... you can file a formal complaint. These should be: A copy of any written response should be added to the complaint record. If the appearance of bias is sufficient to taint the decision reached, then we recommend that you grant such requests. It’s in everyone’s interest that complaints are resolved at the earliest possible stage. This applies both to maintained schools, Academies and independent schools. All schools must have a complaints procedure and should publish this on their website. Contact the local authority or diocese, as appropriate, in the first instance and then escalate to us, if dissatisfied. Follow all the steps in the school’s complaints procedure to make a formal complaint. Complaints about the content of the national curriculum should be sent to DfE using our contact form. However, in some instances it may be appropriate for the Secretary of State to intervene. Contact the principal to lodge your complaint if it concerns any alleged wrongdoing or student harm matter involving state school staff. We’ll usually only intervene when it is expedient or practical to do so and a governing body or local authority has: Any such intervention will usually be in accordance with the Secretary of State’s powers under Sections 496 and 497 (and 497A in relation to LAs) of the Education Act 1996. In those cases, your complaints procedure should be followed. Most states encourage the student, parent or teacher to first explain their problem to their principal in person before sending a formal complaint letter. Contact your local council or call the police on 101 if you’re told a child is at risk. Complaints about admission appeals for local authority maintained schools are dealt with by the appropriate ombudsman. Nearly all the issues you might feel are worthy of complaint stem from this inescapable fact: there are a lot more children in school, and the school has to try and do something for all of them. Guidance to support effective delivery of remote education is available. Refer to our Data protection: toolkit for schools or the Information Commissioner’s Guide to GDPR for more information. Governing bodies can use learning identified from across the spectrum of complaint investigations to: You must comply with your obligations under the Equality Act 2010. To appoint governors from another school onto the complaints committee, you must enter into a formal collaborative arrangement with another maintained school. Although fulfilling a public function, schools are private places. Take care not to overlook any new aspects to the complaint that you may not have previously considered. If parents or carers are not satisfied with the handling of a request to withdraw their child from RE or the DACW, schools should advise them to follow their complaints procedure. If there’s any reasonable doubt as to a person’s ability to act impartially, they should withdraw from considering the complaint. This concept derives from the principle that justice must not only be done, but be seen to be done. The only exceptions would be if, for example, if you feel that your complaint will not be given a fair consideration due to conflicts of interest. If you cannot find this, ask for a copy. Following changes to the School Information (England) Regulations 2008, since 1 September 2016, maintained schools must publish their complaints procedures on their websites. A state complaint is just one way to resolve a dispute under IDEA. If we do not consider the explanation reasonable, or the deviation justified, we may ask you to revisit the complaint and comply with the published complaints procedure. If the complainant contacts you again on the same issue, the correspondence may then be viewed as ‘serial’ or ‘persistent’ and you may choose not to respond. Complainants can request an independent complaints committee if they believe there is likely to be bias in the proceedings. This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-complaints-procedures/best-practice-advice-for-school-complaints-procedures-2019. Anyone can make a complaint about any provision of facilities or services that a school provides, unless separate statutory procedures apply (such as exclusions or admissions). There’s separate guidance on setting up a complaints procedure for academies and independent schools. If a complainant commences legal action against the school in relation to their complaint, you should consider whether to suspend the complaints procedure, until those legal proceedings have concluded. You need to be able to say yes to all of the following: The case to stop responding is stronger if you agree with one or more of these statements: You should not stop responding just because an individual is difficult to deal with or asks complex questions. A complaint letter to the principal of a school may be sent by a student, parent of a student or a teacher employed in the school. If you have a concern or complaint about the use of seclusion in a school, contact your local Ministry office straightaway. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. Now start the main body of the letter by providing the introduction of the whole issue which is the complaint about the canteen. Stage 1 An informal discussion of your concerns with your child’s teacher would be regarded as stage 1 of the complaints … This includes: The duty on local authorities to consider complaints of this nature was removed under section 45 of the Education Act 2011. When considering a complaint, we review all the evidence provided to us, including the school’s published policies, to determine whether it is appropriate to take any action. Ofsted will consider complaints from parents that relate to the school as a whole. If parents or elder siblings or tution teacher has any complaint with the school teacher or if there is any other concern, Complaint Letter is sent to the Principal or the administration of school. If the whole governing body is aware of the significant detail of a complaint (that is not collectively against them) before the final stage has been completed, you can consider arranging an independent committee to hear the complaint. Any decision made by a school, must also be made in line with the principles of administrative law. A ‘concern’ may be treated as ‘an expression of worry or doubt over an issue considered to be important for which reassurances are sought’. There are a number of different organisations that schools can approach if they require further advice on complaints handling. Store Street You may receive complaints you consider to be vexatious. Individuals wishing to exercise this option should seek independent legal advice. If the letter is aimed at one specific person, include that name. On the top of a formal letter of complaint, include the school board's name and address. The right of withdrawal does not apply to other areas of the curriculum where religious matters may be spontaneously raised by pupils or arise in other subjects such as history or citizenship. Occasionally, you may become the focus of a campaign and receive large volumes of complaints: We recommend you include a separate procedure in your complaints policy to handle complaints of this nature. Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. They do not have to explain why. You can also suggest that the complainant asks a third party to act on their behalf, such as the local Citizen’s Advice. In some cases, injunctions and other court orders have been issued to individuals preventing them from contacting schools direct. It is best you send your letter to the head teacher in the school, all mail to the school will be sent to the normal school address and is sorted accordingly by who the letter is addressed to. You must not limit complaints to parents or carers of children that are registered at the school. You must have an internal whistleblowing procedure for your employees, including temporary staff and contractors. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk. However, you should notify complainants that the matter is being addressed. As the Department has no role in the employment of staff in schools or schools’ day to day management, a complaint about the child’s school and its staff should be made to the school itself. Complaints need to be considered and resolved as quickly, and efficiently as possible. It should not be used as a substitute for an investigation during the formal stages of the complaints procedure. If neither the complainant nor the school considers that mediation will serve any practical purpose at this point, the complainant should not be prevented from moving to the next investigative stage of the complaints procedure. COMPLAINT TIMELINE Day 1: File a complaint with your school district within 6 months of the incident. This is usually by completing a complaint form or writing a letter. If the letter is aimed at one specific person, include that name. However, like everything in life, there are drivers who are exceptions to the rule. It is not sufficient for a federation complaint procedure to only be published on the federation’s website, unless member schools do not have websites of their own. Personal data should only be kept for as long as is necessary for the immediate purpose of processing. You can get free legal advice about schooling and education from Child Law Advice. If this isn’t practical, you may wish to make a written complaint. What’s a State complaint, and why would I file one? If the letter is aimed at the entire board, write “To the School Board.” An email letter of complaint should never be written; instead, always type a formal letter and mail it to the board. A complaint doesn’t necessarily mean that the bus driver will be fired or that he will face punishment, but it does put the complaint on record. This may involve sourcing an independent investigator to complete stage 1 and co-opted governors from other schools to hear the complaint at stage 2. Every school in England must have one. You should always give the individual the opportunity to formally express their views on a decision to bar. Policies. Complaints can be about a statutory appointee working in a school. You should make sure that your complaints procedure: To make sure your complaints procedures are effective, we recommend that: Try to avoid using ambiguous language in your complaints procedures, as not doing something the procedure states the school should or may do, can lead to further complaints. Schools should take informal concerns seriously and make every effort to resolve the matter as quickly as possible. Your procedure should set realistic and reasonable time limits for each action within each stage. Make a complaint Follow these steps in order. Let the principal know you want to use a support person when making the complaint. For example, they can: However, regardless of the application of any communication strategy, you must provide parents and carers with the information they are entitled to under The Education (Pupil Information) (England) Regulations 2005, within the statutory time frame. The appearance of bias may be sufficient to taint a decision even if there is no actual bias. To help us improve GOV.UK, we’d like to know more about your visit today. M1 2WD. Complaint Letter against School Teacher To Mr. Laurent Martins Principal Oak High Illinois, USA. You should provide their name, contact details and relationship to you. When reviewing schools’ complaints procedures or the handling of a complaint, we may recommend that schools amend their time limits if they are unreasonably excessive or restrictive. You’ve accepted all cookies. Complaints about child protection matters should be handled: Refer to your local authority designated officer (LADO) or the multi-agency safeguarding hub (MASH). Blanket policies are where all cases are treated in the same way, with no allowances made for individual circumstances – this also goes against the principle of ‘objectivity’ as set out in the The 7 Principles of Public Life. The complaint procedures adopted by most schools are those that have been agreed between the teacher unions and school management bodies. A third means is filing a complaint with the State Education Agency (SEA). Schools and local authorities can contact us for general assistance on complaint handling by: Department for Education You should consider that complainants may have a right to copies of these records under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR. We recommend that complainants and schools attempt informal resolution before making a formal complaint, if it’s appropriate to do so. It is important to obtain a copy of the school's anti-bullying policy. We recommend that you document any deviation from the published procedure. The complaints process. You should do your best to be helpful to people who contact you with a: However, there will be occasions when, despite all stages of the complaint procedure having been followed, the complainant remains dissatisfied. To appoint a governor from another school onto a complaints panel a maintained schools’ governing body does not have to enter into, or already be in, a formal arrangement under the School Governance (Collaboration) (England) Regulations 2003. Contact your local council or call the police on 101 if you’re told a child is at risk. Different procedures apply to freedom of information (FOI) and data protection (DP) correspondence. Making a formal complaint The first port of call for complaints about schools should usually be to the school itself. Most school bus drivers operate drama-free and safe buses. The aim of the governors committee should be: We recognise there are occasions where legal representation may be appropriate. However, governance and regulatory advice should be sought from a clerk. You should be able to arrange a meeting or a telephone conversation with the Principal through the school office. You should talk to your FOI and DP advisor about those or approach the Information Commissioner’s Office for further advice. While DfE’s expectations are that schools will adopt our best practice recommendations, schools can apply alternative processes if they have good reason to. Complaints about staff are dealt with under the school’s internal disciplinary procedures, if appropriate. A formal complaint letter is easy now easy to write because there are sample example letters that can guide you. We expect that complaints will have completed local complaints procedures first. You can find on the school's website or in the school handbook the name and contact information of the administrative official who is in charge of dealing with complaints. To prevent any later challenge or disagreement over what was said, brief notes of meetings and telephone calls should be taken. We use this information to make the website work as well as possible and improve government services. The Office of the Independent Adjudicator defines the characteristics of a ‘frivolous’ or ‘vexatious’ complaint as: Schools should not refuse to accept further correspondence or complaints from an individual they have had repeat or excessive contact with. We use cookies to collect information about how you use GOV.UK. However, schools should still consider complaints, particularly those relating to the provision of remote education. Many children with SEN will have their needs met by schools and local authorities without the need to make a formal complaint. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. If you find it difficult to deal with a person who is behaving unreasonably and other strategies are not working, you can approach your local governor services team to ask for assistance. Further information about raising concerns about exclusions is available in the School discipline and exclusion guidance. They should provide you with evidence of bias in support of their request, as it’s your decision whether to agree to it. Headteachers and governing bodies will therefore need to act to ensure they remain a safe place for pupils, staff and other members of their community. Volunteers who have concerns about schools should complain through the school’s complaints procedure. We recommend that you incorporate a serial complaints policy into your complaints procedure. Where a governor has a financial interest in any related matter, they should also withdraw. Some complaints fall outside the school’s complaints procedure, for example: Complaints not in scope lists complaints that are not covered by this procedure. If you have a complaint about vocational education and training in schools, you can contact the Department of Education by either: general vocational education and training: 08 8901 1357. apprentices and traineeships: 08 8901 1329. This includes complaints about: Ofsted normally expects parents to seek to resolve any concerns with the school in the first instance. Piccadilly Gate We use cookies to collect information about how you use GOV.UK. Sometimes the education system isn’t perfect and when the teachers refuse to take action or listen to your complaining, a complaint letter to school board members is in order. Tips for making a written complaint: If the letter is aimed at the entire board, write "To the School Board." You should advise the new complainant to contact the department if they are dissatisfied with the school’s handling of the original complaint. Schools can consider holding records of complaints separate to their pupil records (while a complaint is ongoing) so that access to them can be maintained. We do not take punitive action against schools when breaches of legislation or failures to adhere to statutory policies are identified. Under Section 29(1)(b) of the Education Act 2002, you must publicise your complaints procedures. However, if serious failings are identified, we may share information about the complaint and our findings with relevant bodies, such as local authorities and Ofsted, to make sure that appropriate safeguarding, remedial or preventative action is taken. Schools should be mindful of this when establishing their complaints procedures. If your child has been bullied at school and you are unhappy with the way it has been handled or the bullying has continued, you can write to the school to complain so that they can understand your concerns. Local Ministry office: Statutory Intervention complaints. They may also be entitled to them, subject to any necessary redactions, under the Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR. A complaints procedure should cover all complaints about any provision of community facilities or services that a school provides other than complaints for which there are separate (statutory) procedures, including those listed below. Under no circumstances should a complainant be marked as ‘serial’ for exercising their right to refer their complaint to their MP, regardless of which stage the complaint has reached. This may be a Specialist Adviser, Limited Statutory Manager … Don’t include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details. You can also make a complaint to the Australian Skills Quality Authority. This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. Don’t worry we won’t send you spam or share your email address with anyone. In this guidance, we use: Under section 29(2) of the Education Act 2002, governing bodies of maintained schools must ‘have regard to any guidance given from time to time (in relation to England) by the Secretary of State’ when establishing and publishing complaints procedures relating to their school and any facilities or services the school provides. Making a formal complaint in writing. Your complaints procedure must not state that a complaint can only be escalated to the next stage if the school permits it. Concerns can be raised with DfE using our contact form. If you’ve made reasonable attempts to accommodate complainants with dates for complaint meetings and they refuse or are unable to attend you can: We recommend that you inform the complainant of: We also recommend that copies of the minutes are issued to the complainant. A complaint may be generally recognised as ‘an expression or statement of dissatisfaction however made, about actions taken or a lack of action’. Generally, send your complaint letter to the school first. (If you file a state complaint at the same time, the state must put aside any part of your complaint that’s being addressed in the due process hearing . However, as the duty to establish procedures for dealing with complaints lies with governing bodies, you must tailor the policy to your individual school. An e-mail letter of complaint should never be written; instead, always type a formal letter and … We recommend this is made clear in complaints procedures. You can do this by contacting the school and asking to meet with the principal, or providing feedback in writing to the school, the Director Educational Leadership responsible for the school, or through our … Anyone can raise a complaint about a maintained school or a member of maintained school staff to us. We may also ask for the written consent of all recorded parties. See Ofsted’s complaints process. Concerns about statutory assessments of special educational needs should be raised direct with local authorities. The complaints procedure must also set out the steps to follow if the subject of the complaint is: There may be occasions when it’s necessary or reasonable to deviate from the published complaints procedure. by a third party acting on behalf of the complainant, how any decision to allow recordings may affect any third parties called to act as witnesses, the impact and consequences on the individuals involved in the complaint in the event recordings are lost or leaked, record the progress of the complaint and the final outcome, determine who is responsible for these records and make sure the data is kept secure, the local authority’s governor services team, reach a conclusion in the interests of drawing the complaint to a close, the conclusion and reasons for any decisions in writing, under the school’s child protection and safeguarding policy, in accordance with relevant statutory guidance, the local Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education, a complainant is being prevented from having their complaint progress through the published complaints procedure, we have evidence that the school is proposing to act or is acting unlawfully or unreasonably, failed to act in accordance with its duties under education law, acted (or is proposing to act) unreasonably when exercising education related functions, calling the National Helpline on 0370 000 2288, complaints which are obsessive, persistent, harassing, prolific, repetitious, insistence upon pursuing unmeritorious complaints and/or unrealistic outcomes beyond all reason, insistence upon pursuing meritorious complaints in an unreasonable manner, complaints which are designed to cause disruption or annoyance, demands for redress that lack any serious purpose or value, you have taken every reasonable step to address the complainant’s concerns, the complainant has been given a clear statement of your position and their options, the complainant contacts you repeatedly, making substantially the same points each time, their letters, emails, or telephone calls are often or always abusive or aggressive, they make insulting personal comments about or threats towards staff, you have reason to believe the individual is contacting you with the intention of causing disruption or inconvenience, restrict the individual to a single point of contact via an email address, limit the number of times they can make contact, such as a fixed number of contacts per term. The school complaints procedure will tell you how to make a formal complaint. Complainants will not be informed of any disciplinary action taken against a staff member as a result of a complaint. We’ll send you a link to a feedback form. The school principal manages the school on a day to day basis. School Employee Complaint Forms are used by the staff of the school to complain about things like their payment, the services they’re required to do, or even their work hours. Formal complaint. We’ll send you a link to a feedback form. The exception to this is when a maintained school wishes to appoint a standing committee to hear all the complaints they receive under the committee’s tenure. You need to make sure that you act reasonably and consider any new complaint. If a complainant tries to re-open the same issue, you can inform them that the procedure has been completed and that the matter is now closed. There is a difference between ‘legal requirement’ and ‘good practice’. Sir, I am Jason Atkins and I am a student of 8th grade at your school. This includes: In accordance with administrative law principles, complainants should be given the opportunity to complete the complaints procedure in full, unless you possess clear evidence that the complaint meets the serial complaint criteria. We recommend you consider: Complainants should make sure they obtain informed consent from all parties present before recording conversations or meetings. Schools should direct complainants to follow the external provider’s own complaints procedure. You should not mark a complaint as ‘serial’ before the complainant has completed the procedure. To help us improve GOV.UK, we’d like to know more about your visit today. You can change your cookie settings at any time. On the top of a formal letter of complaint, include the school board’s name and address. We acknowledge that the pressures caused by coronavirus (COVID-19) might affect schools’ usual processes and timescales for complaints. TURN IN THE COMPLAINT FORM: Make a copy for yourself before turning it to the appropriate person at your school.  . Schools may find it useful to establish a policy for managing serial and unreasonable complaints, which we recommend is included in the school’s published procedure. Understanding and dealing with issues relating to parental responsibility contains specific advice about how to approach issues concerning parental responsibility.