Decision report 201103627

Summary

Mr C, a former teacher, complained that the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) did not respond reasonably to complaints that he and his school submitted about examinations. We upheld Mr C's complaint, as we found that the SQA's initial responses did not adequately address the complaints raised, and there was a significant delay in providing an appropriate response to the points Mr C had raised. In addition, the SQA should have informed the school that there would be a delay in responding to one of their letters because the matters raised were to be discussed at a meeting.

However, before Mr C complained to us, the SQA had reminded relevant staff that they should ensure that they provided appropriate information in response to all incoming enquiries and complaints. They had also reminded staff of the importance of adhering to the timescales set out in their customer complaints process. We, therefore, only made one recommendation.

Recommendations

We recommended that the Scottish Qualifications Authority:

• issue a written apology to Mr C for failing to adequately address the issues raised in their responses to the initial correspondence and the delays in responding to some of the complaints.