Decision Report 202303840

Summary

C is the grandparent of A and B, whose parents were separated. C complained about the actions of the council after A and B’s parent (X) submitted an authorised absence request from school to spend some time abroad. C considered that the council failed to check with A and B’s other parent (Y) that they were in agreement with the proposed absence from school and that the council failed to reasonably assess the risks when granting the authorised absence request.

C complained that the council failed to reasonably assess the authorised absence request. We found that the council failed to reasonably assess the authorised absence request as relevant paperwork was not completed or a rationale documented to support their decision. We upheld the complaint.

C also complained that the council unreasonably failed to inform Y of the request. We found that the council reasonably followed their policy in relation to communicating with Y. We did not uphold this complaint.

Recommendations

What we asked the organisation to do in this case:

• Apologise to C for failing to follow procedure in considering the authorised absence request. The apology should meet the standards set out in the SPSO guidelines on apology available atwww.spso.org.uk/information-leaflets.

What we said should change to put things right in future:

• When considering authorised absence requests appendix 4 should be completed along with a copy of the pupil’s attendance record.

We have asked the organisation to provide us with evidence that they have implemented the recommendations we have made on this case by the deadline we set.