Bullying Figures

The request was partially successful.

Dear Aberdeen City Council,

Please could you indicate the following.

1. The number of complaints of bullying at Bucksburn School made by parents of children at Bucksburn School occurring during the headship of Mrs Clark.
2. The number of those in 1. above occurring during the period where Mrs Clark has been on a part-time basis at Bucksburn due to a .5 time allocation at Newhills School.
3. The number of those in 1. above whereby the school dealt with the issue to the full satisfaction of the parents involved.
4. The number of those in 1. above whereby the issue was escalated to the attention of Ann Darling or other education adviser.
5. The number of those in 4. above whereby the issue was dealt with by the associated person in 4. above to the satisfaction of the parents involved.
6. The number of on-going cases, such as the case with my own son, where the school has offered to 'continue to assess' the situation, without offering feedback in a continual, continuous and recorded method such as by way of a weekly lettering or email.
7. Whether the number in 6. above is included in the number in 3. above.
8. The number of outstanding complaints of bullying at Bucksburn school, please include the number from 6 above as well as any current cases.
9. A statement of Bucksburn School's policy on bullying and a statement of methodology taken by the school for handling a complaint of bullying.
10. A statement of Aberdeen City Council's policy on the handling of physical violence towards children by other children while being charged with the care of both parties.

For all the above I am happy for numbers of less than 5 to be recorded as such (< 5) for data protection / personal identification reasons.

Yours faithfully,

Billy Fagan

Foi Enquiries, Aberdeen City Council

Dear Mr Fagan,

Thank you for your request for information, made under Section 1(1) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act (FOISA), and received on 14 June 2011.

We would like to ask you to clarify your request so that we can identify and locate the information which you have requested. Under Section 1(3) of the FOISA, we do not have to supply you with the requested information until you have provided us with more detail in this respect.

Because releasing information through FOISA means releasing information into the public domain, we would be prefer not to mention the personal details of third parties in questions. I have therefore reworded some of your questions slightly so they do not include specific names, and I would be very grateful if you could confirm that this re-wording of Questions 1, 2, 4 and 6 still captures the information you are looking for?

1. The number of complaints of bullying at Bucksburn School made by parents of children at Bucksburn School occurring during the headship of Mrs Clark.
1. How many complaints of bullying have been made at Bucksburn School by parents of children at Bucksburn School during the tenure of the current Head Teacher?

2. The number of those in 1. above occurring during the period where Mrs Clark has been on a part-time basis at Bucksburn due to a .5 time allocation at Newhills School.
2. How many complaints of bullying have been made at Bucksburn School by parents of children at Bucksburn School during the period when the current Head Teacher has been working part time at Bucksburn School due to a .5 time allocation at Newhills School?

3. The number of those in 1. above whereby the school dealt with the issue to the full satisfaction of the parents involved.

4. The number of those in 1. above whereby the issue was escalated to the attention of Ann Darling or other education adviser.
4. The number of those in 1. above whereby the issue was escalated to the attention of an education adviser?

5. The number of those in 4. above whereby the issue was dealt with by the associated person in 4. above to the satisfaction of the parents involved.

6. The number of on-going cases, such as the case with my own son, where the school has offered to 'continue to assess' the situation, without offering feedback in a continual, continuous and recorded method such as by way of a weekly lettering or email.
6. The number of on-going cases, where the school has offered to 'continue to assess' the situation, without offering feedback in a continual, continuous and recorded method such as by way of a weekly lettering or email?

7. Whether the number in 6. above is included in the number in 3.above.
8. The number of outstanding complaints of bullying at Bucksburn school, please include the number from 6 above as well as any current cases.
9. A statement of Bucksburn School's policy on bullying and a statement of methodology taken by the school for handling a complaint of bullying.
10. A statement of Aberdeen City Council's policy on the handling of physical violence towards children by other children while being charged with the care of both parties.
For all the above I am happy for numbers of less than 5 to be recorded as such (< 5) for data protection / personal identification reasons.

Clarifying these points will help us to be sure we are providing, where possible, the information you are interested in.

Please note we have 20 days from receipt of your clarification in which to respond, and that we will keep your enquiry on file for 1 month while we await your clarification.

If you have any queries at all, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Yours sincerely,

Jean Reid
FOI Compliance Assistant

FoI Enquiries Team
Resources Management (City Solicitor)
Aberdeen City Council
Town House
Broad Street
Aberdeen AB10 1AQ
Tel: 01224 522875/522521
Fax: 01224 638556
email: [Aberdeen City Council request email]

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Dear Jean Reid,

Thanks for this clarification request.

I am happy for those rewordings yes, I should have probably caught that in the first instance as I did think twice about actual references and decided to leave those as they were already public domain. The one about the boy was probably heart ruling head...

If it's not too much trouble can I also add a question

11. The number of those in 1 above and separately the number of those in 8 above whereby the case was escalated by any parties to include the involvement of the police or other 3rd party (party 1 being the children/parents involved, party 2 being the school/education authority)

Thanks.

Yours sincerely,

Billy Fagan

Foi Enquiries, Aberdeen City Council

Dear Mr Fagan,

Information enquiry reference ENQ10806.

Many thanks for your recent clarification email received on 20 June 2011.

The scheduled date for our response to your request for information is 18 July 2011.

If you have any enquiries in the meantime please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours sincerely,

Jean Reid
FOI Compliance Assistant

Freedom of Information Compliance Team
Legal and Democratic Services
Corporate Governance
Aberdeen City Council
Room 3-5, Third Floor
Old Town House
Broad Street
ABERDEEN AB10 1AQ
Tel: 01224 522875/523430/523602/522875
Fax: 01224 522310
email: [Aberdeen City Council request email]

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Dear Jean Reid,

I would appreciate if this request could be prioritised now as the schools are back in session.

Yours sincerely,

Billy Fagan

Vikki Cuthbert, Aberdeen City Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Fagan,

Please see the attached letter in response to your email below. I
apologise for the delay in responding.

Vikki Cuthbert
Committee Manager/IMLO for Legal and Democratic Services

Legal and Democratic Services
Corporate Governance
Aberdeen City Council
Town House
Broad Street
ABERDEEN AB10 1AQ

email: [email address]
Direct Dial Tel: 522520
Direct Fax No: 523768

Tel No: 522000
www.aberdeencity.gov.uk

>>> Billy Fagan <[FOI #75490 email]> 01/09/2011
09:06 >>>
Dear Jean Reid,

I would appreciate if this request could be prioritised now as the
schools are back in session.

Yours sincerely,

Billy Fagan

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Dear Vikki Cuthbert,

Thanks for your response. At this stage I have no wish to pursue any review as I fully understand that some of the information is delicate in nature and would have been difficult to source at the time of the request. I'm sure the team are doing their best to furnish this information in as timely a manner as possible.

Yours sincerely,

Billy Fagan

Foi Enquiries, Aberdeen City Council

Dear Mr Fagan

Please accept our sincerest apologies for the delay in responding to
your information request of 13 June 2011 and clarified information
request of 18 June 2011, made under the Freedom of Information
(Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA). Aberdeen City Council (ACC) has completed
the necessary search for the information requested.

Please could you indicate the following.

1. How many complaints of bullying have been made at Bucksburn School
by parents of children at Bucksburn School during the tenure of the
current Head Teacher?
Less than 5 verbal complaints. Please note that we have stated 'less
than 5' as we are concerned that to release the low figure would likely
lead to the identification of individuals. Please refer to the attached
Section 38(1)(b) exemption notice.
0 formal, written complaints.

2. How many complaints of bullying have been made at Bucksburn School
by parents of children at Bucksburn School during the period when the
current Head Teacher has been working part time at Bucksburn School due
to a .5 time allocation at Newhills School?
Less than 5 verbal complaints. Please note that we have stated 'less
than 5' as we are concerned that to release the low figure would likely
lead to the identification of individuals. Please refer to the attached
Section 38(1)(b) exemption notice.
0 formal, written complaints.

3. The number of those in 1. above whereby the school dealt with the
issue to the full satisfaction of the parents involved.
Less than 5 verbal complaints. Please note that we have stated 'less
than 5' as we are concerned that to release the low figure would likely
lead to the identification of individuals. Please refer to the attached
Section 38(1)(b) exemption notice.
Each case was dealt with via regular conversations with staff, pupils
and parents involved.

4. The number of those in 1. above whereby the issue was escalated to
the attention of an education adviser?
Less than 5 verbal complaints. Please note that we have stated 'less
than 5' as we are concerned that to release the low figure would likely
lead to the identification of individuals. Please refer to the attached
Section 38(1)(b) exemption notice.

5. The number of those in 4. above whereby the issue was dealt with by
the associated person in 4. above to the satisfaction of the parents
involved.
Less than 5. Please note that we have stated 'less than 5' as we are
concerned that to release the low figure would likely lead to the
identification of individuals. Please refer to the attached Section
38(1)(b) exemption notice.

The verbal complaint/complaints were raised, investigated and responded
to by ACC. However, whether the issue was dealt with to the
satisfaction of the parents involved is not held by ACC as the Council
has not received any verbal or written correspondence from the parents
involved to this effect. Please refer to the attached Information Not
Held notice.

6. The number of on-going cases, where the school has offered to
'continue to assess' the situation, without offering feedback in a
continual, continuous and recorded method such as by way of a weekly
lettering or email?
There are no ongoing cases of complaints of alleged bullying.

It is a matter of course and standard practice for a school to follow
up and continue to monitor both formally and informally any such cases.

7. Whether the number in 6. above is included in the number in 3.
above.
None. There are no ongoing cases of complaints of alleged bullying.

8. The number of outstanding complaints of bullying at Bucksburn
school, please include the number from 6 above as well as any current
cases.
None. There are no outstanding complaints of alleged bullying.

9. A statement of Bucksburn School's policy on bullying and a statement
of methodology taken by the school for handling a complaint of
bullying.
All schools are required to have a policy on anti-bullying which is
shared with parents and carers. Please refer to the attached ENQ10806 -
Anti-Bullying Policy for Bucksburn School. Page 2 of the attached
Policy outlines the School’s processes and procedures in dealing with
any parental complaint relating to bullying.

10. A statement of Aberdeen City Council's policy on the handling of
physical violence towards children by other children while being charged
with the care of both parties.
ACC adopts the national guidance, ‘A National Approach to
Anti-Bullying for Scotland’s Children and Young People’, available
at the following Scottish Government web page:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/... and
‘Included, Engaged and Involved’, Part 2: ‘a positive approach
to managing school exclusions’, available at the following Scottish
Government web page:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/.... The
direct PDF link is:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/....

All ACC schools are working to these guidelines and these approaches
are adopted within the attached Anti-Bullying Policy for Bucksburn
School.

11. (a) The number of those in 1 above whereby the case was escalated
by any parties to include the involvement of the police or other 3rd
party (party 1 being the children/parents involved, party 2 being the
school/education authority)
In relation to the response to Question 1 above, Less than 5 complaints
were brought to the attention of Grampian Police by Party 1. Please
note that we have stated 'less than 5' as we are concerned that to
release the low figure would likely lead to the identification of
individuals. Please refer to the attached Section 38(1)(b) exemption
notice.

11. (b) The number of those in 8 above whereby the case was escalated
by any parties to include the involvement of the police or other 3rd
party (party 1 being the children/parents involved, party 2 being the
school/education authority)
There are no outstanding complaints of alleged bullying.

We are unable to provide you with 5. whether the issue was dealt with
to the satisfaction of the parents involved as it is not held by the
Council. In order to comply with its obligations under the terms of
section 17 of the FOISA, the Council must issue an official notice in
relation to any requests for information not held by it. We therefore
attach an Information Not Held notice.

We are unable to provide you with the exact number of cases in
Questions 1 - 5 and 11 (a) above as it is exempt from disclosure. In
order to comply with its obligations under the terms of section 16 of
the FOISA the Council must issue official refusal notices in relation to
any requests for which it is claiming an exemption under the FOISA. We
therefore attach a refusal notice which specifically refuses your
request under the terms of Section 38(1)(b) - Third Party Personal
Information - of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

We hope this helps with your request.

Yours sincerely,

Anna Buchan
Freedom of Information Compliance Officer

FURTHER INFORMATION

If you are unhappy with the response to your request for information,
or the way in which your request has been handled, you can submit a
complaint or request a review of our response. You should do this 40
days after receipt of this information. To complain or request a review,
write to:

City Archivist
Legal and Democratic Services
Aberdeen City Council
Old Town House
Broad Street
Aberdeen
AB10 1AQ
[email address]

Your request for review must include your name, an address, and your
reason(s) for requesting a review. You should also include the reference
number for your original request for information.

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your request for review,
you can apply directly to the Office of the Scottish Information
Commissioner (OSIC) for a decision. Generally, OSIC cannot make a
decision unless you have been through the Council’s review procedure.
The Scottish Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

The Office of the Scottish Information Commissioner
Kinburn Castle
Doubledykes Road
St Andrews
Fife
KY16 9DS
www.itspublicknowledge.info

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