Complaints about schools

Its always worth talking to your child's school if you have a concern. If you are not satisfied with their response you can make a complaint.

In the majority of cases, the best way to resolve a problem is to talk to somebody at the school. This might be a:

  • Teacher
  • Senior teacher
  • Head teacher
  • School Governor

If you have escalated your concern through the school's own complaints process and you're still unsatisfied, you can get advice by contacting us by:

You will be signposted to the appropriate channels available to you.

Formal complaints

There are some issues which need to be dealt with outside the formal school complaints procedure. These include:

  • Concerns about staff conduct
  • Admission to or exclusion from school
  • Statements of Special Educational Needs
  • Matters relating to religious or collective worship

The Head teacher and/or the Governors will be able to tell you how the matter should be dealt with.

Different procedures also apply to certain types of school, such as:

  • Foundation schools
  • Church of England aided schools
  • Roman Catholic aided schools

Formal complaints procedure

The first step is to write a letter to either the Head teacher or designated member of staff. You should also request a copy of the school's Complaints Policy. The aim will be to resolve the matter as speedily as possible, although some complaints do take longer to investigate than others.

If following the investigation you're still not happy, you can refer your complaint to the Governing Body of the school to investigate your complaint. As this is a serious step, it is important that every possible attempt has been made to solve your concerns by other means.

The decision of the Governors' panel will then be sent in writing to all parties.

Next steps

If you've exhausted the school complaints procedure and still haven't reached a satisfactory resolution, please refer to the Department of Education guidance on making a complaint about a school.