Service improvements

Suffolk County Council

Showing service improvements between 1 April 2018 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 1 - 10 of 68 cases with service improvements

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

  • Suffolk County Council (25 013 265)

    Category: Education Date: 28-Jun-2026

    Summary

    Mrs B complained that the Council had failed to ensure the provision in her daughter, C’s Education, Health and Care Plan was in place and failed to ensure C received a full-time education when she was unable to attend school. Based on current evidence we have found some fault in the actions of the Council. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mrs B and C, make a symbolic payment and review its procedures for the future.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to review its procedures for responding to children absent from school and not receiving a full-time education, to ensure all cases are considered in respect of the section 19 duty as soon as possible and then reviewed at appropriate intervals.

  • Suffolk County Council (25 008 840)

    Category: Education Date: 07-May-2026

    Summary

    The Council failed to ensure Ms X’s son received full-time education between September 2024 and March 2025 and delayed responding to her complaint. That meant Ms X’s son missed out on education and Ms X experienced distress. An apology, payment to Ms X and guidance for officers is satisfactory remedy.

    Service improvements

    The Council will provide guidance to officers dealing with children without a school place to make clear the Council’s responsibility to ensure alternative provision is in place until a school placement is identified.The Council will provide guidance to complaints officers to make clear that complaint responses should not be put on hold pending the outcome of an Ombudsman investigation into a different time period or different matters.

  • Suffolk County Council (25 000 534)

    Category: Education Date: 04-May-2026

    Summary

    Mrs X complains on behalf of Miss Y that the Council did not deal properly with education causing avoidable distress. The Council failed to communicate properly, did not provide alternative education, did not communicate outcomes about services and did not respond to the complaint fully. Mrs X suffered avoidable distress. The Council should apologise, make a symbolic payment to Miss Y and provide guidance to staff.

    Service improvements

    • Provide guidance to staff to ensure that complaints are fully responded to.

  • Suffolk County Council (25 007 020)

    Category: Education Date: 05-Mar-2026

    Summary

    Ms X complained about the way the Council dealt with school transport for her son, Y, who has an education, health and care plan. The Council was at fault for failing to apply the correct legal tests when amending the education, health and care plan and making the school transport decision. This caused Ms X frustration and uncertainty. The Council should apologise, review Ms X’s application again, make a payment and make service improvements.

    Service improvements

    The Council will provide the Ombudsman with evidence it has provided training and updated guidance to all relevant staff (Special Educational Needs and Disability, and Transport teams, appeal members) on how to apply the Dudley test for pupils with Education, Health and Care plans.The Council will ensure its information for parents whose children have Education, Health and Care plans references the Dudley test (If only one school is named in a young person’s Education, Health and Care plan, then that is the school the council has determined is the nearest suitable school for the child. It is therefore the nearest ‘qualifying school’ for the child to attend for school transport consideration. This is because the council has not made arrangements for the child to attend a closer school) and they are signposted to accurate information about transport at the time they need to express a preference for a particular school. The information should advise parents of their right to appeal to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal if they disagree with the Council’s decision on naming two schools or a decision on inefficient use of resources.

  • Suffolk County Council (25 001 384)

    Category: Education Date: 13-Jan-2026

    Summary

    Mrs X complained the Council failed to complete her child’s Education, Health and Care Plan within the statutory timescales. We find the Council at fault for delay, which caused uncertainty and distress. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to Mrs X. It should also review its action plan to ensure Education, Health and Care Plan writing is conducted in line with the timescales set out in statutory guidance.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to provide an update on its progress in meeting Objective 7 of its Priority Action and Improvement Plan. This objective aimed to bring performance in issuing final EHC Plans within 20 weeks, in line with national expectations, by September 2025. The Council will update us on if it has met this target. If not, it should provide a new action plan.

  • Suffolk County Council (24 019 227)

    Category: Education Date: 05-Oct-2025

    Summary

    Ms X complained the Council delayed completing Y’s annual review and failed to provide a personal budget for Y’s wheelchair which is outlined as specialist provision in their Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. The Council was at fault. The Council panel’s decision not to provide a personal budget to maintain Y’s wheelchair was flawed. The Council also delayed amending Y’s EHC Plan following a 2024 annual review by nine months. The Council agreed to apologise and make a payment to Ms X to recognise the injustice caused to her and reimburse her for wheelchair maintenance expenditure. It also agreed to carry out another annual review of Y’s EHC Plan and reconsider how it intends to meet Y’s wheelchair provision going forward.

    Service improvements

    The Council will remind all relevant officers that personal budgets for Education Health and Care (EHC) Plans must be reviewed and agreed during the annual review process. Any agreed personal budget must also be included and outlined in Section J of the EHC Plan.

  • Suffolk County Council (24 015 439)

    Category: Education Date: 08-Oct-2025

    Summary

    Miss X complained that the Council refused to provide a passenger assistant trained to administer emergency medication for her son Y who has special educational needs. She said this prevented Y from receiving the suitable home to school transport he was entitled to, it had a significant negative impact on Y’s development, and caused financial and emotional impact on the family. We find the Council at fault for the way it made its decision which caused distress. The Council agreed to apologise, make a symbolic payment and amend its policy.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to amend its School Travel Policy to ensure it aligns with the statutory guidance about considering medical training for passenger assistants working on dedicated school transport.

  • Suffolk County Council (24 013 508)

    Category: Education Date: 29-Jun-2025

    Summary

    Ms C complains the Council failed to follow the correct transfer procedures when X moved into the area with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. Ms C also complains the Council failed to provide the education set out in the EHC Plan. The Council failed to provide X with education it had a duty to provide and in the transfer of the EHC Plan. This caused X to miss education. To remedy the complaint the Council has agreed to make a symbolic payment and service improvements.

    Service improvements

    The Council will:-a) provide a copy of the new policy about how the Council deals with children and young people who enter the Council with an EHC Plan;b) remind staff and provide training by way of staff circular, team meeting, supervision, or sessions so relevant staff are aware of the new policy and its implications;c) remind staff and provide training by way of staff circular, team meeting, supervision, or sessions about who should be invited to EHC Plan reviews and what steps to take when engagement from parents frustrates the review process.

  • Suffolk County Council (24 011 338)

    Category: Education Date: 25-Sep-2025

    Summary

    Ms X complained of significant delay in the Council’s assessment of her child for an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. She also complained the Council did not provide her child with a suitable education. The Council is at fault for failing to meet statutory timescales and failing to provide a suitable education. It has agreed to remedy the injustice caused by making a payment to Ms X for the loss of education and avoidable distress. The Council has also agreed to make service improvements.

    Service improvements

    The Council will ensure it has a handover process between caseworkers and it will remind staff to complete this handover process when there is a change in caseworker for children and young people with Education, Health and Care Plans.

  • Suffolk County Council (24 011 165)

    Category: Education Date: 04-Sep-2025

    Summary

    Ms X complained that the Council failed to provide Speech and Language provision as outlined in her child’s education, health and care (EHC) Plan. The Council is at fault for failing to provide the provision and it failed to meet statutory timeframes in issuing a final EHC Plan following an annual review. This has caused a loss of provision and avoidable distress. The Council has offered a suitable remedy for the loss of provision and it has agreed to remedy the avoidable distress caused by the delay in finalising the EHC Plan. The Council has also agreed to make service improvements.

    Service improvements

    The Council will review what went wrong in this case and identify what actions it can take to reduce delay in decisions by its Panel and ensure provision outlined in an Education, Health and Care Plan continues to be delivered when a reassessment of need is taking place. The outcome of the review and the steps to be put in place to prevent a recurrence will be provided to the Ombudsman.

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