Service improvements

Sheffield City Council

Showing service improvements between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2027

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 21 - 30 of 35 cases with service improvements

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

  • Sheffield City Council (22 015 298)

    Category: Education Date: 29-Aug-2023

    Summary

    There is no evidence a delay in arranging a school placement for a child with an education, health and care plan was due to fault by the Council; and nor can we say any omission by the Council was responsible for a subsequent deterioration in the child’s behaviour, which led to his exclusion. We are unable to investigate a complaint about the alternative provision subsequently offered to the child, because it is linked to a matter which carried a right of appeal. There was some fault by the Council in its handling of the independent review against the child’s exclusion, for which it has agreed to apologise and circulate guidance to staff.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to circulate guidance to its panel of IRP clerks, to ensure they are aware the statutory guidance says that, where they have requested the attendance of a SEN expert at a review meeting, but the expert is not present, parents may ask for the meeting to be adjourned until the expert is available; and that the IRP must explain this right to parents.

  • Sheffield City Council (22 013 386)

    Category: Children's care services Date: 06-Jul-2023

    Summary

    Mr X complained the Council failed to investigate his complaints - about the Child in Need plan and the social worker appointed to his children - under the children’s statutory complaint process. The Council is at fault for failing to investigate the concerns under the correct complaints process. The Council will apologise, carry out an investigation under the statutory complaint process and take action to prevent reoccurrence.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to remind staff of the complaint process and procedures.

  • Sheffield City Council (21 013 182)

    Category: Education Date: 31-May-2023

    Summary

    Ms X complains the Council failed to make alternative education provision for her son, Y when he stopped attending school and delayed issuing a final amended Education Health and Care Plan after an annual review in 2021 causing distress and uncertainty. We found fault as the Council failed to provide Y with alternative educational provision and delayed issuing the final amended Education Health and Care Plan. We have recommended a suitable remedy so have completed our investigation.

    Service improvements

    Reviews its guidance to staff on when its Section 19 duty is triggered to ensure the recommendations in the Ombudsman’s focus report above are reflected in this. The Council should consider including guidance on our recommendation that councils should choose, based on all the evidence, whether to enforce attendance or provide the child with suitable alternative education.Ensure there is a clear audit trail to evidence decisions taken on non-attendance and alternative provision.Shares this decision with relevant staff members.

  • Sheffield City Council (22 000 694)

    Category: Education Date: 03-Oct-2022

    Summary

    There was fault by the Council. There were administrative errors and delays sending a final Education, Health and Care plan after mediation. There were also delays referring child Y for home tuition, which meant she spent 7 months with no formal education. Finalising the Education, Health and Care plan, reviewing procedures and making a payment to Y and Mrs X remedies the injustice.

    Service improvements

    The Council should review its procedures to ensure that administrative errors (such as sending the wrong documents) do not recur.

  • Sheffield City Council (21 018 782)

    Category: Education Date: 29-Nov-2022

    Summary

    Mrs X complained the Council delayed its review of her daughter’s EHCP, delayed notifying her right of appeal and failed to arrange all the educational provision specified, resulting in missed education and distress. We found the Council at fault. We recommended it apologise, pay £1000 for distress, pay £5200 for missed provision; fund provision that remains outstanding and; provide training to staff to prevent recurrence.

    Service improvements

    The Council will provide training or guidance to staff working in Children’s Services on the Council’s statutory duties, including timescales for the Education Health and Care plan review process; notifying rights of appeal with a final Education Health and Care plan and the duty to secure section f provision (educational provision outlined in the Education Health and Care plan).

  • Sheffield City Council (21 011 551)

    Category: Environment and regulation Date: 09-Jan-2023

    Summary

    Mr X complained about how the Council decided to award street trading consents for three sites to a company other than his. The Council was not at fault in how it allocated the consents. It was at fault for poor complaint handling, which caused Mr X undue frustration. The Council will apologise and pay Mr X £100.

    Service improvements

    The Council will remind staff in its Parks and Countryside Service and Licensing Service of its complaints policy. This will include when to respond to contact as a complaint and that they should work together to provide complainants with a joined up, comprehensive and timely response when they receive complaints about issues that involve more than one service.

  • Sheffield City Council (21 011 239)

    Category: Environment and regulation Date: 07-Jun-2022

    Summary

    It was for the Council to decide whether to suspend indoor collections of bulky waste, because of concerns about the spread of COVID-19. The Council should have ensured it made an assessment of the likely impact of this suspension on disabled people, but this did not cause a direct injustice to the complainant. There was an injustice to the complainant caused by the delay and confusion in the Council’s complaint handling, which it has now agreed to remedy. We have therefore completed our investigation.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to circulate guidance to relevant staff to ensure they understand its policy on dealing with complaints about waste collection.

  • Sheffield City Council (21 010 289)

    Category: Education Date: 31-Aug-2022

    Summary

    Miss H complains the Council and Trust significantly delayed her son J’s Education, Health and Care Plan annual review, and J did not receive the 1-1 speech and language therapy sessions in his plan. There was fault by the Council and Trust. There were long delays in the annual review process, and in the response to Miss H’s complaint. The Council failed to ensure J received the speech and language education provision in his plan. This has caused an injustice as J has missed out on educational provision in his plan, and Miss H has suffered stress and upset. The Council and Trust have agreed to apologise, pay a financial remedy to Miss H, complete the annual review and make improvements to their services.

    Service improvements

    The Council will review its processes to ensure it amends and issues Education Health and Care Plans (EHC Plans) following an annual review in line with statutory timescales and the requirements of the SEND Code of Practice. It will also review its procedures for carrying out interim / emergency reviews of EHC Plans, in line with the requirements of the Code.The Council will ensure it has a mechanism in place to check provision specified in an Education Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) is arranged from the start of a new or amended plan. It will also review sources of Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) services and develop a plan to ensure it can commission SALT therapies needed to support the EHC Plans it maintains.The Council will explain the work completed with the Integrated Care Board and Children’s Hospital and other partners to review Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) services across the city, to ensure there is adequate high-quality support for all children who need SALT input. The Council will also submit a report on this to the relevant council scrutiny committee.

  • Sheffield City Council (21 009 789)

    Category: Education Date: 13-Apr-2022

    Summary

    Mr X complained about the outcome of his home to school transport appeal for his son, which is causing the family financial difficulty. We find the Council is at fault. The Council’s appeal panel failed to consider all the evidence Mr X provided. We recommended it apologise to Mr X and offer him a fresh appeal hearing.

    Service improvements

    The Council will remind the school transport appeal panel that its decision notice needs to include reference to all the evidence considered.

  • Sheffield City Council (21 007 520)

    Category: Children's care services Date: 29-Jun-2022

    Summary

    Mr S complains the Council did not suitably consider his concerns about the care his daughter was receiving when in care. Mr S complains the Council did not recognise the impact of the issues he raised. The Ombudsman finds fault with the Council for failing to consider suitable recommendations during the stage three review. This caused Mr S and Child P significant injustice and meant the Council did not fully address Mr S’s concerns. The Council has agreed a financial remedy and service improvements.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to review how stage three investigations make recommendations at the end of the investigation. The Council should review how it will address parts complaints that are upheld and ensure there are actions to ensure these are addressed.The Council has also agreed to share the final decision with the stage three panel.The Council has agreed to review whether further visits were recorded that did not take place, and audit other cases where the social worker may have populated visits. If the Council finds that other visits were recorded, it should consider whether a referral to the appropriate regulatory body is necessary. The Council should tell the Ombudsman of the result of this audit.The Council has agreed to review how and when it communicates with parents about health concerns and developments for children, and consider providing further training to staff in this area.

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