Decision Report 201405071

Summary

Ms C, who is an independent advocate, complained to the council on behalf of her clients (Mr and Mrs A) that their children's school had not addressed their children's support needs, not protected their well-being, treated them unfairly, and that Mr and Mrs A's complaints to the school were not dealt with appropriately.

We reviewed the correspondence between Ms C and the council, their complaints handling procedures and the evidence considered in the council's investigation. We found that there was unreasonable delay in the handling of the complaint as it was not promptly allocated to the investigating officer and, although they apologised for the delay, the council did not explain their error. The investigation, once underway, was thorough and there was no clear evidence to support the views of the parents. As the council had taken steps to address the allocation of complaints and recognised what they needed to put in place to rebuild trust between the parents and the school, we made no further recommendations.