Complaints
Making a complaint
At St. Mary's Church of England Primary School, we aim to ensure that all parental issues are dealt with in a timely, courteous manner.
As per the complaints policy (accessible below) we have a complaints 'command chain' which we expect parents and carers to follow, in order to quickly resolve your concern.
A Concern or Complaint?
A concern may be defined as ‘an expression of worry or doubt over an issue considered to be important for which reassurances are sought’.
A complaint may be defined as ‘an expression of dissatisfaction however made, about actions taken or a lack of action’.
It is in everyone’s interest that concerns and complaints are resolved at the earliest possible stage. Many issues can be resolved informally, without the need to use the formal stages of the complaints procedure. Schools take concerns seriously and will make every effort to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.
Escalation of Concerns/Complaint
Parent expresses dissatisfaction and want to talk to the school | Speaks to Class Teacher | Class Teacher records concerns on the proforma – issue is hopefully resolved. |
Parent is still unhappy having spoken to the classteacher. | Escalates to Year Leader | Year Leader records the conversation on the proforma including next steps – issue is hopefully resolved. |
Parent makes a formal complaint to the school | Escalated to Assistant Headteacher of phase – KS1 or 2. | AHT investigates and responds with a letter to the parent outlining the steps taken to move forward. |
Parent is still unhappy with the outcome from the Assitant Headteacher. | Escalates to Deputy Head Teacher | DHT invites the parent in – recorded on the proforma - responds with a letter to the parent outlining the steps taken to move forward. |
Parent unhappy with outcome from Deputy Headteacher - escalates to Headteacher | Headteacher meets with the parent and those involved to seek resolution. A written outcome to the parent follows. | |
Escalates to Chair of Governing Body | In extreme circumstances, the CoG (Mrs Lisa Benham) or a representative will meet with the parent. A hearing will take place with a written outcome. | |
Submitting a complaint to the Headteacher
If after following the complaints guidance, and having met with the relevant personnel, you are still unhappy - you should submit a letter in writing to Mr D Constable-Phelps, Headteacher.
You will receive notification of Mr Constable-Phelps receiving your complaint and a timescale for ensuring that this is responded to. Typically, parents should receive notification of receiving the complaint within 48 hours of this being handed in.
Please note that sending complaints to 'info@' comes with a risk as this isn't a 'manned account'. Further, emails from @gmail, @yahoo and the like are prone to going into the 'junk mail' which we cannot retrieve over system security. Hence why we ask for your complaint in writing (or printed) to the main office. Thank you!
Making a complaint to Ofsted
A reminder to parents that complaints to Ofsted are usually only received by the CAS (Complaints Against Schools) team if the complainant shows that they have utilised the school's published complaints procedure.
If Ofsted do investigate, they will ask for your permission to share details with the school related to the complaint and for the school or local authority to investigate.
HMI (Her Majesty's Inspectors) will then review the complaint and decide whether or not this warrants further investigation.
Concerns and Complaints - Online Form
Use this complaints form to write a message to the team and a Senior Leader will get back to you!