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If things go wrong

We urge parents and carers to contact us at their earliest convenience if they are unhappy with any aspect of their child’s schooling.

We much prefer to know people’s concerns, find solutions together, and build relationships that will serve a child throughout their education with us.

For this reason, the informal raising of concerns can often be the best way to first alert us to a problem.

Stage 1 – Informal Complaint

It is to be hoped that most concerns can be expressed and resolved on an informal basis.
 
Concerns should be raised with either the class teacher / Head of Year / Lead Head of Year / Subject Lead / The Headteacher, depending on the nature of the complaint.  The Headteacher’s PA is available to confirm who the most appropriate member of staff is to deal with the Informal Complaint. 
 
Complainants should not approach individual Governors to raise concerns or complaints. They have no power to act on an individual basis and it may also prevent them from considering complaints at Stage 3 of the procedure.
 
At the conclusion of their investigation, the appropriate person investigating the complaint will provide an informal written response within 15 school days of the date of receipt of the complaint.
 
If the issue remains unresolved, the next step is to make a formal complaint. 

Stage 2 – Formal Complaint

Formal complaints must be made to the Headteacher (unless they are about the Headteacher), via the school office. This may be done in person or in writing (preferably on the Complaint Form).
 
The Headteacher will record the date the complaint is received and will acknowledge receipt of the complaint in writing (either by letter or email) within 5 school days.
 
Within this response, the Headteacher will seek to clarify the nature of the complaint, ask what remains unresolved and what outcome the complainant would like to see. The Headteacher can consider whether a face to face meeting is the most appropriate way of doing this. 
 
The Headteacher may delegate the investigation to another member of the school’s senior leadership team but not the decision to be taken. 
  • If necessary, interview those involved in the matter and/or those complained of, allowing them to be accompanied if they wish.
  • Keep a written record of any meetings/interviews in relation to their investigation.
  • At the conclusion of their investigation, the Headteacher will provide a formal written response within 15 school days of the date of receipt of the complaint.
If the Headteacher is unable to meet this deadline, they will provide the complainant with an update and revised response date.
 
The response will detail any actions taken to investigate the complaint and provide a full explanation of the decision made and the reason(s) for it.
 
Where appropriate, it will include details of actions Bishop Perowne Church of England College will take to resolve the complaint.
 
The Headteacher will advise the complainant of how to escalate their complaint should they remain dissatisfied with the outcome of Stage 2.
 
If the complaint is about the Headteacher, or a member of the governing body (including the Chair or Vice-Chair), a suitably skilled governor will be appointed to complete all the actions at Stage 2.
Complaints about the Headteacher or member of the governing body must be made to the Clerk, via the school office.
 
If the complaint is:
  • Jointly about the Chair and Vice Chair or
  • The entire governing body or
  • The majority of the governing body
Stage 2 will be considered by an independent investigator appointed by the governing body. At the conclusion of their investigation, the independent investigator will provide a formal written response.

Stage 3 – Panel Hearing

If the complainant is dissatisfied with the outcome at Stage 2 and wishes to take the matter further, they can escalate the complaint to Stage 3 – a panel hearing consisting of at least three people who were not directly involved in the matters detailed in the complaint with one panel member who is independent of the management and running of the school.  This is the final stage of the complaints procedure. 

Next Steps

If the complainant believes the school did not handle their complaint in accordance with the published complaints procedure or they acted unlawfully or unreasonably in the exercise of their duties under education law, they can contact the ESFA after they have completed Stage 3. 
 
The ESFA will not normally reinvestigate the substance of complaints or overturn any decisions made by Bishop Perowne Church of England College.  They will consider whether Bishop Perowne Church of England College has adhered to education legislation and any statutory policies connected with the complaint and whether they have followed Part 7 of the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.

Important point to note

When families work through the complaints procedure laid out above it enables us to best understand an issue and ensure that the concerned parties are involved in a resolution. We have found families who proceed to the top rungs of the scale immediately can actually limit and compromise the work we are able to do to find the best resolution.

Finally

Unfortunately, we do have to remind all parties that complaints of a vexatious nature, or those conducted in an abusive or aggressive manner, will be paused until an appropriate way forward can be found – as set out in our unreasonable complaints policy. Our unreasonable complaints policy is available both below and in the “Parent and Student Policies” section of our full policies page.

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