Complaints

If you have a concern or complaint we would like you to tell us about it. We welcome suggestions for improving our work in the school.

Be assured that no matter what you want to tell us, our support and respect for you and your child in the school will not be affected in any way. Please tell us of your concern as soon as possible as it is difficult for us to investigate properly an incident or problem which has happened some time ago.

What to do first – meet the teacher, a Senior Leader or Head of School

Most concerns and complaints can and should be sorted out quickly by speaking with your child’s class teacher. If the class teacher cannot resolve it, you are dissatisfied with their response, or you have a complaint which you feel should be looked at by a member of the Senior Leadership Team, please make an appointment to see Miss Swiers. It is usually best to discuss the problem face to face, although you may need an appointment to do this, and can make one by speaking to Mrs Humphreys, or another member of the team in the school office. You can take a friend or relation to the appointment with you if you would like to do so.

All staff will make every effort to resolve your problem informally. They will make sure that they understand what you feel went wrong, and they will explain their own actions to you. They will ask what you would like the school to do to put things right. Of course, this does not mean that in every case they will come round to your point of view but it will help both you and the school to understand both sides of the question. It may also help to prevent a similar problem arising again.

The staff member dealing with the incident will conduct a full investigation of the complaint and will speak to any members of staff or pupils involved. You will receive a full response to your complaint.

Most problems can be resolved by the end of this stage.

What to do next – contact the Governing Body

If you are dissatisfied with response from the Headteacher or your complaint is about an action of the Head of School personally, then you should refer your complaint to Matt Boxall, the Chair of the Governing Body. You can contact him via the school office or through the Clerk to the Governing Body at City of York Council.

You may also find it helpful at this stage to have a copy of the School’s Complaints Procedures which provides more detail. This is detailed in our Complaints Policy which can be found on Our Policies page.

If your complaint has not been resolved – Governors’ Complaints Panel

If you are still not satisfied you may wish to ask the Chair of the Governing Body to ask for referral of your complaint to a Governors’ Complaints Panel. It will then be heard by a group of three governors who have no previous knowledge of the problem and so will be able to give it a fresh assessment. You will be invited to attend and speak to the panel at a meeting which the headteacher will also attend. The Complaints Procedure statement explains how these meetings operate.

You can find the Complaints Policy on Our Policies page and the Formal Complaint Form can be accessed here.