Complaints Procedure (Parents)

A vital aspect of working in a close partnership with parents is that we want to know when things are, in the view of parents, not going right. If you have any concerns about any aspect of your child’s life at school, please contact an appropriate member of staff as soon as possible. We will take all such expressions of concern seriously and follow them up courteously and promptly. In any school things can go wrong but we want to do all we can to sort those things out.

Two things tend to make parents and pupils reluctant to express concerns:

• A fear that the school will not see the issue to be important. Please be assured, if it is important to you, it is important to us.

A fear that a complaint may lead to repercussions for the pupil. Please be assured that under no circumstances will the school discriminate against a pupil because of expressions of concern or complaints. We are also very experienced in ensuring that, if other pupils are involved (e.g. in an allegation of bullying), there are no repercussions from other quarters.

Who should you contact?

• For a minor day to day issue please contact the relevant teacher or Tutor.
• For a more serious subject related academic concern, the Head of Department should be contacted.
• For a more serious general academic concern or pastoral matter, the relevant Head of Year is the appropriate person to contact.
• For concerns about the curriculum, please contact the Deputy Head (Curriculum).
• For any other pastoral or disciplinary concerns, please contact the Deputy Head.
• In matters regarding finance, fees and non-academic services please contact the Bursar.

We will do all we can to ensure that we respond to complaints in a highly professional manner. However, if you feel that an expression of concern has not been handled properly by a member of staff please contact the Deputy Head.

What do I do if I remain dissatisfied?

If you remain unhappy, please contact the Headmaster. This should be in writing. The Headmaster may ask to meet you for a discussion of the problem. The Headmaster will conduct a full investigation of the complaint and may interview any members of staff or pupils involved. You will receive a written response to your complaint.

If having discussed the matter with the Headmaster, you still feel dissatisfied then please contact the Chairman of the Governors who will convene a panel of at least two Governors and one person independent of the management and running of the school to consider the complaint. You can write to him in confidence c/o the Bursar who is Clerk to the Governors.

Parents are always welcome to address their serious concerns on any matter to the Headmaster