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Case ref:201601383
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Date:March 2017
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Body:Fife Council
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Sector:Local Government
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Outcome:Upheld, recommendations
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Subject:secondary school
Summary
Ms C complained about the council regarding toileting equipment for her disabled child at the two schools the child attended. She told us that she found there had been no suitable toilet chair in place at either school for some time. She said that she then requested appropriate equipment was put in place but that this took a number of months.
We found that it was not reasonable for the council to have failed to ensure appropriate equipment was in place until Ms C brought it to their attention. We also found that there were avoidable delays following Ms C's request. In particular, there was a delay of six weeks due to planned leave for a single member of staff. We considered that the council should have taken steps to ensure appropriate cover was in place given the nature and length of the leave.
We also found that the council had failed to deliver accessories required to install the equipment in one of the schools. After this was identified by an occupational therapist there was a delay of around three months before these were provided. The council failed to provide an explanation for this error or subsequent delays.
During our investigation, we also found that the council had failed to record a number of discussions held with Ms C that related to the care arrangements of her child.
Recommendations
We recommended that the council:
- apologise to Ms C and her child for the failings identified;
- provide us with an explanation for the delays in delivering the missing accessories; and
- review the process for recording review meetings and discussions with parents, to ensure all decisions reached are accurately recorded.