General Complaints Procedure Policy
The School Standards and Framework Act requires all schools to establish a General Complaints procedure to deal with those types of complaint which are not already covered by statutory requirements e.g. Special Educational Needs, Admissions and exclusions and Child Protection. The Governors of Prestbury St Mary’s Junior School have drawn up this policy based on good practice and experience and the principles adopted by educational bodies, including the LEA and Diocesan Boards.

General Principles
 

• Complaints should be welcomed, together with other comments and observations from parents and carers.
• The procedure should be made known to parents/carers, staff and governors.
• A complainant must be given fair treatment and a chance to state his/her case.
• Parents should be assured of confidentiality and that there will be no victimisation of pupils.
• It should not be difficult to complain (written complaints should not always be insisted upon).
• Complaints should be handled speedily.
• Conciliatory language should be used throughout.
• Independent advice should be available to parents.
• The outcome of official complaints (See below: General Complaints Procedure Stage 4 onwards) and their number should be made known o the Governing Body in the Headteacher’s termly report.
 

General Complaints Procedure
 

1. Parents/carers should take their complaint in the first instance to the classteacher.

2. A meeting may be arranged. (Although it may not always be necessary to have the complaint in writing, it would assist the appropriate member of staff in preparation for such a meeting in order to resolve the matter.)

3. If the complaint has not been resolved, the complainant should contact the Headteacher.

4. If the Headteacher cannot resolve the complaint, the complainant should contact the Chair of Governors in writing. Sealed letters should be addressed to the Chair of Governors and sent or handed in to The Office, Prestbury St Mary’s Junior School, Bouncer’s lane, Prestbury, Cheltenham, GL52 5JB.

5. The Chair of Governors will arrange a meeting with the Headteacher to investigate the complaint and may contact the LEA and/or the Diocesan Board for independent advice.

6. The Chair of Governors will contact the parent/carer and attempt to resolve the complaint informally.

7. If the Chair of Governors cannot resolve the matter, he/she will establish a panel of two or three governors to investigate the complaint and report to the parent/carer.

8. For further independent advice the complainant may wish to contact the Parents/Partnership Co-Ordinator at Shire Hall, Gloucester, GL1 2TP. Tel: 01452 425300

9. If the parent/carer remains dissatisfied with the governors’ conclusion, he/she may contact the Cheltenham Area Education Officer. The LEA cannot overturn a decision of the school’s Governing Body but it can help to resolve difficulties.

10. Finally a complainant may bring any unresolved complaint to the Secretary of State, if he/she believes that the Governing Body has acted unreasonably or has failed to carry out its duties properly.
 

The Curriculum
The Governing Body has responsibility for the curriculum and its assessment procedure. Parents may use the complaints procedure below, if they believe that the Governing Body is failing to:
 

• provide the national Curriculum in the school for a particular child;
• follow the law on charging for school activities;
• provide religious education and daily collective worship;
• provide the information that they are legally required to supply e.g. prospectus, annual report to parents;
• carry out any other statutory duty relating to the curriculum or is acting unreasonably in the above cases.
 

Procedure for complaints concerning the curriculum
 

1. Concerns about the curriculum should in the first instance be directed to the school’s curriculum co-ordinator and/or the Headteacher. If appropriate the matter will be discussed with members of the Curriculum Group.

2. The parent/carer should bring unresolved issues in writing to the Governing Body. (Please see General Complaints Procedure 4.)

3. The Chair will present any such correspondence to the Governing Body.

4. The parent/carer will be informed of the outcome.

5. If the parent/carer is still dissatisfied, the complaint can be taken further. Please refer to General Complaints Procedure 9, 10.

Defamation
Parents/carers should be aware of the risks of defamation.

Legal definition
The publication of a statement which tends to lower a person in the estimation of right thinking members of society generally, or which tends to make them shun or avoid that person. In the case of defamation, appropriate legal proceedings should be followed.

Publication
 

• This policy will be made available to parents/carers, staff and governors on request.
• The policy will be subject to review in 2008 within the governors’ review cycle.