At St Brendan’s Primary we are committed to providing a quality service and achieving the highest standards of conduct. One of the ways in which we can continue to improve our service is by listening and responding to the views of the school community and public.

Managing unacceptable behaviour by complainants.

we understand that circumstances leading to a complaint may result in the complainant presenting to the school as angry and upset. However , we also recognise that the actions of the complainants who are angry, demanding or persistent may result in unreasonable demands on time and resources or unacceptable behaviour towards staff. We will, therefore, apply the council’s policies and procedures to protect staff from unacceptable behaviour from complainants, such as unreasonable persistence, threats or offensive behaviour.

Child Friendly Complaints

In July 2024, the United Nation Convention on the Rights of Children (UNCRC) (Incorporation)(Scotland) Act 2024 made Scotland the first country in the UK, to directly incorporate the UNCRC into domestic law. This Act ensures that children’s rights are central to policy and decision-making, and that their needs are met by public service complaints procedures in Scotland.

Therefore, the views of children and young people should, where appropriate, be sought when a complaint is made about them or affects them. More information is provided in section 7.

Complaint Procedures

Making a Complaint

To make a complaint please contact the Head Teacher, Miss Michelle McShane , in any of the following ways:

Visit the school
Telephone 0141 952 1222
Email headteacher@st-brendans-pri.glasgow.sch.uk

Write to the Head Teacher at St Brendan’s Primary School, 200 Hawick Street , Glasgow, G13 4HG

See our complaint/comment template at the bottom of this page.

Procedures in Response to a Complaint to the School

Stage 1 School

Frontline Resolution (School)

In the case of an issue which is straightforward and easily resolved, requiring little or no investigation the school will:

Acknowledge receipt of and respond to your complaint within 5 working days.
Respond in the right way – for example, with an explanation, or an apology where we have got things wrong.
Provide information about next steps to follow if you are still unsatisfied.
For complaints that are not received locally (for example, by the Education Customer Services) these will be referred to the school for action.
If the complainant remains dissatisfied, they should be referred to Stage 2 of the Complaints process, preferably submitting their complaint in writing along with the reasons why they remain dissatisfied and what they would like to happen as a result of their escalation of the complaint. As in Frontline Response, complainants can choose to make these verbally and this should be referred to the Customer Services Team at the email address belowEducation.CustomerServices@glasgow.gov.uk

Stage 2 Local Authority

A complaint must be escalated to a stage 2 investigation when:

the frontline resolution has failed; the customer remains dissatisfied and requests an investigation into the This may happen immediately, or up to 12 months after the event.
the issues raised are complex and require detailed
the complaint is about the headteacher or head of establishment

If the complaint requires investigation (Stage 2)the Executive Director of Education will appoint an Investigating Officer, it will usually, but not always be the link officer for the school. The appropriate head of service will respond to the complaint within the necessary timescales.

All complaints requiring investigation will be referred to the Customer Care Team at Education, Customer Services who will record them on the complaints record system and forward to appropriate officer for investigation. These complaints will be acknowledged by the Customer Care Team within three working days and the investigating officer must respond within 20 working days. A Stage 2 letter will be signed by the appropriate Head of Service.

Education.CustomerServices@glasgow.gov.uk

If, after investigation, the complainant remains dissatisfied with the response, they can refer their complaint to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman. They will be advised of this as part of the response to the investigation stage.

Adhering to the specified response times for a complaint is important to conclude a complaint satisfactorily and to avoid unnecessary referrals to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman. However, complaints are often received close to extended school breaks, often making it difficult to respond within 5/20 days. In this situation, the Education Customer Complaints Team within Corporate Services will contact the complainant to advise that it may not be possible to conclude their complaint within specified timescales and will seek agreement from the complainant to have the time extended. However, an extension to response times is not automatic in this situation and the complainant may refuse and still refer their complaint to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.

(Scottish Public Service Ombudsman)

If you are still unhappy about the outcome of your complaint, you have the right to have the matter considered by the Scottish Public Service Ombudsman who can be contacted by:

Telephone 0800 377 7330
Visit website www.scottishombudsman.org.uk
Write to the SPSO, Bridgeside House, 99 McDonald Road, Edinburgh, EH7 4NS
You usually need to do this within 12 months of first experiencing the problem about which you are complaining.

St Brendan’s School Complaint/Comment Template

If you have a concern which you would like to raise with the school, please complete page 1 of this form and forward a copy to – Head Teacher, St Brendan’s Primary School, 200 Hawick street Yoker , Glasgow, G13 4HG

Alternately, please contact the Head Teacher by phone on 0141 952 1222 or email headteacher@st-brendans-pri.glasgow.sch.uk

Contact details are optional if you wish to remain anonymous.

Name: _______________________________________ Date: ____________________

Email: _______________________________________ Phone: ___________________

Address: __________________________________________________________

Relationship to the school: _________________________________________________

Nature of complaint