Guidance  for Parents wishing to make a complaint about a school

If you feel that the school at which your son or daughter is a pupil has acted improperly or unfairly you are entitled to complain.  Schools have a responsibility for deciding their own complaints procedure so you should ask for a copy of the procedure before making the complaint.

In most schools, you’ll be encouraged to raise your concerns with the class teacher initially and most parental complaints are resolved promptly at this stage. If you’re dissatisfied with the class teacher’s response the next step in a complaints procedure will normally be to raise the matter with the head teacher. If you’re dissatisfied with the head teacher’s response, you’re entitled to ask for the complaint to be investigated by the governing body.

If you consider that the governing body has not acted properly in carrying out its investigation into your complaint you have a right to complain to the Local Education Authority (LEA) as it has a responsibility to ensure that governing bodies act properly. The LEA does not have the power to instruct a governing body to reverse its decision but will want to satisfy itself that the governing body has conducted the investigation fairly.

In the unlikely event that you will need to complain to the LEA about the governing body’s handling of a complaint please write to:

Group Director Children
Children Services
Swindon Borough Council
Sanford House
Sanford Street
Swindon
SN11QH

Please note that the LEA can only act when each step of the school’s complaints procedure has been followed.

If you think the LEA has not investigated your complaint against the governing body satisfactorily you can make a complaint about the LEA to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills. If you think you have been treated unfairly you may also ask the Local Government Ombudsman to investigate. Further information on how to complain to the Ombudsman can be found on their website www.lgo.org.uk.

Please note that the guidance outlined here does not cover complaints about the school curriculum, admissions to school, assessment of a pupil’s special educational needs or the exclusion of pupils from school. Specific complaints procedures are in place for these areas.