How to make a formal complaint.

Any concerns about your child's education can be settled by speaking to the headteacher or other member of staff.

How to make a complaint

  • Contact the headteacher of the child's school

What if I'm not happy with the headteacher's response?

If you are unhappy with the headteacher's response you should contact the Chair of Governors. You can do this by writing a letter to the Chair of Governors.

In your letter, you should request a meeting to discuss your concerns further.

If after this you are still not satisfied, then you could ask to make a formal complaint to the Governing Body.

If you are still unhappy

If, after the Governors have dealt with your complaint, you are still unhappy with the decision and feel that the Governing Body have acted unreasonably you can contact the Secretary of State for Education via www.education.gov.uk/schoolcomplaints.

If you have a complaint about an academy that you have been unable to resolve after following the complaints procedure you should contact the Education Funding Agency (EFA).

Complain to OFSTED

OFSTED as well as inspecting schools and monitoring how they perform, Ofsted also considers complaints if they affect the school as a whole. For example:

  • the school is not providing a good enough education
  • the pupils are not achieving as much as they should, or their different needs are not being met
  • the school is not well led and managed, or is wasting money
  • the pupils' personal development and wellbeing are being neglected

You can contact Ofsted by calling its hotdesk from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday on 08456 404045 or by e-mail enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

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