Making a complaint about a private/independent school
Depending on your concern, the usual route for making a complaint involving a school is as follows:
- The Head Teacher: any issues concerning the general running of the school would need to be addressed to the Head in the first instance.
- The School Complaints Policy: all schools will have a policy governing their handling of parental complaints. This will be available on request from the school, if it has not already been given to you.
- The Governing Body: if you feel a complaint to a Head has not been answered satisfactorily, you could consider an appeal to the board of governors/proprietor/owners in writing.
Where the school is registered with the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI), you may also wish to consult their Independent Schools Inspectorate guidance on what to do if you have concerns about a private/independent school.
Where the school is registered with Ofsted, you can visit the DfE Complaints guidance.