Stratford Preparatory School

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Complaints Policy

Introduction

• A copy of this policy for EYFS and Main School, is available to all parents and prospective parents on request. 
  
• We believe that our school provides a good education for all our children, and that the Principal and other staff work very hard to build positive relationships with all parents. However, the school is obliged to have procedures in place in case there are complaints by parents. The following policy sets out the procedure that the school follows in such cases.
  The school phone is transferred to the Principal's mobile during holidays, so contact is always possible.  
  
• If any parent is unhappy with the education that their child is receiving, or has any concern relating to the school, we encourage that person to talk to the child’s class teacher immediately.

 

Aims and objectives

•  Our school aims to be fair, open and honest when dealing with any complaint. We give careful consideration to all complaints and deal with them as swiftly as possible. We aim to resolve any complaint through dialogue and mutual understanding and, in all cases, we put the interests of the child above all other issues. We provide sufficient opportunity for any complaint to be fully discussed, and then resolved.

 

The complaints process

•  If a parent is concerned about anything to do with the education that we are providing at our school, they should, in the first instance, discuss the matter with their child’s class teacher. Most matters of concern can be dealt with in this way. All teachers work very hard to ensure that each child is happy at school, and are making good progress; they always want to know if there is a problem, so that they can take action before the problem seriously affects the child’s progress.
  
  
• Class teachers aim to resolve complaints brought to their attention within one week.
  
  
• Where a parent feels that a situation has not been resolved through contact with the class teacher, or that their concern is of a sufficiently serious nature, they should make an appointment to discuss it with the Principal. The Principal considers any such complaint very seriously and investigates each case thoroughly. Most complaints are normally resolved at this stage.  The school phone is transferred to the Principal's mobile during school holidays.
  
  
•  Should a parent have a complaint about the Principal, she should first make an informal approach to discuss the matter.   The Principal will do all she can to resolve the issue through a dialogue with the parent, but if they are unhappy with the outcome, s/he can make a formal complaint, as outlined below.
  
  
•  The Principal aims to resolve complaints brought to her attention within two weeks.
  
  
•   Only if an informal complaint fails to resolve the matter should a formal complaint be made to the Committee. This complaint must be made in writing, stating the nature of the complaint and how the school has handled it so far. The parent should send this written complaint to the School Office addressed to the Committee for Complaints .
  
  
•  The Complaints Committee will be convened if and when a relevant complaint is received and shall consist of three members who have not been directly involved in the subject matter of the complaint.  At least one member of the Committee will be independent of the management and running of the school.
  
  
•  The Committee should consider all written complaints within three weeks of receipt.  A meeting will be arranged to discuss the complaint, and the parent is invited to attend the meeting, so that s/he can explain his/her complaint in more detail. The school gives the parent at least three days’ notice of the meeting.  The parent may bring someone along to that meeting if they wish.
  
  
•  After hearing all the evidence, the Committee will consider their decision.  The parent, the Principal and (where relevant) the person complained about will be given a written statement of the Committee’s decision (including any findings and recommendations).
  
   
•  If any parent is still not content that the complaint has been dealt with properly, then s/he is entitled to appeal to Independent Schools Association or the Secretary of State for Education.

 

Monitoring and review

• The Principal logs all complaints received by the school and records how they were resolved. 
   
• In the last academic year the school did not receive any formal complaints.
  
  
• All correspondence, statements and records of complaints are kept confidential but can be made available on request under section 162A of the Education Act 2002.