How to make a complaint about a school
- If you have a complaint about a school, you must first make a formal complaint to the school following their complaints procedure, which all maintained schools in England are required to have in place under section 29 of the Education Act 2002. The school can provide you with a copy of their complaints procedure.
- If you think your school, or school's governing body, is acting unreasonably you can write to the Secretary of State for Education. This should be a last resort and you should highlight in your letter the steps you have already taken to resolve the problem. The DfE will not usually be able to investigate your complaint if your child no longer goes to the school where the incident took place.
- If you have already made, or cannot make, a formal complaint to the school or its Board of Governors, then complete the Contact Us form.
- Further information is available on the Directgov website, where you may find the page on children's welfare at school helpful.
Local authority (LA) complaints
Complaints about the maladministration of LA services can be made to the Local Government Ombudsman.
However, the Ombudsman usually expects thorough attention has been given to a complaint locally before investigation by the Ombudsman.
Further information about complaints to your LA can be obtained by visiting Directgov.
