We believe that our school provides a good education for all our children and that the head teacher and staff work very hard to build positive relationships with all parents. We aim to resolve complaints about the school, staff or pupils as fairly, openly and honestly as possible, using communication, mediation and negotiation as far as possible on a day to day basis. We take informal concerns seriously and make every effort to resolve them as simply as possible, putting the interests of the child above all other issues. If formal complaints are made, we have a robust procedure for dealing with them, which can involve the Governors and, as a last resort, the Local Government Ombudsman or Ofsted.
Principles
Our policy is:
impartial
non-adversarial
swift, with established time-limits for action at each stage
full and fair
confidential
effective
informative, in order to allow for future improvement.
Procedures
Child-related concerns
We expect parents or others with concerns to raise them first with the class teacher, if the issue concerns their child. This will normally resolve the issue, though it may take more than one conversation to do that.
If the concern relates to a child at school, but you feel it has not been resolved satisfactorily after several conversations with the class teacher, you should discuss the issue with the head teacher. The head teacher will then follow the procedure outlined below, under non-child related concerns.
Just as we treat your concern confidentially, we expect that parents will not discuss their concerns with other parents before they have spoken to the class teacher – there may simply be a misunderstanding, and unfounded rumours can be destructive, upsetting and unfair. We would also ask that those with concerns be aware of the fact that if the concern is based on the word of one person, that person may have their own reasons for taking that view; it may not reflect the true situation.
Non-child-related concerns
If the concern does not relate to a child in school, it should be referred to the head teacher. The head teacher will listen to what you have to say and will make notes. The head teacher will then investigate – you may be asked to write a short letter outlining exactly what your concerns are so that it is clear to all those involved. When the matter has been investigated, the head teacher will meet you again, within eight working school days of the first meeting, to report back and to discuss a resolution.
If the issue is about the head teacher, you should discuss it with the Chair of Governors, who will investigate with two other governors. They may ask you to write a short letter outlining your concerns. They will report back to you within 10 working school days to discuss their findings and a resolution. If at this stage you do not feel that the concern has been resolved, Herefordshire Council can refer you to the Local Government Ombudsman or Ofsted.
If the issue doesn’t relate to a child at school, does not relate to the head teacher but you feel embarrassed to talk to the head teacher about it, you should discuss it with a parent governor, who can then talk to the head teacher on your behalf and report back. If, after several attempts along these lines, the issue is not resolved, you should talk to the Chair of Governors, who will investigate with two other governors and follow the procedures outlined in the paragraph above.
Formal complaints
If a formal complaint is received by Herefordshire Council, they will log and monitor it, but they will refer it through the procedures outlined above; if it has already been through this procedure, they can refer the complainant to the Local Government Ombudsman or Ofsted. If the complainant feels the school has broken the law or acted unreasonably, the matter can be referred to the Secretary of State. Contact details for Herefordshire Council, the Ombudsman and Ofsted are below.
Complaints Procedure & Policy
Policy outline
We believe that our school provides a good education for all our children and that the head teacher and staff work very hard to build positive relationships with all parents. We aim to resolve complaints about the school, staff or pupils as fairly, openly and honestly as possible, using communication, mediation and negotiation as far as possible on a day to day basis. We take informal concerns seriously and make every effort to resolve them as simply as possible, putting the interests of the child above all other issues. If formal complaints are made, we have a robust procedure for dealing with them, which can involve the Governors and, as a last resort, the Local Government Ombudsman or Ofsted.
Principles
Our policy is:
Procedures
Child-related concerns
We expect parents or others with concerns to raise them first with the class teacher, if the issue concerns their child. This will normally resolve the issue, though it may take more than one conversation to do that.
If the concern relates to a child at school, but you feel it has not been resolved satisfactorily after several conversations with the class teacher, you should discuss the issue with the head teacher. The head teacher will then follow the procedure outlined below, under non-child related concerns.
Just as we treat your concern confidentially, we expect that parents will not discuss their concerns with other parents before they have spoken to the class teacher – there may simply be a misunderstanding, and unfounded rumours can be destructive, upsetting and unfair. We would also ask that those with concerns be aware of the fact that if the concern is based on the word of one person, that person may have their own reasons for taking that view; it may not reflect the true situation.
Non-child-related concerns
If the concern does not relate to a child in school, it should be referred to the head teacher. The head teacher will listen to what you have to say and will make notes. The head teacher will then investigate – you may be asked to write a short letter outlining exactly what your concerns are so that it is clear to all those involved. When the matter has been investigated, the head teacher will meet you again, within eight working school days of the first meeting, to report back and to discuss a resolution.
If the issue is about the head teacher, you should discuss it with the Chair of Governors, who will investigate with two other governors. They may ask you to write a short letter outlining your concerns. They will report back to you within 10 working school days to discuss their findings and a resolution. If at this stage you do not feel that the concern has been resolved, Herefordshire Council can refer you to the Local Government Ombudsman or Ofsted.
If the issue doesn’t relate to a child at school, does not relate to the head teacher but you feel embarrassed to talk to the head teacher about it, you should discuss it with a parent governor, who can then talk to the head teacher on your behalf and report back. If, after several attempts along these lines, the issue is not resolved, you should talk to the Chair of Governors, who will investigate with two other governors and follow the procedures outlined in the paragraph above.
Formal complaints
If a formal complaint is received by Herefordshire Council, they will log and monitor it, but they will refer it through the procedures outlined above; if it has already been through this procedure, they can refer the complainant to the Local Government Ombudsman or Ofsted. If the complainant feels the school has broken the law or acted unreasonably, the matter can be referred to the Secretary of State. Contact details for Herefordshire Council, the Ombudsman and Ofsted are below.
Herefordshire Council
Improvement Manager 01432 260801
Local Government Ombudsman
0845 602 1983
www.lgo.org.uk
Ofsted
0845 640 4045
www.ofsted.gov.uk