Case Ref: 19 012 447 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council says it should have earlier referred the case to its legal team. As well as that insight, my view is another lesson from this complaint is the importance of always keeping in mind what is in the best interests of the child – my view is officers lost sight of this in their actions over alternative education for D. So the Council has agreed to send a reminder to all relevant staff of these learning points from this complaint.

Case Ref: 19 009 228 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council has agreed to review its procedures and train its staff on adopting statements of special educational need/education health and care plans for children and young adults who move from one local authority area to another. It has agreed to ensure its processes and the training delivered to staff will be in accordance with the relevant statutory guidance.

Case Ref: 20 004 154 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Assessment and care plan

• The Council should review how it monitors that reviews of eligible care needs are carried out every year.
• The Council should remind workers of their responsibilities when carrying out care assessments and recording information and provide training on information recording.
• The Council should review how staff manage case transfers and handovers, and how it communicates with service users when they do not have an assigned social worker.

Case Ref: 19 016 746 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Child protection

• The Council will remind relevant staff of the timescales required in its safeguarding procedures for sending out minutes of Core Group meetings.

Case Ref: 19 015 628 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Charging

• The Council should take action to ensure it routinely enters into a written agreement with any care provider at the start of a placement.
• The Council should take action to ensure it routinely informs service users how it will deal with price increases before entering into a contract with a care provider.

Case Ref: 19 013 687 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Assessment and care plan

• The Council has agreed to remind staff to ensure needs assessments are not delayed and care needs continue to be met while awaiting Continuing Health Care decisions.

Case Ref: 19 013 193 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will share this decision with relevant staff to ensure that learning is taken from this complaint about the need to amend an Education, Health and Care plan when there are significant changes to a child’s circumstances, and the need to provide alternative education if a child is out of education.

Case Ref: 19 012 105 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• The Council will make service improvements to address the officer handover arrangements and cover for vacant posts. The Council agreed to ensure families are notified of changes in case officer within 5 days and to put a system in place to cover vacancies.

Case Ref: 19 011 112 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Friends and family carers

• The Council was at fault for failing to engage with a statutory complaint investigation, failing to complete all the stage two investigating officer's recommendations which it had agreed to, for failing to ensure a child had suitable educational provision for a term, for failing to provide promised help and support, and for delays in handling the complaint. The Council will share a copy of this decision with relevant staff in the complaints department and Special Educational Needs department.
• The Council will circulate a briefing note to staff to be clear with families (of children with Special Educational Needs) about allocation of workers to reduce the potential for unrealistic expectations about service provision. The Council will discuss the briefing note at the next Special Educational Needs management meeting.
• The Council will remind all head teachers of their duties to invite Local Education Authority representatives to Education, Health and Care plan reviews.
• The Council will write to all families (of children with Special Educational Needs) about the legislation which does not require the Council to attend annual reviews of Education, Health and Care plans. The letter will say how the Council will monitor annual reviews when it is absent for those reviews.
• The Council will update its guidance about annual Education, Health and Care plan reviews on its Local Offer website.

Case Ref: 19 010 339 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Charging

• The Council has agreed to remind staff of the need to share personal budgets as soon as they have completed the care and support assessment.