suitable alternative education while they were out of school for over a year. There was fault by the Council which caused D to miss education, and caused avoidable distress to D and Mrs X. The Council agreed to apologise, ensure suitable education is in place for D without delay, and pay a financial remedy. It will also review relevant policies, and share a copy of our decision and issue reminders to relevant staff.

    Service improvements

    The Council agreed to review and amend its policy for children out of school with medical or health needs. It will ensure that:as part of the review, it completes an Equalities Impact Assessment for the policy, and gives due regard to reflecting equality considerations in the design of its policies and processes for accessing alternative education when out of school;the amended policy allows it to consider discretion about medical evidence requirements on a case-by-case basis; andthe amended policy makes clear that where a child is not approved for support from the Council’s Home and Hospital Tuition Service, and remains out of school, the Council must arrange other suitable alternative education, in line with its duty under section 19 of the Education Act 1996.The Council agreed to share a copy of our final decision with all staff across its teams that deal with children with special educational needs, or children out of school/ with attendance issues. It will draw its staff's attention to the:Council’s duties to provide suitable alternative education for a child out of school for any reason under section 19 of the Education Act 1996;Council’s duties under the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty;Council’s duties under the Human Rights Act 1998 to give due regard to respecting and protecting an individual’s rights;requirement to comply with statutory timescales for carrying out Education, Health, and Care needs assessments;importance of responding to queries in good time and keeping families updated; and complaint handling timescales set out in the Council’s complaints procedure.

  • London Borough of Bromley (22 016 360)

    Category: Education Date: 17-May-2023

    Summary

    Mrs X complains the Council has not dealt properly with her daughter’s education. The Council took too long to produce an EHCP and did not consider whether alternative education should be provided. Mrs X’s right of appeal was delayed and her daughter Y missed education. The Council has agreed to apologise, pay Mrs X £3,000 for Y’s loss of education and provide training and guidance to staff.

    Service improvements

    Provide training to all staff regarding the Council’s responsibilities relating to section 19 alternative education provision;Provide guidance to staff relating to the EHCP process and their responsibilities to adhere to timescales set out in SENCOP.

  • London Borough of Bromley (22 015 630)

    Category: Education Date: 14-Nov-2023

    Summary

    Mrs X complained about the Council’s actions in relation to her child’s, Y, Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) and when Y was unable to attend school. The Council was at fault for failing to respond to Mrs X’s request for a reassessment of Y’s needs and support in the EHC Plan. It was also at fault for how it managed the annual review process and for delaying action when it became aware Y was not attending school. This caused Mrs X frustration and uncertainty. The Council has already apologised to Mrs X for some of the fault. The Council has agreed to extend its apology and provide Mrs X with a symbolic payment. It will remind staff to issue decision letters and review with staff the timescales of amending and issuing final EHC Plans in line with legislation. The Council will also review with staff its statutory duty in relation to children absent from school.

    Service improvements

    The Council will remind staff to action a parent’s request for a reassessment of Education, Health and Care Plan needs and support and to notify them within 15 days of the request of its decisionThe Council will remind staff to notify parents of its decision following an Education, Health and Care Plan annual review meeting.The Council will review with staff the timescale of amending Education, Health and Care Plans and finalising them, in line with legislation.The Council will review with staff the importance of not delaying action as soon as it becomes aware a child is not attending school because of illness or other reasons.

  • London Borough of Bromley (22 013 945)

    Category: Education Date: 31-Aug-2023

    Summary

    The Council failed to provide alternative education when a child was unable to attend school for mental health reasons and took thirteen months, instead of twenty weeks, to issue a final EHC plan. This was fault and led to a child missing out on education and placed additional strain on their parent carer. The Council will apologise, make a financial payment and carry out service improvements. The complaint is upheld.

    Service improvements

    The Council has wrongly advised that schools, not the Council, hold responsibility for providing s.19 education. The Council has agreed in a previous investigation to provide updated training. The Council should use the training opportunity to ask officers to identify other cases where s.19 education may not have been provided, and provide a remedy to other families identified.The Council should update and clarify its information for schools so cases where pupils have been long term absent and s.19 education is not in place can be identified and report the situation to the relevant scrutiny committee.

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