Overview
The complainant (Mrs C) raised a number of concerns about the way complaints were dealt with by North Lanarkshire Council (the Council) and the Council's Education Department (the Department).
Specific complaints and conclusions
The complaints which have been investigated are that:
- (a) the Council failed to properly handle complaints made by Mrs C and her husband (Mr C) (upheld); and
- (b) procedures in the Department for considering complaints are biased against the complainant (upheld to the extent that there is insufficient independence in the complaints process).
Redress and recommendations
The Ombudsman recommends that the Council:
- (i) apologise to Mr and Mrs C for the failings identified in the handling of the complaints; and
- (ii) review their complaints process and include an independent element in the final stage of the process for handling complaints about education. Additionally, the Ombudsman suggests that the Council should ensure that information about how to make a complaint about a school or their staff is made available in the Council's schools.