Help and Advice

What to do when things go wrong!

When parents have a problem or complaint about school it is often difficult to know where to turn. Usually, the best place to start is with your child's form tutor, or head of year. For more serious problems speak to either of the school Deputy Headteachers, Mr Ferrie or Mr Wilson; or to the Headteacher, Mr Christou.

If your problem still has not been resolved, please contact Mr Hewlings, the Chair of Governors, c/o the school.

Please remember that it is best to have an appointment to see anyone at the school. Although every effort will be made to help you, don't simply turn up and expect to be seen straight away. Please also remember that all members of the school community have a right to be treated in a polite and courteous manner. Aggressive and rude behaviour from anyone is unacceptable and less likely to see grievances dealt with any more quickly or successfully.

If you need to take the matter further

Up to date information can be obtained from the Advisory Centre for Education. Their website also has sections covering bullying, applying for a school, racism, exclusions, how to complain etc. They are a charity and some information and advice may be charged. A shortened version of their complaints procedure is copied below, with their kind permission. At the bottom of this page are contact details you might find useful.

Who is responsible for what?

Precisely who you go to first will depend upon the nature of the complaint and who is responsible. Responsibility for most of what goes on in schools is down to the school itself.

In all schools the governing body has responsibility for general oversight of the conduct of the school, the curriculum, its spending, staffing policy and staff discipline.

The headteacher is responsible for internal organisation, day to day management and control of the school and the implementation of the strategic framework established by the governing body.

The Local Education Authority has responsibility for planning the educational provision in its area and is responsible for admission arrangements in community schools, is the employer of staff, along with the governing body, and is responsible for ensuring special needs provision for children with statements in all schools.

Once you have exhausted local complaints you may complain to the Secretary of State.

Record Keeping

Record keeping helps avoid delays and discourages people from dismissing your complaint. Keep notes of telephone conversations, records of any meetings, and copies of the letters that you have written and received. A diary of events can help where you are worried about an ongoing situation, for example, bullying. Always follow up a meeting or a telephone call with a note or letter detailing the main points that arose. It is also important to keep a record of the number of times you have failed to get through and left messages for the education officer, school governor or teacher. By presenting this documented information to anybody who is dealing with your complaint, you save their time and yours.

Taking a Complaint Through the System

Complaining to the teacher or headteacher:.

In the first stage you should always try to get things sorted out by the member of staff concerned. You can raise the issue with your child's form tutor, head of year or deputy head or the headteacher either by writing, making an appointment or by making an informal visit. Often the teacher or headteacher will not be able to deal with the complaint straight away. However, they should be able to tell you what action they will be taking and when and how they will report back to you. Whatever the issue, you should try and remain calm and polite. Unless you intend to change your child's school you should remember that you will have to work with the school's staff in the future.

It is important to make clear what you hope to achieve. Sometimes all you may want is an acknowledgment that the situation could have been handled differently, an apology or reassurance that it was a one-off.

Complaining to the Governing Body:

The headteacher is responsible for maintaining good discipline in the school. In doing so, he must have regard to the written statement on behaviour drawn up by the governing body. If the headteacher does not resolve your complaint, you can take the matter to the governing body. Parents can approach the governors about any school issue. You can write to the chair of governors c/o the school or speak to any school governor, especially a Parent Governor. Contact information is also published in the school prospectus, on the school website and is available from the school office.

It would be useful to read any policies that the governing body has drawn up in relation to the complaint e.g. anti-bullying policy, or equal opportunities policy, to see how far the school's response to the situation has been in line with its stated aims and objectives. You are allowed to see a copy of the minutes and papers from all governors' meetings, except those items which are considered to be confidential. Issues relating to individual pupils or members of staff would usually be treated as confidential, even if your own child is involved.

Complaining to the Director of Children's Sercices:.

Dissatisfied with the Governing Body, you may decide to take your complaint to the Local Education Authority (LEA). Education is the responsibility of the London Borough of Barnet. The Director of Children's Services is answerable to the elected Council. The LEA can provide advice and support, and it can intervene on your behalf, but it can rarely direct a school to take any specific action. In extreme circumstances, it can step in if it believes that all discipline in a school has broken down. If you have not already raised the matter with the school, the LEA may advise you to do this first. If you feel unable to, the LEA may agree to contact the school on your behalf.

Now that so much responsibility has been devolved to schools, the LEA can play a valuable role as advisor and advocate for parents when things go wrong. Many LEAs have mediation schemes which can be helpful to parents. For example, the new SEN and Disability Act 2001 (SENDA) will require LEAs to appoint an independent person to facilitate resolution of disagreements between authorities and parents. The LEA's Parent Partnership Scheme will be another source of help and advice for parents of children with special educational needs. You may want to enquire whether any such mediation scheme exists to mediate in other areas.

However, the LEA has no jurisdiction over a foundation or a voluntary aided schools or City Academies or City Technology Colleges. If your child is in one of these schools school you should complain directly to the Secretary of State for Education if your complaint to the governing body has not resolved matters.

Complaining to your local Councillor:

You could approach your local councillor or the Chair of the Education Committee to take up your case with the Director. You can write to your councillor at the Town Hall, or you can ask the Town Hall to give you his/her address and telephone number. You can also visit your councillor at a surgery. The Town Hall will supply details. When you write or visit a councillor you should be prepared to make a return visit. Councillors deal with a lot of complaints so you have to make sure yours is kept at the top of their list. Don't forget to take copies of all relevant documents so that your councillor does not have to waste time collecting information that you already have.

Complaining to your MP:

As with councillors the MP will hold surgeries, the times of which will be published in the local paper or in the library. Your MP may help you with complaining to the Secretary of State and his intervention may speed matters up.

Complaining to the Secretary of State for Education:.

If you think that your LEA or school governors have acted "unreasonably" or that they have failed in their duties under the Education Acts, then you can complain to the Secretary of State under Sections 496 and/or 497 of the 1996 Education Act. Where there are special procedures for complaint and appeal, it is usually necessary to exhaust these before complaining to the Secretary of State. However, you could complain if you think that these procedures have not been followed correctly. When you make a formal complaint under Section 496 or 497 the Secretary of State must fully investigate it and let you know the result. The Secretary of State has the power to issue directions to the LEA or governing body. However, you should be aware that this power is very rarely used, and that an investigation by the Secretary of State can take up to six months or more. Don't be put off by this. Sometimes the very process of making a formal complaint to the Secretary of State acts as a spur to those responsible to try to finally settle the matter.

Complaining to the Ombudsman:.

The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) investigates complaints of injustice arising from maladministration by local authorities and certain other bodies e.g. the independent appeal panels set up to hear exclusion and admission appeals. The LGO cannot investigate action concerning the teaching, conduct, curriculum, internal organisation, management or discipline in a school. So, you couldn't complain to the Ombudsman about the school's response, but you could complain about the LEA's failure to respond in a reasonable way to your complaints about the school.

The Ombudsman is concerned with the way a decision is reached, not with the merits of the decision itself. The main test of whether there has been maladministration is whether an authority has acted reasonably within the law, its own policies and generally accepted standards of local administration. The objective of the Ombudsman is to secure satisfactory redress for the complainant and to promote better administration for the authorities. The complaint should be made within a year, the complainant must give the authority the opportunity to investigate and reply to the complaint and the LGO cannot investigate if the complainant has an alternative remedy e.g. a right of appeal to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST) or a legal action unless it would not be reasonable to expect the person to go to court or take legal action.

Finding a solicitor:

There are still few solicitors with education experience so it is good advice to do as much as you can yourself before you use a solicitor. Solicitors can help you take a case to court or they can help speed things up. If your LEA has been slow to respond to your complaint, then a letter from your solicitor to the LEA is often effective. The Legal Services Commission website can help you to find local sources of legal advice. In addition, you can contact the Education Law Association, which is a membership organisation for lawyers interested in education law.

Judicial Review:

In order to get the courts to examine the actions and decisions of your school governors or LEA you would have to apply for Judicial Review. This can be done without a solicitor but it is advisable to contact one. It is usually necessary to exhaust any special procedures for complaint or appeal before turning to the courts.

Judicial Review can be sought if:

The authority or school has acted illegally or applied unlawful policies in dealing with your child, e.g. if a school has charged for tuition that was part of the National Curriculum and took place during school hours; The authority has acted unreasonably, i.e. it has come to a decision or conclusion so unreasonable that no reasonable authority taking into account the correct factors could have come to it;
The authority has not followed the proper procedures as set down in the law or has not acted in accordance with natural justice. A person must be given the opportunity to state their own point of view before a decision is made and that decision must be made by an unbiased person.

Judicial Review is normally only possible if it is within three months of the incident you are complaining about. Even three months is considered an unreasonable delay in some cases. It is important to complain early. Public funding from the Community Legal Services (CLS) (formerly legal aid) can be available to help pay for your case. It may be possible to apply for funding in the name of the child. However, there are drawbacks. Sometimes in order to get public funding your solicitor will have to consult a barrister about whether or not you have a case worth taking to court. Sometimes emergency funding is available for this; sometimes you have to pay. Secondly, judicial review is not quick. It can take months for a case to come to court and there is considerable emotional stress connected with any court action. Thirdly, judicial review does not overturn a decision; it only supervises the process of decision-making as to whether the Authority has used its powers correctly. Given these obstacles, it makes sense to do as much as you can yourself rather than rely on court action for a speedy resolution to your complaint.

County and High Court Actions:

The County Court is where civil proceedings are held. Civil proceedings are where you make a claim for damages, for an order to stop something (an injunction) or for a definitive interpretation of the law.

In education the most common claims have been made to remedy negligence, racial discrimination and sex discrimination in schools. It is advisable to seek advice from a solicitor before filing your claim. However you could bring the action yourself. You may be able to obtain funding from the CLS and if the action is taken in the child's name it would be the child's income which is taken into account.

You can claim for negligence if, for example, you think that supervision has been inadequate leading to serious harm to your child because of bullying or that the school has failed to recognise that your child had special educational needs.

Special Procedures for Complaint and Appeal

The processes described above can be followed in complaints about most matters that arise in schools. There are some issues, however, that are covered by quite separate complaints and appeals procedures that are set out in regulations. These cover special educational needs, school admissions, exclusion from school, curriculum exceptions and curriculum complaints. You should be told about these procedures if ever a problem arises.

In special needs and disability discrimination cases, there is a right of appeal to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal.
Over school admissions and permanent exclusions there is provision for an appeal to an independent panel.
Under section 409 of the Education Act 1996 as amended by para. 107, Sched. 30, School Standards and Framework Act 1998 every LEA must make arrangements to deal with complaints of unreasonableness in relation to the National Curriculum, collective worship, religious education, unapproved external qualifications or courses, charging arrangements, the provision of information or the conduct of an appeal to the governing body about the head's direction to except a child from the National Curriculum.

The school prospectus has advice for parents about the complaints procedure and is available to download on the school website. You should ask your school or LEA for a copy of it. If at the end of the process you feel that your LEA or foundation or voluntary aided school has not dealt with the complaint properly you can then complain to the Secretary of State.

Race or Sex Discrimination

The Equality and Human Rights Commission provides support to individuals by way of publications, advice and in some cases legal representation. The procedure for a complaint for sex discrimination would start with a complaint to the school, and then if that fails the EHRC advises that you should use the questionnaire procedure under s74 of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975. This consists of a form that is sent to the school requesting information about the treatment you have received. Finally, action can be taken in the County Court.

There is a six month limit from the date the discrimination took place. You also have an extra two months in which you must notify the Secretary of State for Education that you intend to bring proceedings against a state school.

The Commission can also provide help and assistance in cases of racial discrimination.

Useful Contact Details and Addresses

East Barnet School, Chestnut Grove, East Barnet, EN4 8PU. Telephone 020 8440 4162 enquiries@eastbarnet.sch.uk

Mr Jonathan Hewlings, Chair of Governors, East Barnet School, Chestnut Grove, East Barnet, EN4 8PU. Telephone 020 8440 4162 enquiries@eastbarnet.sch.uk

London Borough of Barnet Children's Services, North London Business Park (NLBP), Oakleigh Road South, London. N11 1NP Telephone 020 8359 2000 first.contact@barnet.gov.uk web: http://www.barnet.gov.uk/index/education-learning.htm

London Borough of Barnet, North London Business Park (NLBP), Oakleigh Road South, London. N11 1NP Telephone 020 8359 2000 first.contact@barnet.gov.uk web:http://www.barnet.gov.uk/contact-us/councillors-democratic-rights.htm

Theresa Villiers MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA. theresa@theresavilliers.co.uk

The Secretary of State for Education, DfCS, Sanctuary Buildings, Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BT. Telephone 0870 000 2288 info@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk Web: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/index.htm

The Local Government Ombudsman, PO Box 4771, Coventry. CV4 0EH. Telephone 0845 602 1983 Web: http://www.lgo.org.uk/

Equality and Human Rights Commission, 3 More London, Riverside Tooley Street, London, SE1 2RG Telephone 020 3117 0235 (non helpline calls only).
info@equalityhumanrights.com Web: http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/Pages/default.aspx

The Legal Services Commission. Telephone 0845 3454345. Web: http://www.legalservices.gov.uk/

The Education Law Association, 33 College Road, Reading, RG6 1QE Telephone 0118 9669866. secretary@educationlasassociation.org.uk Web: http://www.educationlawassociation.org.uk/