Decision Report 201400853

Summary

Mr and Mrs C complained about the ongoing bullying their son had experienced over a number of years at his school. After several meetings with school staff, Mr and Mrs C complained to the council that the school were not providing a safe environment for their son. They said that not enough was being done to respond to their concerns for their son's welfare and that the issues affecting him continued.

Our investigation found that Mr and Mrs C's son had suffered from bullying behaviour. The council provided evidence of the action being taken in response to the reports of bullying behaviour and that the situation was being monitored. We were concerned that there was a lack of records in relation to the various meetings held with Mr and Mrs C since 2012 when they first reported their concerns. The council provided evidence that records of meetings were now being held and all incidents had been reported and had been investigated where there was sufficient information to do so. The council explained that it was important that all alleged incidents were reported at the time they took place so that the school could follow these up at the time. The council explained that when information was inaccurate or out-of-date, school staff struggled to investigate allegations.

Mr and Mrs C also complained that the council had failed to investigate and respond to their concerns. Based on the available evidence, we were satisfied that the council had agreed the points of concern and had carried out an investigation in line with their complaints process.