Service improvements

Somerset County Council

Showing service improvements between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022

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 - 3 of 3 cases with service improvements

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

  • Somerset County Council (21 002 336)

    Category: Education Date: 19-Jan-2022

    Summary

    The Ombudsman found fault by the Council on Miss P’s complaint about it failing to properly consider her request for her daughter to start reception in September 2022 rather than 2021. In its decision letter, it failed to refer to her evidence and referred to evidence it says it did not consider. The letter failed to properly explain how it reached the decision and the reasons why it was in the child’s best interests. It also failed to deal with her complaint properly. The agreed action remedies the injustice caused.

    Service improvements

    The Council agreed to take steps to ensure officers are reminded of the need for decision letters to clearly show how the decision was reached, the reasons for the decision and to only refer to evidence considered.The Council agreed to act to ensure the reasons for the failure to deal promptly with this complaint and to keep the complainant updated properly are identified so they are not repeated in the future.

  • Somerset County Council (20 010 280)

    Category: Education Date: 25-Oct-2021

    Summary

    Somerset County Council failed to make provision for X, who had an Education, Health and Care Plan, when her school placement ended and when she was unable to attend before that. This caused her injustice. The Council will take the action detailed in this decision statement to recognise the injustice to X and her mother and to ensure that such failures to not happen to others in future.

    Service improvements

    Ensure the Council has a mechanism in place to track and chase up where is knows an annual review is overdue and it has not received any notification of the outcome from a school or where it is aware a review has taken place but has not received the written decision. The Council will provide us with evidence of this.Ensure that the SEN team keeps clearer and more comprehensive records and has a mechanism to track and take action where children are not receiving education to ensure that provision is put in place as promptly as possible. The Council will provide us with evidence of what it has put in place to achieve this.

  • Somerset County Council (20 004 934)

    Category: Education Date: 05-Aug-2021

    Summary

    There was fault by the Council in failing to secure the special educational provision in an EHC plan. This led a child to lose out on education and placed additional strain on the family. Recommendations for an apology, financial payment and service improvements are made.

    Service improvements

    The Council will review its processes to ensure it checks when a new Education, Health and Care Plan is issued that special educational provision in Section F is in place.

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