Overview
The complainant (Ms C) was concerned that her daughter (Miss A) was not provided with access to educational services by Comhairle nan Eilan Siar (the Council) in that they failed to protect her from bullying at the school she attended (School 1) and unreasonably refused a transport request to allow her to attend a new school (School 2). Ms C was also concerned that her complaints had not been adequately dealt with, in that there were unacceptable delays in the complaints procedure and that the Council failed to provide adequate reasons for their decisions.
Specific complaints and conclusions
The complaints which have been investigated are that the Council:
- (a) failed to provide Miss A with educational services by failing to take appropriate steps to protect her from bullying at School 1 (not upheld);
- (b) failed to provide Miss A with educational services by unreasonably refusing a transport request to allow her to attend School 2 (not upheld); and
- (c) failed to deal adequately with Ms C's complaints by constantly delaying the complaints procedure and failing to give adequate reasons for their decisions (not upheld).
Redress and recommendations
The Ombudsman recommends that the Council:
- (i) implement a system to ensure that the receipt of all letters to the Council are logged on the day they are delivered;
- (ii) apologise to Ms C for the failure to acknowledge her letter of 10 October2006 within three working days;
- (iii) review their complaints procedure to ensure that complainants are provided with a formal explanation if the response to a complaint will take longer than the stated timescales;
- (iv) devise and implement a written procedure for the appeals panel element of the Complaints and Appeals procedure; and
- (v) review their communication policies and procedures to ensure that it is clear to recipients what documents should be enclosed with letters from the Council.
The Council have accepted the recommendations and will act on them accordingly.