Service improvements

Worcestershire County Council

Showing service improvements between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023

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 - 6 of 6 cases with service improvements

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

  • Worcestershire County Council (22 004 577)

    Category: Education Date: 16-Oct-2022

    Summary

    Mrs X complained the Council failed to ensure Y received suitable education while out of school, resulting in missed education and distress to Y and his family. We found the Council at fault. We recommended it provide an apology to Mrs X, pay £300 for distress, pay £7200 for missed education and act to prevent recurrence.

    Service improvements

    The Council will consider what action it can take to improve access to alternative provision in its area and inform the Ombudsman of its findings.The Council will issue a memorandum to complaint handling staff, drawing their attention to the Ombudsman’s Guidance on Remedies and our expectations as to a suitable remedy where we find fault resulting in a child missing education.

  • Worcestershire County Council (22 003 220)

    Category: Education Date: 09-Jan-2023

    Summary

    Miss B complains the Council delayed in putting in place an Education Health and Care Plan (“EHCP”) for her child, Y, following a tribunal decision. She says the Council has not ensured Y receives the services set out in the EHCP since that point, meaning she has not been able to access education. We find the Council is at fault for the delay in finalising Y’s EHCP and for not ensuring alternative education provision was available and accessible.

    Service improvements

    Circulate a reminder to staff that the duty to arrange s19 alternative provision lies with the Council and cannot be delegated to schools. Also, that regardless of whether an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP) provides for support in school, the 1996 Education Act Section 19 duty will exist if the child is not attending that school.

  • Worcestershire County Council (21 018 677)

    Category: Education Date: 06-Jan-2023

    Summary

    There was delay by the Council in consulting new school placements and in updating an EHC plan. However, it is not possible to say that without this fault Y would have started his new school or moved to residential provision sooner. There was poor communication by the Council with parents which led to a mismanagement of parents’ expectations. The Council will apologise, make a remedy payment and make service improvements.

    Service improvements

    The Council will review its processes to avoid delay in future cases in identifying and allocating special school places.The Council will review how it advises parents considering residential school options to ensure clear information is given at an early stage, including about the roles of Education and Social Care and the ways placements are funded.

  • Worcestershire County Council (21 018 357)

    Category: Education Date: 14-Nov-2022

    Summary

    Mr and Mrs D complained the Council failed to provide their son with the education and specialist provision set out in his Education, Health and Care plan. They also say the Council failed to provide adequate alternative education when their son was no longer able to attend school. We find the Council was at fault for failing to provide full-time education for Mr and Mrs D’s son when he was out of school or record the reasons part-time provision was suitable for him. The Council has agreed to our recommendations to address the injustice caused by fault.

    Service improvements

    The Council will review its approach to arranging alternative education to ensure that it provides full-time provision or clearly records its reasons for deciding that a part-time timetable will provide a suitable education for the child. The record should include an assessment of how much the child can manage where they are too unwell to access a full-time education.

  • Worcestershire County Council (21 014 866)

    Category: Education Date: 29-Aug-2022

    Summary

    Mr C complained about the home to school travel arrangements made by the Council for his son to get to school. He said the Council had not considered the safety of the route between his home and bus stops his son must use for the journey. We upheld the complaint, finding several flaws in how the Council dealt with this matter; most significantly in denying Mr C a right of appeal. He therefore suffered a missed opportunity to appeal and was put to unnecessary time and trouble. The Council accepts these findings and has agreed action to remedy this injustice.

    Service improvements

    The Council has agreed to carry out a review of two clauses in its home to school transport policy. The first is to ensure it removes a reference that the Council cannot consider the safety of the route from home to designated bus drop-off and collection points as part of an appeal against a school transport offer. The second is to consider the role of its Customer Relations Officers in screening requests for home to school transport appeals at the second stage of that procedure. As matters stand both clauses appear incompatible with statutory Government guidance.The Council will revise its online appeal form for parents who want to appeal a home to school transport decision. This is to make clear they can appeal a decision about the transport offer made.The Council agreed to brief all relevant staff within the school transport service and its corporate complaints team on the procedural improvements agreed as a result of this investigation.

  • Worcestershire County Council (20 010 788)

    Category: Education Date: 26-Apr-2022

    Summary

    Mr B complains the Council did not provide services outlined in his son, Y’s, EHCP after he transferred from another local authority. He says the Council placed Y in an unsuitable school and delayed in reviewing the EHCP, which had a significant negative impact on his son’s education and development. The Ombudsman finds the Council at fault for delay in completing a reassessment, not providing the services set out in Y’s existing EHCP and not considering Mr B’s complaint in line with its complaint procedure.

    Service improvements

    Review its procedures for when students with EHCP’s transfer to its area from another local authority. Update that procedure to ensure it has systems in place to provide the support outlined in those students’ existing EHCPs, until such time as the Council completes any review and issues a new EHCPReview and update its complaint procedure to ensure it investigates complaints where the person has asked for a monetary remedy, unless it is clear the correspondence is a letter before claim, and to clarify that with the person making the complaint if necessary

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