Complaints Policy

Charterhouse Square School Complaints Procedure 

Introduction 

This document sets out the school's procedure for addressing complaints.  It should be used only when informal attempts to resolve problems have been unsuccessful.  If you have any concerns about the school or the education provided, please discuss the matter with your child's class teacher or senior teacher or Headteacher at the earliest opportunity.  The school considers any concerns very seriously and most problems can be resolved at this stage. 

Aims and Objectives 

The school will give careful consideration to all complaints and deal with them fairly and honestly.  We will provide sufficient opportunity for any complaint to be fully discussed, and aim to resolve it through open dialogue and mutual understanding. 

Framework of Principles 

• be easily accessible and publicised
• be simple to use and understand
• be impartial
• be non-adversarial
• allow swift handling with established time-limits for action and keeping people informed of the progress
• ensure a full and fair investigation by an independent person where necessary
• respect people's desire for confidentiality, wherever possible (some information sharing may be necessary to carry out a thorough investigation).This confidentiality does not apply to the Secretary of State or inspectors under section 162A of the 2002 Act.
• address all points of issue, providing an effective response and appropriate redress, where necessary
• provide information to the school's senior management team so that services can be improved. 

Formal Complaints Procedure

Stage 1  

If you feel that a concern has not been addressed through informal discussion with the and you wish to have the matter formally investigated by an appropriate person from the school, please set out the details on the attached form.  If you would like help, the school will be happy to provide the assistance of someone unconnected with the complaint.  

If the matter is about:

• the day-to-day running of the school
• the interpretation of school policies
• the actions or inactions of staff at the school 

It will be investigated by the Headmistress 

If the matter is about: 

• the Headteacher

then, it will be investigated by a nominee of Cognita Schools. 

The person carrying out the investigation will review the way in which the complaint has been handled by the school and ensure that the issues have been dealt with properly and fairly.  He/she will write to you reporting the findings and recommendations of this investigation within 15 working days of receiving the complaint. 

If it becomes apparent that the complaint is a disciplinary or capability issue, then the matter will be dealt with by following the appropriate procedure rather than the complaints procedure.  You will be notified if this is the case with your complaint, but you are not entitled to know which procedure or the final outcome.  

Stage 2 

If you are not satisfied with the result from Stage 1, you may choose to refer your complaint to Stage 2 of the procedure. This must be done in writing to the school within 15 working days of the completion of Stage 1.

 

At this Stage, the complaint will be considered by either a Cognita Senior Education Adviser or a nominee, depending on who carried out the investigation in Stage 1 and the complainant will be informed in writing of the results of this review : -  

The general principle is that the school should be able to produce documentary evidence to show that the complaint has received fair and proper consideration within the school's procedure.  If they have any concerns, they may ask the Headteacher to re-open the investigation.  The complainant will be kept informed of any delay.  

If the complainant is not satisfied after the Senior Education Adviser or his nominee have completed their review you can request that Stage 3 of the procedure is enacted. This must be done in writing to the school within 15 working days of the completion of Stage 2. 

Stage 3  

 Stage 3 will be carried out by a panel of nominees, who will meet to consider the complaint and make a final decision about it on behalf of the school. 

In Stage 3, the panel will consist of at least 3 persons who have no detailed prior knowledge of the complaint, or connection with the complainant with at least one person independent of both the school & Cognita.  The meeting will normally take place within 15 working days of your request.

 You will have the opportunity to submit written evidence on the complaint prior to the meeting of the panel and also to attend, accompanied by a friend/partner if you wish, to put your case.  The Principal will be given the same opportunities.  The panel will write sending the findings and recommendations to the complainant and, where relevant, the person complained about and making them available to the proprietor and head within 5 working days of the meeting. 

The decision of the panel is final. 

 If you are still not satisfied, you may wish to put your complaint to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills.  

Monitoring and Review  

Cognita monitors the complaints procedure, in order to ensure that all complaints are handled properly.  The headteacher logs all formal complaints received by the school and records how they were resolved. The senior management team of the school and the compliance monitoring team of Cognita examine this log on an annual basis and consider the need for any changes to the procedure.  

Availability  

A copy of this procedure has been made available to all parents on our website or on request a hard copy can be obtained from the school. 

Early Years Provision

It is clearly understood that parents have the right to phone OFSTED after talking to the  staff if they feel that they have not received a satisfactory response to their complaint.  OFSTED can be contacted on 0845 6014771 for Registration, 0845 6014772 for Complaints quoting our reference number 117117.  Alternatively you can write to: Early Years, OFSTED, 1 Temple Square, Temple Quay, Bristol BS1 6HB.

17/11/09  The school has had one formal complaint in the last twelve months.