Case Ref: 21 017 403 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• the Council will:consider adding a timeframe for decisions regarding whether the Council has a duty to provide alternative education under s19 to avoid draft and delay for pupils out of school.

Case Ref: 21 016 916 Category: Education Sub Category: School admissions

• the Council should: share this decision with its Education Service;
• review its procedures for cases where a child is not attending school because of issues with a school place
• consider what changes should be made to ensure oversight of cases involving different teams within its Education Service;
• issue guidance to relevant officers about the circumstances in which they should consider the Council’s duties to arrange alternative provision under section 19, or intervene under section 437, and the procedure for considering these duties and recording decisions.

Case Ref: 21 010 556 Category: Benefits and tax Sub Category: Council tax

• Share the learning from this complaint with council tax staff to ensure similar problems do not occur again

Case Ref: 20 011 259 Category: Benefits and tax Sub Category: Council tax

• Update guidance provided to staff

Case Ref: 20 008 975 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will review its Special Educational Needs arrangements to ensure decisions comply with statutory timescales.

Case Ref: 20 007 918 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Assessment and care plan

• The Council has agreed to share the lessons learned with staff within its adult social care department.

Case Ref: 20 005 197 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Child protection

• provide evidence it has shared a copy of this decision with complaint managers to capture learning from it and reminded staff they should follow the statutory complaints procedure.
• provide evidence it has reviewed the way it explains the position about consent to social workers’ access to a child and medical examinations to parents and guardians.

Case Ref: 19 017 570 Category: Education Sub Category: Alternative provision

• the Council will: devise an action plan to ensure professionals provide advice for an EHC needs assessment within six weeks; look to see if the SEN Panels can meet more frequently to limit delays; and provide a case example with names redacted to show how the Council's new s19 policy is working in practice.