Complaints Policy and Procedure Reviewed March 2016

Transcription

1 Complaints Policy and Procedure Reviewed March 2016 Introduction This document sets out the school s procedure for addressing complaints. It should be used only when informal attempts to resolve problems have been unsuccessful. If you have any concerns about the school or the education provided, you are encouraged to discuss the matter first with your child s class teacher at the earliest opportunity. If conversations with the class teacher are unsatisfactory, an informal conversation with the headteacher is the next appropriate course of action. The school considers any concerns very seriously and most problems can be resolved at this stage. Appointments can usually be arranged within a few days. What is a concern or a complaint? A concern may be defined as an expression of worry or doubt over an issue to be important for which reassurances are sought. A complaint may generally be defined as an expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about actions taken or a lack of action. Please note that this procedure does not apply to issues concerning the curriculum, collective worship, admissions, exclusion appeals, decisions about your child s special educational needs or grievances by or against staff. These are the subject of separate procedures. We would though still advise early communication with the school where there any concerns. Any person, including members of the public, may make a complaint about any provision of facilities or services that a school provides, unless separate procedures apply, 1

2 Aims and Objectives The school will give careful consideration to all complaints and deal with them fairly and honestly. We will provide sufficient opportunity for any complaint to be fully discussed, and aim to resolve it through open dialogue and mutual understanding. Our Procedure Aims to be easily accessible and publicised be simple to use and understand be impartial be non-adversarial allow swift handling and keep people informed of the progress ensure a full and fair investigation respect people s desire for confidentiality, wherever possible (although some information sharing may be necessary to carry out a thorough investigation) address all points of issue, providing an effective response provide information to the school s senior management team so that improvements can be implemented if appropriate. Formal Complaints Procedure Stage 1 If you feel that a concern has not been addressed through informal discussion with the class teacher/headteacher, and you wish to have the matter formally investigated, this process begins with the completion of a complaints form, which you will find at the end of this pack. If you would like help completing the form, the school will be happy to provide the assistance of someone unconnected with the complaint. Notes from a telephone conversation can be used in order to complete relevant details on the complaints form and checked with the complainant before submission. The completed form should be returned to (a) The headteacher if the concern/complaint is under the headteacher s responsibility or (b) The Chair of Governors if the concern/complaint is under the Governing Body s responsibility, (these are indicated below). The complaint form should be returned to the school office, marked Confidential, for the attention of either the headteacher or Chair of Governors as appropriate. The headteacher/chair of Governors will acknowledge in writing receipt of the complaint form within five working days and an investigation will begin as soon as possible. 2

3 The complaint form must include detail about time and date of incidents, names of those involved; and what they believe would resolve the issue. It is expected that a complaint be made within 3 months of an incident and may not be investigated after this period. If the matter is about: the day-to-day running of the school the interpretation of school policies the actions or inactions of staff at the school These are concerns/complaints under the headteacher s responsibility and will be investigated by [the headteacher or a senior member of staff nominated by the headteacher]. If the matter is about: school policies as determined by the Governing Body the actions or inactions of the Governing Body the headteacher These are concerns/complaints under the Governing Body s responsibility and will be investigated by [the Chairman of Governors or a governor nominated by the chairman]. It may be necessary to appoint an independent investigator in certain circumstances. When Stage 1 has concluded the complainant and any member of staff to whom the complaint refers, will be sent written confirmation of the conclusion. This may be to the effect that: there is insufficient evidence to reach a conclusion, so the complaint cannot be upheld the concern is not substantiated by evidence the concern was partly or fully substantiated. Some details may then be given of action the school may be taking but details of the investigation or of any disciplinary procedures will not be released. The complainant will be offered the opportunity to write to a review panel if unsatisfied with the outcome within 10 days. Review Panel A panel of no fewer than three governors who are independent from the issues and as far as possible will remain anonymous, will be formed. They will review the process followed by the headteacher/chair of Governors, they will receive written submissions from the complainant first and then request a written response from the headteacher/chair of Governors. Verbal responses may also be considered. 3

4 The panel will then write to the headteacher/chair of Governors and complainant setting out its conclusion. This may to be to the effect that: there is insufficient evidence to reach a conclusion, so the complaint cannot be upheld the concern is not substantiated by evidence the concern was partly or fully substantiated but that any procedural failure did not affect the outcome and the matter is closed the concern was partly or fully substantiated and the governing body will take steps to prevent a recurrence or to rectify the situation Some details may then be given of action the school may be taking, but details of the investigation or any disciplinary procedures will not be released. Serial and Persistent Complaints After the process is complete and if the complainant contacts the school again on the same issue, then the correspondence may be viewed as serial or persistent and the school may choose not to respond and the Chair of Governors may inform the complainant that the matter is closed. There may be occasions when, despite all stages of the complaint procedure having been followed, the complainant remains dissatisfied. If a complainant repeatedly writes letters, or s or telephones making substantially the same points, Chair of Governors can and will inform them that the procedure has been completed and that the matter is now closed. The application of a serial or persistent marking should be against the subject matter of the complaint itself rather than the complainant. Although complainants have a right to have any new complaint heard, if an individual s behaviour is causing a significant level of disruption the school may wish to implement a tailored communications strategy, such as restricting the complainant to a single point of contact via an address or limiting the number of times the complainant can make contact; e.g. a fixed number of contacts per term. Where necessary, further advice can be gained from the local authority via governor services. Unreasonable Complaints The school is committed to dealing with all complaints fairly and impartially, and to providing a high quality service to those who complain. We will not normally limit the contact complainants have with the school. However, we do not expect our staff to 4

5 tolerate unacceptable behaviour and will take action to protect staff from that behaviour, including that which is abusive, offensive or threatening. Unreasonable complainants are those who, because of the frequency or nature of their contacts with the school, hinder our consideration of their or other people s complaints. A complaint may be regarded as unreasonable when the person making the complaint:- refuses to articulate their complaint or specify the grounds of a complaint or the outcomes sought by raising the complaint, despite offers of assistance; refuses to co-operate with the complaints investigation process while still wishing their complaint to be resolved; refuses to accept that certain issues are not within the scope of a complaints procedure; insists on the complaint being dealt with in ways which are incompatible with the adopted complaints procedure or with good practice; introduces trivial or irrelevant information which the complainant expects to be taken into account and commented on, or raises large numbers of detailed but unimportant questions and insists they are fully answered within an unreasonable timescale; changes the basis of the complaint as the investigation proceeds; repeatedly makes the same complaint (despite previous investigations or responses concluding that the complaint is groundless or has been addressed); refuses to accept the findings of the investigation into that complaint where the school s complaint procedure has been fully and properly implemented and completed including referral to the Department for Education; seeks an unrealistic outcome; makes excessive demands on school time by frequent, lengthy, l contact with staff regarding the complaint in person, in writing, by and by telephone while the complaint is being dealt with. A complaint may also be considered unreasonable if the person making the complaint does so either face-to-face, by telephone or in writing or electronically:- maliciously; aggressively; using threats, intimidation or violence; using abusive, offensive or discriminatory language; knowing it to be false; using falsified information; publishing unacceptable information in a variety of media such as in social media websites and newspapers. 5

6 Complainants should limit the numbers of communications with a school while a complaint is being progressed. It is not helpful if repeated correspondence is sent (either by letter, phone, or text) as it could delay the outcome being reached. Whenever possible, the headteacher or Chair of Governors will discuss any concerns with the complainant informally before applying an unreasonable marking. If the behaviour continues the headteacher will write to the complainant explaining that their behaviour is unreasonable and asking them to change it. For complainants who excessively contact the school causing a significant level of disruption, we may specify methods of communication and limit the number of contacts in a communication plan. This will usually be reviewed after 6 months. In response to any serious incident of aggression or violence, the concerns and actions taken will be put in writing immediately and the police informed. This may include banning an individual from school premises. Barring from the School Premises Although fulfilling a public function, schools are private places. The public has no automatic right of entry. Schools will therefore act to ensure they remain a safe place for pupils, staff and other members of their community. If a parent or carer s behaviour is a cause for concern, a school can ask him/her to leave school premises. In serious cases, the headteacher or the local authority can notify them in writing that their implied licence to be on school premises has been temporarily revoked subject to any representations that the parent or carer may wish to make. Schools should always give the parent or carer the opportunity formally to express their views on the decision to bar in writing. The decision to bar should then be reviewed, taking into account any representations made by the parent or carer and either confirmed or lifted. If the decision is confirmed the parent or carer should be notified in writing, explaining how long the bar will be in place. Anyone wishing to complain about being barred can do so, by letter or , to the headteacher or Chair of Governors. However, complaints about barring cannot be escalated to the Department for Education. Once the school s own complaints procedure has been completed, the only remaining avenue of appeal is through the Courts; independent legal advice must therefore be sought. 6

7 The Role of the School Complaints Unit If a complaint has completed the local (CCC) procedures and the complainant remains dissatisfied, they have the right to refer their complaint to the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State has a duty to consider all complaints raised but will only intervene where the governing body has acted unlawfully or unreasonably and where it is expedient or practical to do so. The School Complaints Unit (SCU) considers complaints relating to Local Authority maintained schools (such as our school) in England on behalf of the Secretary of State. The SCU will look at whether the complaints policy and any other relevant statutory policies were adhered to. The SCU also looks at whether statutory policies adhere to education legislation. However, the SCU will not normally re-investigate the substance of the complaint. This remains the responsibility of schools. The SCU will not overturn a school s decision about a complaint except in exceptional circumstances where it is clear the school has acted unlawfully or unreasonably. If the SCU finds that the school has not handled a complaint in accordance with its procedure, we may request that the complaint is looked at again. If legislative or policy breaches are found, the SCU will report them to the school and the complainant, and where necessary, ask for corrective action to be taken. The SCU normally also seeks written assurances as to future conduct. Failure to carry out remedial actions or provide written assurances could ultimately result in a formal Direction being issued by the Secretary of State in accordance with powers under sections 496 and 497 of the Education Act Schools may wish to contact the SCU for advice on whether they have acted reasonably; for example: in closing down a complaint from a serial complainant before the local procedure has been completed. However, the SCU will not be able to advise on how to resolve the complaint. Further information can be obtained from the SCU by calling the National Helpline on or going online at: or by writing to: Department for Education School Complaints Unit 2nd Floor, Piccadilly Gate Store Street Manchester M1 Monitoring and Review At all stages relevant paperwork will be filed centrally, with the headteacher or the clerk to the governors. The Governing Body monitors the complaints procedure, in order to ensure that all complaints are handled properly. The headteacher logs all formal complaints received by the school and records how they were resolved. Governors examine this log on an annual basis and consider the need for any changes to the procedure. 7

8 Concern - Informal Please raise your concerns with your child s classroom teacher who will try and resolve the issue. Informal Complaint at school level complainant should try and resolve the problem with the school Resolved? Yes. No further action No. Formal Stage 1 You will be given copies of the complaints procedure and complaint form and offered support in completing the form. You will have 3 days to complete and return the form. Formal Stage 1 Form received by school and acknowledgement Is complaint about areas of headteacher s responsibility or Governing Body s responsibility? Governing Body s responsibility - Chairman deals with matter or designates a governor and writes to you with the outcome of the process within 10 working days of receiving the complaint Headteacher s responsibility Headteacher deals with matter or designates senior member of staff and writes to you with the outcome of the process within 10 working days of receiving the complaint 8

9 The headteacher/chair of Governors will acknowledge in writing receipt of the complaint form within five working days and an investigation will begin as soon as possible. A written account of the conclusion of the investigation will be sent to the complainant and to those complained about. Resolved? Yes. No further action No. Complainant is given copy of Procedure for Governing Body Complaints Panel Hearing. A governor complaints panel is set up to consider the complaint within 10 working days of the complaint being passed to the Governing Body. It consists of 3 governors, with no prior knowledge of the complaint, who will remain anonymous, will consider written and verbal submissions from the complainant and the headteacher. The panel meets to consider the complaint and make a final decision on behalf of the Governing Body. 9

10 Procedure for the Complaints Panel A governor complaints panel is set up to consider the complaint within 10 working days of the complaint being passed to the Governing Body. (See Procedure for a Governing Body Complaints Panel hearing). It consists of 3 governors, with no prior knowledge of the complaint and will remain anonymous, will consider written and verbal submissions from the complainant and Chairman of Governors (or designated governor). The panel meets to consider the complaint and make a final decision on behalf of the Governing Body. Panel writes to complainant with its conclusion within 5 working days of the meeting Resolved? Yes. No further action No. The complainant may decide to write to the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, if they feel the school has acted unreasonably or not followed the correct procedures 10

11 Complaint Form Please complete and return to the School Office, marked for the confidential attention of the headteacher/chair of Governors. Your name: Pupil s name: Your relationship to the pupil: Address: Postcode: Day time telephone number: Evening telephone number: Please give details of your complaint. What action, if any, have you already taken to try and resolve your complaint. (Who did you speak to and what was the response)? 11

12 What actions do you feel might resolve the problem at this stage? Are you attaching any paperwork? If so, please give details. Signature: Date: Official use Date acknowledgement sent: By whom: Complaint referred to: Date: 12