Summary
Mrs C complained that before a class reorganisation, the head teacher of her daughter (Miss A)'s school failed to consult in a reasonable way with Mrs C. Mrs C said that the need to consult was important because Miss A had previously been bullied and had health issues. Mrs C said that when she complained about this to the council, the council failed to handle her complaint reasonably.
We investigated the complaint and found that the council had followed their stated policy. The head teacher informed parents of the forthcoming changes as soon as possible and meetings were held with them. While Mrs C was concerned about her daughter's health, there was no evidence that she had raised this or bullying issues with the school. Once the council became aware of these issues, they looked into them. We therefore did not uphold this aspect of Mrs C's complaint.
However, the council's response to Mrs C's complaint was confused and took too long. We therefore upheld this aspect of Mrs C's complaint.
Recommendations
We recommended that the council: make a formal apology for their delay; and remind relevant staff of the importance of adhering to the stated complaints process.
Related reading
View Decision Report 201508009 as a PDF (12.52 KB) Updated: March 13, 2018