红桃影视

One of many things which puzzle me about school governance is the way in which complaints are invariably assumed to be operational rather than strategic.聽

On the one hand, governors must remain independent of the day-to-day issues which give rise to complaint. Otherwise how can we review them objectively as we must, for example, at a discipline committee or a sickness absence panel?

On the other hand, through our policies we鈥檙e responsible for setting the conditions in which these day-to-day issues play out and complaints should be telling us something important about how we did.

I don鈥檛 believe governors use feedback as successfully as we expect pupils to do, and part of the problem may be that we鈥檙e isolated from much of it.

Another part of the problem is the policies themselves. Whether maintained or academy, schools typically have 60 to 70 policies in place, a ludicrous number that is growing all the time. These have to be reviewed in an endless cycle; many that I see simply (and badly) rehash guidance from the DfE and its agencies. 7

Policy writing has become a contagion within schools for which the DfE must shoulder some blame. The department should be much more rigorous in slimming down and structuring guidance so that it works right off the blocks and schools can be held to account against it rather than against their own embellishment.

Last year, law firm that the flexibility afforded schools in terms of complaints procedures means they 鈥渃an vary in quality, with some unclear or overly complex鈥�.

Since 2013 the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, whose staff write our laws, has defined as a good law one which is necessary, clear, coherent, effective and accessible.

Suspicion only breeds more complaints.

Governors should only write policy which observes the same standards, and sector leaders should be asking the new secretary of state to reduce the amount of policy work that is required of governors. The latter should instead spend more time reviewing how well policies are working to 别惫别谤测辞苍别鈥檚 satisfaction.

Governors (and the chair in particular) are tasked with supporting and, to some extent, protecting employees. In the case of complaints from parents, only when a complaint escalates do we formally recognise our duty also to protect the interests of parents (and their children) in the process.

In fact, from both constituencies there sometimes emerges a suspicion that governance is all about protecting the institution and resisting change. That suspicion only breeds more complaints.

I鈥檝e never seen a governing body publicly reporting its complaints resolution ratings from parents or staff. Rather, my experience assisting schools and colleges with complaints is that they breathe a sigh of relief when one is concluded 鈥� and that is pretty much that, filed away and spoken of in hushed tones.

Yes, complaints are stressful, sometimes to the point of personal distress and sickness; but they are frequently felt the same by the complainant. To turn pain into gain, they should be seen more as natural seasons to be observed and utilised than as storms to be weathered.

The DfE鈥檚 2023 suggested that complaints are being sent everywhere (local authorities, local MPs, Ofsted) in scattergun style because parents/carers are unclear about how to complain effectively.

An alternative interpretation might be that parents and carers sense鈥� and not without reason 鈥� that complaints seldom have just one cause, that responsibility often is complex, that there is at least in principle a public or community interest and that experiences in schools could be improved if complaints had wider visibility rather than as objects of shame and reputational damage to be suppressed.

Complaints frequently arise from systems and policies which lack testing and buy-in. While educators may see such policies as essential aspects of professional practice, complaints are hardly the best way to bolster support.

As a governor, I鈥檓 required to adjudicate on some issues. As a freelance advocate and expert witness, I alsoattend tribunals and independent reviews on others. I think there鈥檚 much more we can do to reduce complaints and improve the schools we all care about.

Here are some suggestions:

Better triage

External agencies which receive (or are 鈥榗opied into鈥�) complaints, including the Teacher Regulation Agency, need better and much faster triage systems. The personal cost to individuals of having flags against them over matters which haven鈥檛 yet been investigated is huge.

Concern or complaint?

Schools and colleges should provide more help and accessible clarification on the distinction between 鈥榗oncerns鈥� and 鈥榗omplaints鈥�, in line with . Leadership and governors need to build consensus on this.

Concerns should be welcome, while complaints should be respected. If the first frequently turns into the second you know something鈥檚 wrong;

Review and monitor

Once concluded, complaints should be reviewed. Governing bodies should also collect data on these as part of continuous improvement. This process should be set out in their complaints policy.

Keep, flip, change

Weed out systems and policies that are no longer needed, no longer work or never did. As so many pupils love to say when dividing fractions, KFC.

Tighter direction on complaints should be accompanied by occasional moderation, preferably by a body outside of education.

Issues, not people

The DfE鈥檚 guidance warns against focusing on the complainant rather than on the matter at hand. That鈥檚 one of its best dicta, and actually a deep adjustment for all of us.

Doing so will guard against framing complaints in terms of camps: parents, teachers, leaders, governors鈥� and even politicians.