| Event description |
This briefing is relevant to all governors, trustees, associate members and clerks. The aim is to provide a comprehensive overview of the schools complaints procedure and the statutory duties placed on Governing Boards of Local Authority (LA) maintained schools; however the protocol and principles are applicable to all school settings.
The purpose is to ensure all governors are aware and confident in the knowledge of national and local best practice advice and guidance on school complaints procedures.
The objective of the session will be to embed the duties placed on governors through discussion and information sharing. This, in turn, will allow delegates to ensure that their schools are fully compliant and adhering to relevant legislation and publication requirements. The session will also cover strategies to ensure governors are aware of their role with regards to monitoring and scrutinising complaints.
Governors will have an opportunity to share experiences, if appropriate, in a confidential environment and build their confidence and skills in dealing with the formal stages of the complaints process.
This session will be delivered by Angela Langford, Head of Governor Support. Angela has 20 years’ experience in the field of governance and regularly supports schools with complex scenarios.
Any person, including members of the general public, may make a complaint about any provision of facilities or services that a school provides. In accordance with Section 29 of the Education Act 2002, all LA maintained schools must have and make available a procedure to deal with all complaints relating to their school and to any community facilities or services that the school provides. This information must be published on the school’s website.
The Department for Education (DfE) has produced non-statutory guidance to share best practice and help schools avoid common pitfalls. Although the guidance is aimed at maintained schools, the principles and best practice examples can be applied to any school setting complaints procedure. This session is specifically designed to cover maintained schools and academies.
This briefing will cover the complaints procedure in terms of:
• Timeliness
• Stages
• Recording complaints
• Governing Board review
It will also cover complaints that are not in scope of the schools complaints procedure and tackle strategies on how to deal with serial and persistent complainants. |
| Training objectives |
The objective of the session will be to embed the duties placed on governors through discussion and information sharing. This, in turn, will allow delegates to ensure that their schools are fully compliant and adhering to relevant legislation and publication requirements. The session will also cover strategies to ensure governors are aware of their role with regards to monitoring and scrutinising complaints.
By the end of the session governors will be able to:
• Demonstrate an understanding of the legal requirements for schools to have in place a distinct policy to deal with all complaints.
• Confidently work with the school leadership team to review, update and monitor the schools complaints policy to ensure it is: easily accessible and published on the schools website, is simple to understand and use, is impartial, is non-adversarial; enables a full and fair investigation and respects confidentiality.
• Describe the importance of timeliness of considering and resolving complaints as quickly and efficiently as possible.
• Identify stages of the complaints procedure and relevant personnel responsible at each stage.
• Explain the Governing Board review stage and the expected protocol. |
