Agenda item

Ian Anderson, Complaints and Service Improvement team, introduced the annual complaints report for 2017-18. The report predominantly focussed on Education services as other complaint areas were to be covered by reports to other Policy Overview Committees.

Key points of the report were highlighted, and included:

Education complaints were logged for issues that the Council could address, such as complaints regarding school admissions. Complaints that the Council was unable to deal with included issues with head teachers or pupils, which would be addressed through the school’s complaints procedure. Complaints from parents had increased, as parent complaints to Ofsted were now referred directly to the Council to address.

In the last year, education complaints had risen from six complaints to thirty three, of which twenty nine were referrals from Ofsted. It was expected that this would continue to increase. Approximately 95% of Ofsted complaints related to primary schools, and of the thirty three Stage 1 complaints, two were partially upheld, thirty were not upheld, and one was withdrawn. There were no Stage 2 or 3 complaints within the period.

Time to respond to formal complaints was now 9.36 working days on average, The response time was affected by school holidays as concerns raised had to wait for investigation until the school re-opened.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman had investigated one complaint, which concerned a child’s Education and Healthcare Plan. This was a complicated complaint as there was an ongoing court case, with an outcome expected following a hearing in November.

Two compliments had been recorded for 2017/18, though it was likely that more had been received but not recorded. A new process was to be instigated, wherein staff would notify the manager when a compliment was received.

8,502 Member’s Enquiries (ME’s) had been recorded for 2017/18. This was 7% fewer than the preceding year, but this reduction was caused by individual enquiries from the same Councillor, on the same area, being treated as a single enquiry. The number of ME’s relating to education was difficult to confirm due to the way in which they were recorded, but was likely around to be 40-50 across the year.

The Committee sought clarity on a number of points, including:

Would it be possible to record education ME’s by way of a separate email address/inbox?

Yes, this was possible and could be looked into.

Could the officer elaborate on the complaint currently underway in the Court?

The matter related to the school placement named within the child’s Education and Healthcare Plan. A decision on that placement had been made that the Council was now appealing.

Could the complaints reports being presented at other Policy Overview Committees be shared with this Committee?

Yes, the reports would be available within the published papers for those Committee meetings.

Were complaints regarding Hillingdon Academy Primary Schools under the Council’s responsibility?

The referral process had changed, and all Hillingdon schools were now dealt with under a standardised complaints procedure, i.e. to the Head teacher, followed by the Governing body etc. If the complaint was on the matter of leadership and governance at the school, then the council’s School Improvements Team would address the matter through advice on policy or through training.

Why was Ofsted now passing complaints to the Council?

It was felt that the aim was to strengthen Council accountability and allow for richer intelligence gathering. Ofsted now meet with the Council 2-3 times a year, at which meetings the Schools At Risk Register was discussed, alongside other matters. Early notification of complaints was helpful when gathering information for use at those meetings.

Were parents fearful of complaining to the school, due to fears that the child would then be discriminated against?

The information received from schools was that this was not the case. All complaints were dealt with professionally, without resulting in negative repercussions for the child. Teachers were eager to engage with parents, particularly during the formative early years when children were still learning and adapting to the formal school structure.

Could the officer provide additional information on complaints from the last 5 years, to allow for a review of trends etc.?

Yes, the information would be passed to the Committee via the clerk.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the report be noted,

2.    That the process by which Member’s Enquiries regarding Education were processed and recorded be reviewed; and

3.    That complaints information covering the last 5 years be forwarded to the Committee via the clerk.