Dealing with problems at school

This advice applies to Scotland. See advice for See advice for England, See advice for Northern Ireland, See advice for Wales

There are things you can do if your child is having a problem at their local council school.

You might be responsible for a child if you:

are their parent
are their guardian
have parental responsibilities for them.

If your child goes to an independent school, you should check the terms of your contract with the school for information on how to solve a problem.

If you can't resolve a problem yourself, you should get advice, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. Find out how to contact an adviser.

School rules and policies

School rules are normally decided by the head teacher. There are no laws about school rules. But, there’s a general principle that they should be reasonable. Schools should have a handbook which includes information on policies such as discipline, homework and uniform.

If you’re unhappy with a school rule, or you think it’s unreasonable, you can challenge it using the procedure for dealing with problems at school.

Access to education records

The local council keeps information about each pupil’s educational progress. They must also keep a record of other information for example:

the child's health history
family and emergency contact details
previous schools the child has attended
anything which impacts on the child's education

These records must be kept for 5 years after the pupil has stopped receiving school education. You can ask to see your child's educational records. The school or local council must show them to you for free within 15 school days. There might be a fee to get a copy of the records. A child over 12 can also request to see their educational records.

How to deal with problems at school

In most cases, you can solve a problem by talking to the school. If that does not solve the problem, you might have to take further action. For example, contacting the local council, or making a formal complaint.

If this is the case, you can get advice, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. Find out how to contact an adviser.

Talk to the teacher

If possible, it’s usually helpful to talk to your child's teacher about the problem before taking further action. Problems are often resolved at this stage.

If not, the teacher might have additional information to support you. If the child is at a secondary school, you should contact the guidance teacher first if the problem is a general one.

Talk to the head teacher

Decisions about school rules are often made by the head teacher. The head teacher should make decisions:

with the parent council or equivalent body
in line with the local council’s policies.

The headteacher can delegate responsibility for dealing with individual pupil’s problems to another member of staff but, you can ask to meet the headteacher if you prefer.

Talk to other parents

If you think that your child’s problem might also be affecting other pupils, you can talk to other parents and take action together.

Talk to the parent council

You can ask the parent council for help to resolve a problem. The parent council cannot take up an individual case but it can discuss the policies and principles involved. Contact the parent council to find out how to raise the problem at a meeting.

Complain to the local council

Depending on what the problem is, you might be able to complain to the local council.

You should check with the school or local council if you can appeal and what the process is. You can ask for advice from your local councillors before the appeal.

The local council must comply with the Model Complaints Handling Procedure. There is more information about the Model Complaints Handling Procedure on the Scottish Public Service Ombudsman's website.

Complain to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman

You can complain to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) if you’ve been through the council’s complaints procedure and your problem hasn’t been resolved. The SPSO can look at how the council reached its decision. For example, checking that it followed the correct process. If a decision was made properly, it cannot change it.

Find out how to complain about a public service on the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman website.

Complain to the Scottish government

You can complain to the Scottish government if you think the local council has failed to carry out a duty under education law. This is called a section 70 complain.

Find out more about section 70 complaints on the Enquire website.

Take action for judicial review

Judicial review is a special procedure you can use to challenge decisions made by public authorities. Judicial review applications must be made to the Court of Session.

Judicial review can only be used when there are no other ways of challenging a decision. Before you take court action you should always try to resolve the problem in other ways if you can.

Start a case under the Human Rights Act 1998

You could consider starting a court case under the Human Right Act 1998 if you think a public authority has breached your human rights. This type of action is difficult, and you would need a solicitor to represent you. Legal aid might be available.

Find out more about challenging human rights breaches.

Problems about attendance

You have a duty to ensure that your children are educated. If a child fails to attend school without reasonable excuse, you might be considered responsible.

You can find guidance on school attendance on the Scottish government website.

Truancy

Truancy is when a pupil is off school without permission. If you find out that your child is truanting, you should try to resolve the problem as soon as possible. You should speak to the head teacher and any other school staff who know your child.

Your child’s schools must do what they can to find out why your child is truanting. They must listen to you and your child’s concerns.

If the local council decides that your child does not have a reasonable reason for being off school, and the problem cannot be solved, they can make an attendance order. If you’re served with an attendance order, you’re under a duty to get your child to school regularly.

If a school feels that it cannot work with you to improve your child’s attendance at school, it might involve other services like social work. If the school feels that there is still not enough progress it might decide to make a referral to the Children’s Reporter. The Reporter is the person who will decide if a child needs to be referred to a Children’s Hearing.

Holidays during term time

If you want to take your child on holiday during term-time, you should write to the head teacher explaining why. Schools should only authorise family holidays during term time in exceptional circumstances. For example, when a family needs to spend time together following a crisis. If you take your child away from school without permission, action could be taken against you.

If your child is too ill to attend school

The local council should arrange suitable education if your child cannot attend school because they’re sick or injured. This could be in hospital schools, hospital teaching units, or tuition at home.

If your child is admitted to hospital, their educational needs should be assessed as soon as possible after admission. All children admitted to hospital for more than 5 working days have a right to planned education.

If it’s unclear how long a child is going to be away from school, education should be arranged as soon as possible. The school might give your child work to do at home. The education authority can provide home visiting teachers.

Get more information if your child is too unwell to attend school on the Enquire website.

Problems about behaviour

Teachers can take reasonable non-physical action to deal with negative behaviour. This should be fair, reasonable and in line with school and government policy. The school behaviour policy should be available to parents.

Exclusion

Exclusion is when a school sends a pupil home from school and does not allow them to return for a certain number of days. It should only be used as a last resort.

A school can only exclude your child if:

you do not comply, or you do not let your child to comply, with the school's rules, or
allowing your child to continue attending the school would seriously harm the learning or well-being of other pupils.

If your child is excluded from school, you must be told on the day the decision is made. A meeting to discuss the exclusion. This meeting must take place within 7 days.

Within 8 days of excluding your child the school must write to tell you:

why your child was excluded
any conditions that must be met before your child can return to school
about the right to appeal the exclusion.

While a pupil is excluded, the local council still has a duty to educate the child. It must arrange for the pupil to receive suitable education. This could be at:

another school
an educational unit
home.

These arrangements should be put in place within 10 days of the exclusion.

Problems about the curriculum

Schools must provide adequate and efficient education suitable to the age, aptitude and ability of each child.

The current national curriculum is called the Curriculum for Excellence. It covers 8 broad subject areas:

languages
mathematics
expressive arts
health and wellbeing
religious and moral education
sciences
social studies
technologies.

Find out more about the Curriculum for Excellence on the Education Scotland website.

Choice of subjects

Schools teach a range of subjects. A secondary school pupil can usually choose which subjects they study. Speak to the head teacher if your child’s school does not offer the subjects they want to study. The school might be able to re-timetable subjects if there’s demand for a particular subject. You could also ask the school if your child can study the subject at another school.

If other pupils are also affected, you could ask the school with the other parents. You might be able to involve the parent council or equivalent body.

Exam results

If you have concerns about your exam results, you can use the free appeals service at the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA). You can appeal directly to the SQA or ask your school to do this for you.

Find out more about the appeals service on the Scottish Qualifications Authority website.

Homework

Homework is not a legal requirement. Each school's handbook for parents should say what its homework policy is.

If you’re unhappy about the homework expected for your child, you should discuss this with the school. You can ask the school to explain the amount of homework set and how long it should take to complete.

Additional support needs

Pupils might need extra help with their education for a range of reasons, for example:

the learning environment isn't right for them
family circumstances are affecting their ability to learn
they are disabled or have a health condition
they are experiencing social or emotional problems.

In most cases, the local council where you live will have legal responsibility to make sure your child has the support they need. Education for pupils with additional support needs is usually provided in mainstream schools. There are special schools in Scotland for children who have very specific or complex additional support needs.

If you are not happy with the additional support that is being given by the school, you should speak to the school first. If you’re not satisfied with the outcome, you can follow your local council’s complaints procedure.

If you cannot resolve the problem with the local council, you can take the case to the Additional Support Needs Tribunal for Scotland. A child aged 12 to 15 can take the case to the tribunal.

Find out more about information on additional support for learning on the Enquire website.

English as a second language

There is no requirement for schools to teach English as a second language. Yu can ask your local council if they have a policy on this.

Your child might be considered to have additional support needs if their first language is not English and might be able to access extra help. A child should not be defined as having additional support needs only because their first language is not English.

Religious education

Schools in Scotland must provide religious education and time for religious observation. Religious observation means doing things that your religion asks you to do, like praying or going to church. You can withdraw your child from taking part in religious education or observation. The school should let you know how to do this.

Pupils cannot withdraw from religious education or observation. It can only be done by a parent or carer. Schools should involve pupils in discussions about their school experience and take their views into account.

If you withdraw your child from religious education or observation, the school must arrange an alternative activity.

Sex education

All schools should provide sex education. The Scottish government has guidance for teachers on how it should be taught. Schools should consult parents when developing or reviewing their sex education lessons. Parents should be able to see the teaching materials which will be used.

If you’re concerned about what your child will be taught, you should speak to the head teacher of the school. You can withdraw your child from the sex education lessons. You should discuss this with the head teacher. You cannot withdraw your child from lessons in the general curriculum which might relate to aspects of reproduction, sex, sexuality and morality.

Discrimination in education

It’s against the law for a school or local council to discriminate against pupils, including prospective or past pupils, because of a protected characteristic. If your child is treated unfairly by their school because of who they are, it might be unlawful discrimination. If they’ve experienced unlawful discrimination, you might be able to do something about it.

Find out more about discrimination in education.

If your child is experiencing bullying or aggressive behaviour because of who they are, these instances of discrimination might be classed a hate crime

You can check if you've experienced a hate crime.

The public sector equality duty in education

Schools must comply with the public sector equality duty. This is in addition to their duty not to discriminate against you.

The duty makes public authorities think about discrimination and the needs of people who are disadvantaged or suffer inequality, when they make decisions about how they provide their services and implement policies.

You can use the public sector equality duty to challenge policies or decisions by a school that discriminate against or disadvantage your child because of who they are.

Find out more about the public sector equality duty.

Bullying

Bullying can take many forms. It can be:

direct- either physical or verbal
indirect- ignoring a pupil or not talking to them.

Some forms of bullying, for example, online-bullying, can be anonymous. The bullying behaviour does not always take place at school.

The Scottish government recommends that schools have an anti-bullying policy. The policy should set out how bullying should be dealt with in the school. Most local councils will also have an anti-bullying policy.

You might want to keep your child at home if your child is too scared to go to school or you’re worried about their safety. This could be in breach of your legal duty to send your child to school. You should tell the school about the bullying and continue to communicate the difficulties until the bullying stops. If the school has not been told about the bullying it will have no legal duty to stop it.

You should report the bullying to the police if the bullying involves a criminal offence, for example:

assault
harassment
intimidation
extortion

The bully could be prosecuted if they’re aged 12 or over.

If you feel that the school or local council has breached its duties to your child, you can get advice from a solicitor about other legal action that you could take.

Find more information on raising a concern about bullying on the Respectme website.

Online bullying

Online bullying is bullying that takes place by mobile phone or over the internet through e-mails, instant messaging and social networking websites. For example:

sending threatening or abusive text messages
sharing embarrassing videos or images

Find out more about online bullying on the Respectme website.

Get help with bullying

Respectme is Scotland's national anti-bullying service. It provides information and advice about bullying.

Find information about bullying for parents and carers on the Respectme website. Children and young people can call Childline Scotland or chat to them online. Childline is open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Their counsellors will listen and support children with anything they’d like to talk about.

Find out how to contact Childline.

Parents can call the Children First support line or chat to them online. They give free, confidential advice about many parenting issues, including bullying.

Find out how to contact the Children First support line.