WALLISCOTE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Complaints Policy
We believe that our school provides a good education for all our children, and that the Head
teacher and all staff work very hard to build positive relationships with all parents. However,
the school is obliged to have procedures in place in case there are complaints by parents. The
following policy sets out the procedure that the school follows in such cases.
A concern or complaint will be investigated if it is an expression of dissatisfaction about:
the conduct/operation of a school
the conduct, actions or lack of action by a member of staff, the Governing Body or an individual
governor
an unacceptable delay in dealing with a matter
the unreasonable treatment of a pupil or other person
Our school aims to be fair, open and honest when dealing with any complaint. We give careful
consideration to all complaints and deal with them as swiftly as possible. We aim to resolve any
complaint through dialogue and mutual understanding and, in all cases, we put the interests of the child
above all other issues. We provide sufficient opportunity for any complaint to be fully discussed, and
then resolved.

What do I do if I want to make a complaint?

Stage 1 - First Contact
In the first instance, discuss your concern with the appropriate member of staff (e.g. class teacher).
Explain the nature of your concern and the outcome you would like. Most issues are easily dealt with in
this way. The staff member dealing with the concern should agree actions (if any) or what monitoring
of the situation will take place.
If after contacting the school, I still feel that my concern has not been resolved, what should I
do?
Stage 2 Referral
Stage 3 - Reconciliation
A concern or complaint should be made in person, by telephone or in writing to the Head teacher.
If the complaint is about the Head teacher or a Governor, it should be referred through the Chair of
Governors.
Details of the schools complaints procedure will be available from the school and the information will
also be available on the schools website. A complaint made to a Governor, Local Authority Officer or
Councillor, or the Local Authority will be referred to the Head teacher or Chair of Governors, as
appropriate, for investigation. The aim of the Complaints Procedure is to resolve the matter as
speedily as possible. The Head teacher (or designate) will try to establish the facts and respond to
your complaint. In most instances, letters of complaint will be responded to within 10 working days. If
for any reason more time is needed, you will be kept informed.
Anonymous complaints cannot be dealt with unless they are about very serious matters e.g
safeguarding.

What if I am not satisfied?

Stage 4 Review by the Governing Body
If this does not resolve the matter to your satisfaction, there is a further formal stage. You will be
asked to put your complaint in writing (address your letter to the Chair of Governors c/o the school
address) and a further investigation will be undertaken by the Chair of Governors.
Your letter should begin stating I wish to make a formal complaint to the Governing Body of
School. This makes it clear that the Governing Body must respond and convene a hearing.
What happens when I have made a formal complaint to the Governing Body?
The Chair of Governors will arrange for your complaint to be considered and investigated under the
arrangements approved by the governors. A Complaints committee will be appointed, with specific
membership as identified in the Complaints Policy, to act on behalf of the governing body. The
committee will consider what action to be taken in response to the complaint. The committee may
consider an oral hearing of parties to the complaint is the most appropriate way to address the
matter, details of which would be supplied. At the end of this process, a decision letter is forwarded
to all parties attending the hearing.
What if I am still not satisfied?
Stage 5 - Subsequent Reviews
Refer matters to the Local Authority in the first instance
If still unsatisfied, refer matters to
Local Government Ombudsman
Secretary of State, Department for Education
Which matters are not covered by this Complaints Procedure?
Whilst all complaints should, in the first instance, be addressed to the Headteacher or, where
appropriate, the Chair of Governors, some complaints have to be handled differently because of legal
requirements.
These include: Complaints about the provision of National Curriculum, sex education or Collective Worship in an
individual school which should be addressed to the Department for Education.
appeals against school admissions and pupil exclusions which should be addressed to the Local
Authority
the statementing process for special educational needs which should be addressed to the Local
Authority
Serious complaints relating to the abuse of children, criminal or financial matters which should be
addressed to the Department for Education.
Monitoring and review
The governors monitor the complaints procedure, in order to ensure that all complaints are handled
properly. The Headteacher logs all complaints received by the school and records how they were
resolved. Governors examine this log on an annual basis. The log is kept for the recommended 7 year
storage period. Governors take into account any local or national decisions that affect the complaints
process, and make any modifications necessary to this policy. This policy is made available to all
parents, so that they can be properly informed about the complaints process.

Policy reviewed: September 2015