Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School: Information for parents

Home > Parental Information > Complaints Process
Information for parents

COMPLAINTS PROCESS

Approved: July 2010
Review: July 2013

At TWGGS, we undertake to provide a friendly and safe environment in which pupils will be helped to achieve their potential, both academically and socially. We recognise that sometimes things can go wrong and parents, carers and members of the public may need to make a complaint or raise concerns they have with the school. This policy refers to ‘parents/carers’ but this should be regarded as referring equally to a member of the public who makes a complaint.

1. INFORMAL STAGE
Most complaints/issues can be resolved informally and quickly by discussion with the member of staff concerned or the Headteacher. Alternatively parents/carers can write to the member of staff or the Headteacher outlining the issue clearly. Any complaint/issue that is put in writing should be written clearly outlining all the details and what it is hoped the preferred outcome should be. All complaints will be acknowledged in writing within 3 to 5 working days.

Parent/carers should make an appointment to discuss their concerns with the member of staff who knows about the issue or incident. If the complaint relates to a pupil, ideally the member of staff concerned should be directly involved with the pupil, for example, Director of Achievement or form tutor. The member of staff will usually write notes during or immediately after the meeting. Parents/carers can ask for a copy of these notes.

2. FORMAL STAGE
There are three formal stages:
Stage 1: If a parent/carer is still dissatisfied after the informal stage, he/she, or the member of staff can refer the matter to the Headteacher. This can be done in writing, as this will often make the situation clear to all involved parties.

The Headteacher will offer a meeting with the parent/carer or other complainant at a mutually convenient time. At the meeting, and through discussion, the Headteacher will clarify what the issues are. What the parent/carer hopes to achieve will also be discussed. Together, all parties will, wherever possible, agree an acceptable outcome, to the satisfaction of all parties involved. These should be written down and agreed by all parties so there is no misunderstanding. Again parents/carers will be given a copy of this.

If the issue is complex the Headteacher may need to speak to other staff and pupils to investigate the concerns. This should happen within 10 school days. If this timescale cannot be met the Headteacher should inform the parent/carer that this will take longer, explain the reasons for this and give a timescale for when the investigation will be completed.

Stage 2: After meeting with the Headteacher, if the complaint is still not resolved to the parent’s/carer’s satisfaction, the complaint can be referred to the Chair of Governors. This can either be in writing to the Chair at the school address, or alternatively the school can ask the Chair of Governors to contact the parent/carer directly. The Headteacher can also refer the complaint to the Chair of Governors.

If the Headteacher is the subject of the complaint, the complaint should go straight to the Chair of Governors and miss out Stage 1.

The Chair of Governors may ask for the complaint to be put in writing (if this has not already happened). The Chair of Governors will offer to meet with the parent/carer or other complainant, at a mutually convenient time. The Chair of Governors has 15 school days to investigate the complaint. If it cannot be resolved within this time, the Chair will inform the complainant and explain why it is taking longer. Reasons for this may be that the complaint is complex and needs more time or someone involved is absent through sickness or holidays. The Chair of Governors should, however, give a realistic timescale for when the complaint should be resolved. The Chair should inform the complainant of when it is expected that the investigation should be completed.

STAGE 3: If the complaint is still not resolved to the parent/carer’s satisfaction, or the Chair of Governors feels that it is necessary, he/she can set up a Complaints Committee to consider the complaint. The Chair of Governors will decide if this is appropriate and, as far as possible, a Complaints Committee is regarded as a last resort, unnecessary if the Chair of Governors is able to resolve the complaint.

The Chair of Governors can appoint an investigating officer to gather evidence and conduct preliminary interviews on the Chair’s behalf. The investigating officer will provide a detailed report of his/her investigation of the complaint. Parents/carers should be given a copy of this report. It is important that the investigating officer is seen as impartial, so if the investigating officer is another governor, he/she cannot be a member of the associated Complaints Committee.

The Complaints Committee is to be made up of three members of TWGGS’s governing body. However, governors may need to be brought in from other schools’ governing bodies because TWGGS’s governors are ‘tainted’ as a result of having prior knowledge of the complaint. The Complaints Committee should meet at a time convenient to all parties. The complainant, Headteacher, Chair of Governors and any member of staff who is the subject of the complaint are invited to the meeting. Any person invited can bring a friend or supporter if he/she wishes. The Complaints Committee will consider any written material and also give the person making the complaint and the Headteacher, Chair of Governors and member(s) of staff an opportunity to state their cases and to question others present. The committee will ensure that all present are treated fairly. The meeting will be minuted by the Clerk to Governors, and everyone in attendance will be given a copy of the minutes. The committee will give its decision, in writing, within five school days after the meeting, along with the reasons for the decision.

If after this school-based process, the complaint is still not resolved to the parent’s/carer’s satisfaction, he/she should contact:

The Local Government Ombudsman’s Office, PO Box 4771, Coventry, CV4 0EH Tel: 0300 061 0614 or 0845 602 1983 Fax: 024 7682 0001 www.lgo.org.uk

or: The Secretary of State, Department for Education, Sanctuary Buildings, Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BT.

If a complaint is not from a parent/carer of a pupil of the school (for example, from a member of the public) it should be made directly to the Headteacher, preferably in writing.

All complaints will be recorded formally by TWGGS in a central log which will indicate at which stage the complaint was resolved. All correspondence, statements and records of complaints are to be kept confidential. Parents and members of the public may request details of the number of complaints registered under the formal procedure during the preceding academic year. Schools do not need to consider complaints made more than one year after the incident/situation, therefore, if a complaint is made about an issue that is over a year old, the Headteacher will write to the complainant explaining this is the case.