Case Ref: 21 018 572 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Other

• The Council has agreed to remind relevant staff they should cooperate with statutory complaintinvestigations in a timely manner.
• The Council has agreed to identify and implement a way to facilitate indirect contact between children in careand their families that is resilient to changes in staffing.

Case Ref: 21 018 357 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• 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.

Case Ref: 21 016 577 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Charging

• The Council agreed to review how it records and monitors complaints to ensure that it properly records and responds to all requests for escalation to the second stage of its complaints procedure.

Case Ref: 21 014 866 Category: Education Sub Category: School transport

• 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.

Case Ref: 20 010 788 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• 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 EHCP
• Review 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

Case Ref: 21 001 400 Category: Education Sub Category: School transport

• The Council has agreed to: •identify the lessons learnt from Mrs T’s case where the parental preferred school was nearer than the school offered by the Council
• •share the identified lessons learnt with all staff who deal with school transport assistance applications.

Case Ref: 20 012 753 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will share the final decision with staff as part of continuing training to prevent a recurrence.
• The Council will share the final decision with the Councillor who acts as Lead Member on Education so they may reflect onthe lessons that may need to be learned.
• The Council will report to the Ombudsman progress made in its audit of other cases where a child may have beenleft in a similar position.

Case Ref: 20 008 729 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Safeguarding

• The Council has agreed to share the lessons learned with staff involved in Adult Social Care Safeguarding Investigations.

Case Ref: 20 005 918 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Looked after children

• The Council will review criteria used to decide when a symbolic financial remedy maybe offered to address faults similar to those identified in this statement.

Case Ref: 20 002 208 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council has agreed to: • by training or other means remind staff of the importance of meeting the Council’s complaint procedure timescales.
• • review the Council’s alternative provision policy to ensure it is in line with the Statutory Guidance. This should include a review of the Medical Team’s function in discharging the Council’s duty to ensure there are no delays in making alternative provision when a child is out of school for 15 days due to health needs.
• • undertake a further audit of 25% of EHC Plan assessments completed in the last 12 months as part of the monitoring process to ensure the process have become embedded and issues of delays have been addressed.