Complaints – top tips

You should tell someone if something is wrong as soon as possible, while it’s still fresh in your mind. 

Talk to someone you trust and ask them to help you. They can be with you when you complain. You can get help from a trusted adult, for example an advocacy worker, a relative/carer or your social worker.

If you don’t know how to complain, ask someone to help you.

You should write down or tell someone as much as possible. Like what happened and why you are unhappy. You can use our complaints form to do this or write it down somewhere else.

It is your right to complain if you are unhappy about something (it could be a decision about you or actions/behaviour by SCRA staff). People will listen to what you have to say.

Decide what you want to happen and ask for it. Try to be as clear as you can about what you are complaining about. 

You can do this on a notepad or on your mobile phone if you have one. This will help you keep track of things. 

You can ask what’s happening with your complaint or get someone you trust to do it for you.

If you are not happy after we have looked into your complaint, then you can ask someone called the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) to look at your complaint.

Making a complaint isn’t a bad thing. In fact, it is really important children and young people let us know if they are not happy.