South Ayrshire Council child friendly complaints procedure

South Ayrshire Council is committed to listening to our customers and making sure that we take action when something goes wrong. Complaints are a valuable form of feedback and can provide an opportunity for us to learn how to improve our services and make things better for everyone. Children and young people have rights under the United Nations Convention on The Rights of the Child (UNCRC), and our Child Friendly Complaints Handling Procedure sets out how we will process complaints which are made by or on behalf of children in conjunction with additional guidance from the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman:

Further information for children and young people as well as responsible adults is available below.

For Children and Young People

The Council provides a lot of services to everyone who lives in South Ayrshire, including children and young people. If something goes wrong with a service you're using, we want to make sure the problem is sorted as quickly as possible, so you can be happy and safe. There is some information below which tells you how children and young people can make a complaint, and what we will do if you complain. What's really important to remember is that if something is going wrong and you complain about it, you will be taken seriously and you won't be in trouble for making a complaint.

Who can complain?

Anybody who uses Council services can complain to the Council about it. This includes children and young people, who under Article 12 of the UNCRC have the right to:

express their views, feelings and wishes in all matters affecting them
to have their views considered and taken seriously

What kind of things can I complain about?

Schools and children's social work services in South Ayrshire are run by the Council. If something is worrying you at school or about how we provide care to you, then you can talk to someone you trust there first, but if something isn't right then you have the right to complain about it. Some things we can't look at through our complaints procedure, like things which are in court, but we will tell you if it's something we can't look at.

There might be other Council services that you use where something has gone wrong that you want to tell us about. This might include some playparks, leisure centres and swimming pools, activity centres, public toilets, libraries and Young Scot cards.

When should I complain?

If something's gone wrong with a service you use and you decide to complain, you should try to do it as soon as you know about the problem. This will make it easier to fix things. Also, we sometimes can't look at a complaint more than six months after it's happened.

How do I complain?

If something has gone wrong, you can either make a complaint yourself here or by contacting us by phone, email or post, or you can ask someone you know to help you. This could be a parent, carer or family member, or you could choose someone else you trust to help you make your complaint. Even if you ask someone else to help you or make a complaint for you, the complaint is still yours and if you're old enough, we will check that you are happy for someone else to make the complaint for you.

If you want someone like a teacher or support worker to help you make a complaint, then they will listen to your complaint, ask any questions they need to make sure they fully understand what has gone wrong, and talk to you about what you want to happen.

You have a right to privacy under Article 16 of the UNCRC, so it's important to know that if you make a complaint to the Council, the details will be kept private. We won't share your views with anyone without your permission, unless we have to to investigate your complaint or keep you safe. This includes telling your parents that you have complained, unless you decide you want us to, or we have to because of your age or what's happened. We will always check with you before sharing the details of your complaint.

What happens when I've complained?

Once you've made your complaint, someone who works for the Council will investigate by looking into what's gone wrong and finding out what happened. Once the complaint has been investigated, you'll get a reply which lets you know what we have found during our investigation and what to do if you're still not happy. If someone else has complained for you, they will get the response and share it with you.

If you have asked someone to help you make your complaint, whoever you have chosen you will talk you through the reply to make sure you understand what has happened. You'll be able to ask questions and whoever you have chosen to support you will listen to your views and talk with you about what to do next if you're still not happy.

How long will it take?

Our complaint procedure has two stages with different timescales. Which stage and how long your complaint will take depends on how serious and complicated your complaint is:

Stage 1 - usually one week
Stage 2 - usually one month

Your complaint will usually be a stage 1 first, so you will get your reply within a week. If you're still not happy you can ask for it to be looked at again. It will go to stage 2 where someone higher up will investigate and reply within a month. Sometimes it's not possible to reply to a complaint in one week or even one month, but we will always stay in contact with you and let you know what's happening if it's going to take longer.

What if I'm still not happy?

If you are still not happy with what we have said after your complaint has been to stage 2, you can ask the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman to look at your complaint. They are separate from the Council and they will check whether or not the Council have dealt with your complaint properly. You can find out more about the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman at: https://www.spso.org.uk/spso.

For Responsible Adults

Adults with primary caring rights and/or responsibilities for a child are considered to be their responsible adult. The Council recognises that where something has gone wrong with service provision to a child or young person, it is likely that a responsible adult will be the one to a complaint, depending on the age and stage of development of the child or young person involved. It is important to note that, as per article 12 of the UNCRC, children have the right to be heard and if the complaint relates to services provided directly to the child in question, then ownership of the complaint lies with the child. If a responsible adult makes a complaint on behalf of a child or young person the Council meets it's responsibility to keep the best interests of the child at the heart of the complaints process (article 5 UNCRC).

If you make a complaint about a service provided directly to a child or young person, and that child or young person is 12 years or older, we will ask you to provide a record that your child has given you informed consent to make a complaint on their behalf.

What is informed consent?

In the majority of cases, the child or children involved will likely be happy for their responsible adult to progress the complaint on their behalf. Where a child has the capacity to make such decisions, South Ayrshire Council will require a record of informed consent.

What is required to establish informed consent?

Informed consent in this context is agreement from the child or children that they fully understand that they are consenting to a complaint being made on their behalf. In order for consent to be considered informed, there must be a record that the child:

Fully understands the nature and subject of the complaints being raised, and the potential outcomes being requested.
Is happy for those complaints to be considered or investigated through the complaints process.
Is happy for the responsible adult or representative in question to raise the complaint and the extent to which they want that person to act on their behalf.
Has said what level of direct contact or updates they would like, if any.
Has been given the opportunity to provide any views they would like to be considered.[MS1]

It is important to note that a child who has provided informed consent retains the right to withdraw that consent at any time, at which point communication with the responsible adult will cease and the child or young person will be the point of contact for communication, should they wish to pursue their complaint.

What is the criteria for determining capacity?

In seeking consent from children in the complaints process, it has been a common practice to assume that a child over 12 has the capacity, and therefore the legal right, to consent. While this is generally appropriate unless potential issues around their capacity are identified, it is important that the converse is not applied. Children under 12 may still have the capacity to fully understand the complaint and potential consequences. If they do, then they have the right to provide or refuse consent and be the primary decision makers on the complaint.

What kind of record of informed consent do you require?

Although we require consent, we want to be as flexible as possible in how the record of consent is provided. Examples can include a child or young person:

Emailing or sending a copy of this mandate to: listeningtoyou@south-ayrshire.gov.uk
Calling 0300 123 0900
Speaking to a member of staff of their choosing
Recording a video or voicenote and emailing us a copy at: listeningtoyou@south-ayrshire.gov.uk

Do you need to tell me if my child has made a complaint, and what if I don't want them to?

The Age of Legal Capacity (Scotland) Act 1991 specifies that, in Scotland, a child reaches the age of legal capacity at 16. However, there are other circumstances when a child under 16 may legally enter into transactions without the involvement or consent of their parent or legal guardian. In light of this and the rights afforded to children and young people by the UNCRC, the Council will consider complaints from children and young people without the support of their responsible adult. Children and young people have a right to privacy as per Article 16 of the UNCRC, and therefore details of a complaint received from a child or young person will not be shared with anyone without their permission. If it is decided that a 3^rd party, including a responsible adult, should be informed of their complaints against their wishes, this will be discussed with the child or young person and their views taken into account regarding how best to make contact with their responsible adult(s). The following flowchart will be used by council officers to aid in determining whether a responsible adult should be informed of a complaint from a child or young person:

What will happen when my child complains?

If a child who you are responsible for makes a complaint, it will be processed under the Council's complaint handling procedure, which is available at: What happens when I complain? - South Ayrshire Council (south-ayrshire.gov.uk). If you are making the complaint on behalf of your child, you will receive a copy of the response with the expectation that you will share this with your child. If they have complained directly, they will receive the response either verbally or on our child-friendly response template. If they have chosen a Council representative to act on their behalf, their representative will talk them through their response and any next steps as appropriate. If you and your child are still dissatisfied after completing our two stage process, you can appeal to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO). Contact details for the SPSO can be found on the SPSO website.