Complaint Policy
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Introduction:
We at the British Scientific School strive to provide a secure, calm and
welcoming environment for students and staff. We recognize that these
aspirations can only be achieved by the wholehearted commitment and support of
the whole school community. Occasionally, situations will occur which prevent
the fulfilment of those aims and give cause for complaint. In order to bring
any such occurrences to a speedy and satisfactory conclusion, the school has
adopted a Complaints Procedure, based on the local authority’s advice.
It is important that
complaints are raised at the earliest possible opportunity to enable the matter
to be dealt with speedily and effectively. An early informal approach is often
the best means of resolution of minor problems. The Department for Education
expect complaints to be made at the earliest opportunity and consider 3 months
to be an acceptable timeframe to lodge a complaint.
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Complaint procedure:
Stage 1: local resolution of the problem (the informal
stage).
In the vast majority of
cases a problem can and should be resolved by contacting the class teacher
subject teacher or member of staff directly involved with the problem. The
initial communication with the member of staff may be through the (Student
Portal), by telephone, or in person by appointment. Where this action does not
lead to the problem being resolved then the complaint should be dealt with
through the formal stages of this procedure.
Stage 2: The Formal Stage.
.1 If the complainant is not satisfied with the response from the member of staff at stage 1 or if the complaint is of a serious nature, the complainant should be advised that the next stage is to put their complaint in writing to the head teacher. When writing to the head teacher the complainant should seek to include details that might assist the investigation, such as witnesses, dates and times of events and copies of relevant documents.
.2 The head teacher will be responsible for carrying out an investigation or appointing another senior member of staff to carry out the investigation and report their findings to the head teacher who will then reach a conclusion based on the investigation.
The person appointed as the Investigator should keep notes of any interviews held as part of the investigation. In order to clarify the specific details of the complaint, the nature of the complaint and any background to the complaint, the investigator may feel it necessary to meet with the complainant first. It is good practice to supply interviewees with the notes and ask them to sign the notes for accuracy.
.3 At the conclusion of the investigation the investigator will compile a report detailing their findings and any recommendations or actions they propose need to be considered by the head teacher.
.4 The head teacher should write to the complainant within 2 school days of receipt of their letter, setting out who is conducting the investigation and that the head teacher will write again to the complainant within a further 4 school days setting out the actions taken to investigate the complaint and their findings. However, the investigation period for a more complex complaint could be longer than 6 days. The complainant should be advised if this is the case.
.5 Before the investigator interviews a member/s of staff, they must be informed that they can be accompanied by a colleague or representative of a recognized union or professional association.
.6 Once satisfied that the investigation has been concluded and a decision on the complaint has been reached the head teacher will notify the complainant in writing of the conclusion and decision made. The complainant will be informed of any action that will be taken as a result of the complaint except where this would be a breach confidentiality e.g. taking any formal action against individual members of staff which would remain confidential.
The head teacher may feel it appropriate to meet with the complainant to communicate the findings in person; in this event the decision should also be confirmed in writing.
.7 The outcome of the investigation would usually be one of the following but not limited to:
• The evidence indicates that the complaint was substantiated and therefore upheld;
• The complaint was substantiated in part and the part upheld and identified only is upheld;
• There is insufficient evidence to reach a conclusion so the complaint is inconclusive and not proven;
• The complaint is not substantiated by the evidence and therefore not upheld;
