Decision Report 202104315

Summary

C complained that the council failed to communicate with them reasonably in respect of the strategies used to prevent their child (A) being bullied at school by another pupil (B). Specifically, C complained about not being aware of the strategy in place for B at lunchtimes which resulted in A meeting B unaccompanied. C also complained about the effectiveness of the strategies used to protect A from B, noting their particular concern about both pupils being taught in the same location. However, in accordance with the SPSO Act 2002 we refrained from commenting on the quality of the strategies used. Rather, we investigated whether the council had acted in keeping with their policies and procedures.

We found that the council had implemented strategies in line with their policies and procedures, and that these were kept under review. We also found evidence of regular communication with C and A. Of note, the incident where A encountered B occurred outside of school grounds. As the strategies in place where only applicable within the school and its grounds, we did not find the communication with C on this matter to be unreasonable. We also concluded that the strategies implemented by the school were in keeping with the council's policies and procedures and that steps had been taken to mitigate against A encountering B.

Therefore, we did not uphold C's complaint.