Parent unhappy with council's response to teacher complaint
A Highland Perthshire mother is unhappy with the outcome of a council investigation into her complaint that her child had sticky tape placed across their mouth by a teacher.
- By Sandra Gray
- Published in the Courier : 12.01.12
- Published online : 12.01.12 @ 06.08pm
Perth and Kinross Council investigated the complaint but allowed the teacher to keep their job.
A councillor who was informed of the case said the tape incident ''was ill-advised but not malicious''.
It is thought the teacher took the action as noise levels grew to a crescendo in a lesson in June.
The mother of the pupil said she was ''shocked'' and demanded action. She said she could not believe it when her child came home and said what the teacher had done.
She said: ''I contacted the school straight away, but I was given no explanation as to how this had happened or why someone had felt the need to do this to a child. My husband and I just felt that this was completely unacceptable.''
After failing to get an answer from anyone at the school, the mother made a formal complaint to Perth and Kinross Council's education department.
The complaints were upheld at two stages of the formal procedure but the teacher was allowed to keep their job and remains in post after receiving advice on how to deal with disciplinary issues in the future.
The mother said: ''I am really disappointed by this because I had hoped that the council would have taken it a lot more seriously. Something should be done and I can't understand why it hasn't already.
''I have been given the option of going to the ombudsman and General Teaching Council, but I haven't decided to proceed with that yet. I don't know if I will go ahead with this because these things can take a considerable length of time to be resolved.''
She added: ''No one has ever given me any explanation for why this incident happened and why no further action has been taken.''
The incident is likely to be in an upcoming comprehensive report on the primary school.
Councillor Ian Campbell said he instigated an inquiry after complaints from parents and a poor inspection report.
Mr Campbell, who called the incident ''ill-advised but not malicious'', told The Courier most concerns raised by parents were about discipline and educational issues.
He said: ''The quality of teaching was one of the points that came through quite strongly, as were the actions of a couple of teachers.
''Obviously the parents will have concerns and we will discuss the report and decide what the next course of action is.
''Not only have they have had to put up with a not particularly great HMIE report, but also this disciplinary issue, so I hope that we as an education authority can get a grip and I am sure that things will improve so that parents will have greater confidence in the school.''
Although the council refused to comment, a spokeswoman said there is a ''well-developed'' procedure to investigate issues.
She said: ''We would like to stress again that we will always take very seriously and look into any concerns raised with us regarding any of our schools. Information will be gathered from, as necessary, staff, parents and pupils in order for the headteacher or another senior officer to come to a judgment and recommend any appropriate action, dependent on the nature and outcome of the complaint.''
She added: ''In addition, the council has also recently undertaken a review of issues raised by some parents in relation to the school. As part of the review process, the opportunity for a one to one discussion with an independent education officer was offered to all parents of pupils at the school and to all staff.''
The Courier asked for an interview with the teacher but our request was refused by the council.
09.02pm - 12.01.2012 Thornindaside - perth, scotland Report This
The council may well have a well developed prcedure to investigate issues but they obviously still have not developed the sense to involve all stakeholding partners i.e. in this case the parents who made the complaint.Councils are very insular,ombudsman complaints outcomes often of limited scope.
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