Complaints
As a parent, you may have a query or a worry about an aspect of your child's schooling. This procedure explains the stages you can go through to resolves your concerns.
The Informal Stage
In the first instance, please contact your child's class teacher by contacting the school office. Experience has shown that most difficulties can be solved satisfactorily at this informal stage.
Where the complaint is about a member of staff, the complainant should speak to the Headteacher (or deputies in her absence) who will arrange an informal mediation between the member of staff and the complainant to see if a resolution can be reached. If you are still not satisfied you will need to move on to:
The Formal Stage
Please contact the Headteacher in writing and ask for an appointment to discuss the matter, giving details of your concerns. The Headteacher will look into the issues you have raised and respond once the relevant facts have been established.
In the unlikely event that the Headteacher is unable to resolve the issues to your satisfaction, write to the Chair of the Governing Body, c/o the school. The Chair or a nominated Governor will investigate and respond directly to you.
The Panel Hearing Stage
Very few parental concerns reach this formal stage. A formal complaint is heard when all previous stages have been undertaken and the issue remains unresolved.
If you decide to take this formal action, you will need to write to the Governing Body (via the Clerk to the Governors), at the school, stating you wish to make a formal complaint. The Governing Body will convene a small panel of governors, who have not been involved previously, to look at the details you raise.
You will be invited to attend a meeting of the panel to discuss your complaint. The clerk will aim to find a date within 15 school days of the request, where possible.
After fully considering your complaint, the school will inform those involved of the decision in writing within 5 school days (excluding those which fall in the school holidays) of the date of the meeting.
For most complaints about the school, the decision of the panel is the last stage in the procedure. However, there are certain types of complaints for which you need to move forward to:
The School Complaints Unit
If you are unsatisfied with the outcome of the school's complaints procedure, you can refer your complaint to the School Complaints Unit (SCU), which investigates complaints relating to maintained schools on behalf of the secretary of state.
