Case Ref: 22 016 125 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Assessment and care plan

• The Council was at fault failing to ensure a young person did not experience a break in care services when she moved into its area. The Council will review the events in this case relating to continuity of care and in particular, the Council's communication with the other council involved in this complaint. It will also review the lack of staff awareness on the continuity of care duties as evidenced in this case. It will identify areas for learning and training and will send the Ombudsman an action plan setting out how it intends to address those shortcomings
• The Council will review how it communicated with the young person's representative from April to December 2022 and will identify areas for learning and training. It will send the Ombudsman an action plan setting out how it intends to address those shortcomings.

Case Ref: 22 015 818 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will remind staff in its Special Educational Needs and Disability team that the parental right to mediation cannot be refused.

Case Ref: 22 015 105 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council agreed to emphasise the importance of issuing EHC plans within the statutory timeframes to its SEND Officers.

Case Ref: 22 014 734 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council should remind relevant staff that it is the Council’s duty to ensure the specified special educational provision in an Education, Health and Care plan for a child or young person is being provided. And it should investigate where a concern is raised that the provision is not in place.
• The Council should remind relevant staff to review Education, Health and Care plans in line with the statutory guidance and adhere to the timescales set out within it.

Case Ref: 22 014 696 Category: Education Sub Category: Alternative provision

• The Council has also agreed that, following a review of its procedures and the development of a revised process, it will provide training to Inclusion, A2E, SEN teams and schools on best practice in supporting children on a school roll who are not accessing full-time education and the Council’s duty under section 19 of the Education Act 1996.

Case Ref: 22 014 573 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council should take action to ensure it can evidence it has met the Ombudsman’s expectation that councils should directly commission a private Education Psychologist where necessary in order to complete an Education Health and Care Plan assessment within the statutory timescales.

Case Ref: 22 013 345 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council agreed to write to all Special Educational Needs and Disability officers and remind them of recent caselaw R (L, M,and P) v Devon County Council [2022] EWHC 493 which says Councils must, from March 2022, send the decision letter alongside any proposed changes to the Education, Health and Care Plan within four weeks of the review meeting and issue a final plan no later than eight weeks after the decision letter is sent.

Case Ref: 22 013 007 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council has agreed to send a reminder to staff working in its SEN team that the Council remains responsible for ensuring that all support outlined in Section F of an EHC plan is provided, including where a young person is attending school that is not in the Council’s area. If a school or NHS service is no longer able or willing to provide the support, the Council must ensure it identifies suitable alternative provision.

Case Ref: 22 012 950 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council has agreed to provide guidance to staff working in children’s education on the need to consult and name a school during the Education Health and Care Plan process and the test to apply when considering whether to name a school that is parental preference.

Case Ref: 22 012 228 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council has agreed to provide the Ombudsman with evidence of the actions it is taking to increase educational psychology capacity and reduce waiting times and to increase capacity for specialist school places.