CTC Kingshurst Academy: Formal Complaints Procedure

Formal Complaints Procedure

Initial Contact

The Complaints Procedure for Kingshurst Academy follows a three-stage model. The underlying principle is that concerns ought to be handled, if at all possible, without the need for formal procedures. Many concerns will be dealt with informally and parents/guardians are encouraged to make contact with the member of staff concerned or the student�s Form Tutor. Parents/guardians may also choose to speak to a Senior Tutor or Assistant Principal on an informal basis. The formal procedures set out below will need to be invoked when initial attempts to resolve the issue are unsuccessful and the person raising the concern remains dissatisfied and wishes to take the matter further.

Stage 1

All complaints that cannot be rectified informally must be in writing. A complaints form is annexed to this procedure that parents/guardians may find useful. If the complaints form is not used, parents/guardians should give the information indicated on this form in their written complaint, in order that their complaint is clearly understood. All written complaints should be sent to the College, addressed for the attention of the Principal, unless the complaint concerns the Principal, in which case the complaint should be sent to the Chairman of the Governors.

Complaints sent to a governor which are not about the Principal, will be forwarded to the Principal in order that the standard procedure may be followed.

The complaint will be acknowledged within two working days of receipt. The complainant will be invited to attend a meeting with an Assistant Principal or Senior Tutor, which will be within 5 working days of receipt of the complaint, subject to the availability of the complainant. The Principal may however, choose to attend the meeting herself � i.e. proceed immediately to stage 2 below.

The attendees at this initial meeting will vary according to the circumstances of each complaint. A personal representative or translator (if required) may accompany the parents/guardians and the student may attend. A representative or colleague may also accompany the member of staff against whom the complaint has been made. The attendees at the meeting should be agreed by the parties before the meeting, if possible.

Any complaints regarding the Principal will continue directly to stage 3 below.

If parents/guardians are not satisfied with the outcome of this meeting then they should proceed to stage 2.

Stage 2

Parents/guardians will be asked to reconfirm their complaint in writing to the Principal, including additional information if they wish.

As part of the college�s consideration of the complaint, parents/guardians will be invited to a meeting with the Principal to discuss the details of the complaint. Parents/guardians and members of staff may be represented in a similar manner to stage 1 above. The meeting with the Principal will be held within 5 working days of the Stage 1 meeting, referred to above.

An investigation of all matters relating to the complaint will be carried out and parents/guardians will be kept fully informed (if applicable) of the outcome and what action has been taken or is proposed.

If parents/guardians are not satisfied with the outcome at this stage then they should proceed to stage 3

Stage 3

Parents/guardians will be asked to reconfirm their complaint in writing to the Chairman of Governors by letter at the college address, enclosing a copy of the original written complaint submitted, indicating the matters that remain unresolved. Letters should be sent to:

Mr Bryan Mason
Chairman of Governors
c/o CTC Kingshurst Academy
Cooks Lane
Kingshurst
Birmingham
B37 6NZ

The Chairman of Governors will convene a panel consisting of himself, another Governor and an independent person not connected with the management or running of the College. No one on this panel will have been directly involved in the matter that is the subject of the complaint.

This panel will hear the complaint within 15 working days of the stage 2 meeting referred to above and attempt to achieve reconciliation between the College and the parents/guardians. A personal representative or translator (if required) may accompany the parents/guardians at this hearing and the student may attend. Parents/guardians may also introduce further written statements by parties involved in the complaint.

Attendance at this hearing by the Principal or other members of staff is at the discretion of the panel.

The Chairman of Governors will either notify parents/guardians of the panel�s findings at the conclusion of the hearing or tell them what further action is planned. The parents/guardians, the Principal and, where relevant, the person complained about will receive a written statement from the Chairman of Governors outlining the decision of the panel within two weeks of the hearing.

The complaints form is available here: complaint form*

To download. Windows Users: Right-Click>Save Target As... Mac Users: Option-Click. These documents require the free Adobe Acrobat Reader available from http://www.adobe.com/reader.

The College administration office keeps a record of all written complaints received and how they were dealt with. All correspondence, statements and records relating to individual complaints are stored by the College in confidential files, which are not accessible to persons not involved. The Secretary of State for Education may however require access to these files as part of an investigation.