Thank you for contacting the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s
(PHSO) Freedom of Information and Data Protection Team. This is to confirm
we have received your request. If you have made a request for information
under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or Environment Information
Regulations 2004, we aim to respond to your request within 20 working days
in accordance with the statutory time frames set out in both Acts. If you
have made a request for personal information held by the PHSO, your
request will be processed as a Subject Access Request under the provisions
of the Data Protection Act 2018 and we aim to respond within one calendar
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will need to inform us of this and confirm your current address as soon as
possible. Angharad Jackson Data Protection Officer & Assistant Director
Information Assurance Office of the Parliamentary and Health Service
Ombudsman PHSO CityGate 47-51 Mosley Street Manchester M2 3HQ
[email address]

Dear Della Reynolds,
Thank you for your request for information from the Parliamentary and
Health Service Ombudsman. Your request has been handled in accordance with
the Freedom of Information Act 2000. about :

In a recent article in HSJ Rob Behrens discusses a 'portfolio of
professional training' and the 'creation of an Ombudsman Academy' (the
first in Europe).

Our Response:

The Ombudsman Academy was discussed at the most recent IOI Europe Board
meeting where the staff of the Board members agreed to meet separately to
discuss, however, we do not hold much information on it as it is something
we are looking to do but not yet created.

Please find the only document we hold of the discussions held about
creating the Ombudsman Academy.

Right of appeal

If you believe we have made an error in the way we have processed your
information request, it is open to you to request an internal review. You
can do this by writing to us by post or by email to
[PHSO request email]. You will need to specify what the
nature of the issue is and we can consider the matter further. Beyond
that, it is open to you to complain to the Information Commissioner’s
Office (www.ico.org.uk).

Should you have any further enquiries about your information rights
request, please reply to this message or contact the Information Rights
Team at [1][PHSO request email].

Yours sincerely

Angharad Jackson

Data Protection Officer

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

PHSO CityGate

47-51 Mosley Street

Manchester

M2 3HQ

E: [2][email address]

W: [3]www.ombudsman.org.uk

For information rights enquiries, please contact
[4][PHSO request email]

Want to know more about your information.

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Dear Della Reynolds,

Thank you for your correspondence of 26^th June 2023 in which you
requested an information from The Parliamentary and Health Service
Ombudsman. Your request has been handled in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.

We will summarise the previous requests related to the same subject.

On the 15 May 2023 you asked.

“In a recent article in HSJ Rob Behrens discusses a 'portfolio of
professional training' and the 'creation of an Ombudsman Academy' (the
first in Europe).

1. Please provide all held data with regard to the Ombudsman Academy

2. In particular who sets the curriculum and who accredits the standards.”

On 20^th June 2023 PHSO responded as follows:

“The Ombudsman Academy was discussed at the most recent IOI Europe Board
meeting where the staff of the Board members agreed to meet separately to
discuss, however, we do not hold much information on it as it is something
we are looking to do but not yet created.

Please find the only document we hold of the discussions held about
creating the Ombudsman Academy.

We attached the only document we held.

Time for response:

PHSO should have responded to your request by 13 June 2023, we responded
outside the 20-working day limit established under Section 10 of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000. We apologise for this delay.

On 22 June 2023 you responded to our request, there is an argument that
this was a request for an internal review however we have treated this as
a new and separate request.

“Thank you for sending the attachment with regard to the Ombudsman
Academy. It doesn't really answer my question as to who sets the
curriculum and who accredits the qualification as this project is in the
very early stages of development.

The document states that PHSO already has a 'training unit' so could you
please supply me with the information on who sets the curriculum and who
accredits the qualification in regard to this active training unit?

Our response:

There was some confusion around the wording of your initial request of 15
May. We understood your request to mean the International Ombudsman
Academy we provided you with the documents we held in relation to that.

However, having read the report to which your initial request related we
believe the article and the specific paragraph.

The significant achievements in professional development included a
portfolio of professional training to promote better investigations and
aligned to patient safety issues, the requirement that senior caseworkers
be accredited to demonstrate their competence, and the creation of an
Ombudsman Academy (the first in Europe) to oversee the development of a
generation of new case handlers as the office expanded and most casework
staff moved to Manchester.

Relates to the Casework Academy, the Casework Academy is Internal training
for case workers to improve professionalism it is not a qualification.
Please find attached an extract form the Learning and Development
Curriculum relating to the casework academy.

The casework academy is structured to provide practical support and the
training in the first 10 months of caseworker’s time at PHSO. We measure
caseworkers against existing policies and guidance such as the Quality
Standards and Measures and adherence to the Service Model Guidance.

Caseworkers are expected to develop over the ten months and in that time
all their work is quality checked by an accredited senior caseworker or
their line manage, who is an operations manager.

Please note the document contains redaction of personal information
relating to a member of staff. That information is exempt under section
40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 by virtue of section
40(3)(a)(i).

In response to your request 22 June and further questions about the
document you were sent. There is no curriculum of active training taking
place in relation to the Ombudsman Academy. This is the only document we
hold in relation to the Ombudsman Academy. The Ombudsman Academy is still
in the planning stage as the document says in relation to the training
unit.

“In the office of the PHSO there already exists a training unit. This unit
could be the inspiration for the development of this Ombuds academy.”

The document uses the word “could” as previously stated the Ombudsman
Academy is still in the planning stage and to date there is no curriculum
and no qualifications.

We hope that this information is useful.

If you believe we have made an error in the way we have processed your
information request, it is open to you to request an internal review. You
can do this by writing to us by post or by email to
[1][PHSO request email]. You will need to specify what the
nature of the issue is and we can consider the matter further. Beyond
that, it is open to you to complain to the Information Commissioner’s
Office ([2]www.ico.org.uk).

Yours sincerely

Freedom of Information/Data Protection Team
Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
PHSO CityGate
47-51 Mosley Street
Manchester
M2 3HQ

E: [3][PHSO request email]
W: [4]www.ombudsman.org.uk
Want to know more about your information rights? Read our privacy notice

References

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http://www.ombudsman.org.uk/