Complaints about schools

All schools in Plymouth value the generally good relations they enjoy with parents and the community. These good relations are based on mutual respect and a willingness to listen to other points of view. It is therefore in the best interests of all parties that any concern is expressed and resolved quickly and at the earliest possible stage. Schools each have their own procedures in place for dealing with complaints relating to the school and details of these procedures can be obtained from the school.

Where a concern is brought to the school’s attention it can often be resolved with a single conversation. Sometimes the issue is more complex and will take more than one discussion to resolve. In the first instance those with concerns are encouraged to phone the school to make an appointment with the appropriate member of staff or the head teacher in order to discuss their concerns.

Schools are managed and governed as independent units and the areas where the City Council, as the local education authority for Plymouth, can instruct a school to take particular action are limited. It is the head teacher's responsibility to ensure that all concerns and complaints are dealt with speedily, efficiently, fully and fairly within the school, in accordance with the policy of the school’s governing body.

In dealing with any concerns or complaints about schools that are not already covered by statutory or formalised procedures, the Council’s role, undertaken by Services for Children and Young People, is limited to:

• mediation, if requested
• giving advice, where appropriate
• checking that the school has complied with its own complaints policy and procedures.

The Council will not re-investigate and/or direct the school governors or head teacher to take a particular course of action, but it will help find a solution to a complaint.

Those with a concern or complaint who have exhausted the school’s own complaints procedure or need further advice or information about making a complaint to a school should contact Services for Children and Young People, (School Organisation Team) either by telephone or email. The officer concerned will:

• listen to and note the complaint
• ask any questions that might help to clarify the complaint
• give advice, as appropriate, on resolving the complaint.

The school’s governing body is not obliged to accept the Council’s advice about how a complaint might be resolved, provided the school has acted lawfully.

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