Case Ref: 23 004 581 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Adoption

• The Council has delayed in reviewing its post adoption support procedure. It has agreed to carry out the review.

Case Ref: 23 004 580 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will remind staff dealing with these cases that where they are aware a child is not attending school, it should consider each individual case and its Section 19 duty in accordance with relevant law and guidance.

Case Ref: 23 003 807 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Friends and family carers

• The Council will carry out a training session for social workers to ensure they know about the Council’s responsibilities under the Children’s Act and the Council’s family and friends policy. That training should include information about what advice and support should be provided to those potentially taking on the care of a child and the information to be given about the options, including financial.

Case Ref: 23 003 593 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will report back to us on the progress of its review of its SEN services and its recovery programme to resolve any out of date actions within its statutory SEN service.
• The Council will report back to us on what it is doing to share the review findings and planned actions with interested parties.

Case Ref: 23 003 549 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will undertake a written review of its handling of the Education, Health and Care needs assessment. The review should include how the Council managed the case and the quality of the communication.

Case Ref: 23 003 405 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will remind all relevant special educational needs staff responding to stage one and stage two complaints of the importance of clearly setting out their finding on each point of complaint, with reference to our Guidance on Effective Complaint Handling for Local Authorities.

Case Ref: 23 002 965 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council agreed to share a copy of our final decision with all staff in its Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) service. It will remind them about:the Council’s duty under section 19 of the Education Act 1996 to secure alternative education when it is aware a child is out of school for any reason;statutory timescales for Education, Health, and Care (EHC) plan reviews; the importance of communicating properly with families, responding to specific queries, and keeping them updated about any delays; andthe timescales set out in the Council’s complaints procedure, and the importance of actioning complaint outcomes without delay.
• The Council agreed to review Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)/ alternative education decisions issued by the Ombudsman since January 2023, where we have identified systemic fault and the Council has agreed to our recommendations to improve its services. It will ensure it includes these Ombudsman recommendations in its SEND Improvement Plan so it can review the effectiveness of completed service improvements.
• The Council agreed to review its processes and procedures for following up on education complaint outcomes agreed via its complaints procedures, to ensure its Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) service completes the outcomes without delay.

Case Ref: 23 002 055 Category: Education Sub Category: Alternative provision

• By reviewing its procedures or other means, ensures it considers whether education provision is meeting a child’s needs and is reasonably accessible in the event a child is not attending full time or at all and keeps a record of this decision. The Council should also ensure it keeps the suitability of the education under review in the event a child does not quickly return to full time education.
• By training or other means, ensure officers are aware that all issues raised in a complaint are appropriately addressed.

Case Ref: 23 001 857 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council has agreed to review how it monitors children out of school where they are not accessing alternative provision, and whether the Council is giving due consideration to its duty to provide alternative provision in these cases.
• The Council has agreed to remind complaint handlers that where the Council upholds a complaint and identifies injustice, it should consider if injustice has been caused to the complainant and whether a remedy is appropriate.

Case Ref: 23 001 364 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will review how Special Educational Needs caseworkers keep families updated during the Education, Health and Care needs assessments that are outside timescales, and how it implements and monitors recommendations made during complaint investigations. The Council will identify any improvements that are necessary and create an action plan to implement the improvements.