If you are seeking support, our education lawyers can help in terms of having appropriate parental complaints policies in place and separate complaints policies for members of the public that are far less burdensome. It is only the parental complaints policy for academies that must comply with the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations, so our lawyers can support you with drafting a more streamlined version to manage complaints from, for example, disgruntled neighbours or former parents.
Our team can support you with complaints at the first stage on the grounds that a complaint is out of time or out of scope. We are experienced in helping schools to manage vexatious complaints, to alleviate the pressure and help to reduce the workload of staff. If a complaint proceeds to an independent appeal panel, we appreciate that it can be stressful for all members of staff concerned. We can support your school through this process. This includes collating a hearing bundle and helping to prepare witness statements. We can also support with the preparation of outcome letters to ensure that your decision is procedurally sound.
Some parents are now using AI to help draft a school complaint. This means that increasingly complaints may refer to legislation that is not even in force or not relevant. In addition, parents are complaining to many organisations at the same time, for example – the local authority, the DfE, the ICO and Ofsted. We are well placed to support your school to effectively manage complex and time consuming complaints. Our education specialists can, for example, work with the DfE to effectively challenge a parent’s complaint and/or in some circumstances to implement any recommendations from the DfE.
In circumstances where parents are creating considerable difficulties for the school beyond the complaint we can support you with managing the parents’ behaviour, including drafting a Parent Code of Conduct and putting in place a communication plan. Furthermore, we can advise schools on the process for barring individuals from the school site.
Our colleagues at Ward Hadaway can also support you with removing any parental posts from social media to protect your school’s reputation. Our team will also be able to support your staff by providing training to ensure that staff understand how to implement your complaints policy and effectively manage complaints.