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Chesswood Junior School

Chesswood Junior School

Concerns and Complaints

Managing Concerns and Complaints

From time to time we may fall below the high expectations we set for ourselves and we encourage parents to contact us if something has happened within school that could improve. We also recognise and appreciate problems occurring in school that make a child unhappy can produce strong emotions.  From experience, problems are always resolved more quickly and effectively if parents share their specific concerns and problems rather than their strong emotions.  You can be assured that all members of staff act in good faith and will make every effort to resolve any issues arising in order that your child may return to being happy and learning productively in the shortest period of time. Where an initial concern has not been resolved to a parent’s satisfaction then we encourage them to use the formal complaints policy set out in this policy to seek a resolution.

Principles

We welcome feedback from parents or carers of children that are registered at the school along with other people in the wider community.

Where this feedback raises a concern or a complaint we will seek to resolve the matter openly, fairly, promptly and without prejudice.

We expect all staff, governors and volunteers to adhere to the 7 principles of public life 

Our procedures for dealing with complaints will:

  • Be managed consistently by every member of the Chesswood School community and in line with the seven principles of public life
  • Be welcoming and understanding
  • Not trivialise or dismiss a complaint without giving it full consideration
  • Be simple to understand and follow
  • Be evidenced based and focused on outcomes
  • Adhere to specific time limits for action
  • Keep people informed at all stages
  • Respect people’s desire for confidentiality wherever appropriate
  • Be carefully quality assured by senior leaders and governors
  • Provide information to the school’s senior leadership team so that the school’s procedures can be improved
  • Our complaints policy, procedures and outcomes will be overseen by the Governing Body.

Room to share

We have a facility to allow children and adults to share their questions, worries or thoughts directly with us, without meeting in person as this can sometimes be daunting. The form below may be completed at any time and we will review new submissions usually on the same working day and certainly within three working days, including INSET days. This form is not monitored during the school holidays but on our return we will seek to respond within three working days, when a response has been requested.

For more serious concerns and all complaints please complete the concerns and complaint form below.

Policy and Guidance

Please use the guidance within the complaints policy section to help resolve any concerns you may have.

Guide

Link

School Expectations for addressing concerns and complaints

It is vitally important for the home school relationship to remain positive and productive at all times and in children's best interests. A significant and important factor in maintaining that relationship is for school professionals to adhere to the principles set out at all times when managing concerns or complaints. The poster opposite may be read by clicking on the image or by following this LINK

Our key principles including responding to all concerns:

  • Openly
  • Fairly
  • Promptly
  • Without prejudice

Concerns and Complaints Quick Guide

Please click on the guide opposite to read a quick guide to raising a concern or complaint.

 

 

Parent and visitor behaviour expectations

Occasionally, there are aspects of the school experience that parents, families or visitors hold significant concerns about and these may provoke strong emotion and challenging behaviour. This community poster sets out parent and visitor behaviour expectations at all times including where there are grounds for concern and complaint.

The poster opposite may be read by clicking on the image or by following this LINK

Controlling access to the school premises

Parents and visitors will be warmly welcomed to the school premises as long as the following rules are followed:

  • Act with courtesy, care and kindness to all other site users at all times
  • Ensure behaviour is not reasonably perceived to be discriminatory, abusive, threatening or violent by any other site user, at any time.
  • Ensure any communication online (including any form of social media), telephone or in writing including email is not reasonably perceived to be discriminatory, abusive (including defamatory comments that may or may not have a specific named individual noted), threatening towards any member of the school staff, volunteers or governing body

We have a zero-tolerance approach to any discriminatory, abusive, threatening or violent behaviour towards any member of the school community, at any time either whilst on site, off site or on-line (in relation to the school community or individual/s in it). We will always take the strongest possible action in response to such behaviour.

Click on the image opposite to open the web page or follow this LINK

Concerns and Complaints Policy

Please select the image opposite to read the Chesswood Junior School Concerns & Complaints Policy or follow this LINK. Should you have any questions or queries about the process and need clarification on how to raise a concern or complaint, please do not hesitate to contact us either by calling 01903 204141 or email office@chesswood.w-sussex.sch.uk.

 

Department for Education Concerns and Complaints

If you need to complain about a school or an academy, you should first approach them direct and complete their complaints procedure. This should be published on their website. You can use the ‘Get information about schools’ service to find the school’s website and view their complaints procedure.

There is further guidance on the Department for Education complaints procedure online. To start the process of a complaint to the Department for Education please select the image opposite or follow this LINK.

 

Tell Ofsted about a problem

Ofsted cannot respond to or resolve individual complaints but you can still tell Ofsted about a problem with a school. They can use the information you provide to decide when to inspect and what areas to focus the inspection on.

To start this process please click on the image opposite or follow this LINK

Would you like to share a concern or make a complaint?

Please use the form below to share your concern or complaint. This form is appropriate for any and all complaints with exception of complaints directly in relation to the head teacher or a member of the governing body. If you do have a concern or complaint in relation to either the head teacher or a member of the governing body please email clerk@chesswood.w-sussex.sch.uk. 

The online form may be completed below or by following this link it will open in a new window and may be easier to use on some devices. The form will then be submitted when you click 'submit' at the end and you will receive a confirmation message to confirm we have received your concern or complaint.

Concern & Complaint Form

Link

Please select the link opposite to open the concern and complaint form to download and print. This form may be completed online and delivered by email or printed and sent delivered to the school office as a hard copy. Please deliver by email, hand or by post and mark as Private and Confidential

Chesswood Junior School

Chesswood Road

Worthing

BN11 2AA

01903 204141

PDF Version

Word Version

 

https://www.chesswood.w-sussex.sch.uk/attachments/download.asp?file=16501&type=pdf