POLICY FOR COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE SCHOOLS’ CURRICULUM
St Thomas More's Catholic Primary School
RATIONALE
The partnership between home and school is vitally important in ensuring that the
mission of St Thomas More’s School is effective –
‘”To educate and inspire every child to fulfil their unique giftedness within a
loving Catholic Community”
Where parents feel that the Governing Body of St Thomas More’s is not fulfilling their
role correctly, they may complain, initially to the Governing Body and should follow
the school’s complaints procedure. If they are not satisfied with the Governing Body’s
decision then parents may complain to the Local Education Authority. The basis for
this complaint would be that the Governing Body is failing to:
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provide a broad and balanced curriculum suitable for the 21st century in
the school or for a particular child
follow the law on charging for school activities
provide religious education and daily collective worship
provide all necessary information on the school’s Curriculum
carry out any other statutory duty relating to the curriculum
act reasonably in any of the above cases
AIMS
The Governors of St Thomas More’s regularly review the relevant policies of the school
to ensure that all of their statutory duties are correctly implemented. This is to
ensure that:
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all children are educated to the highest possible standard)
parents are fully informed of all decisions and policies relevant to the
education of their children
parent partnership is as effective as possible, enabling all parents to be
involved in the education of their children
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School Pool/Policy File/Complaints about School Curriculum 2015
MONITORING THE POLICY
This Policy to be monitored by the Curriculum Committee through:
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regular Headteacher reports to the committee and made available to the
full Governing Body
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receiving regular reports on updates to the school’s curriculum document
and all relevant Policies – Teaching, Learning, Collective Worship etc and regular
reports from lesson observations etc
Reviewed by Staff –
Approved by Curriculum Committee - Summer 2015
Review every three years – Summer 2018
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GUIDELINES FOR POLICY FOR COMPLAINTS ABOUT
THE SCHOOL’S CURRICULUM
INFORMAL
1
It is natural that, initially, parents will want to discuss any concerns they may
have, with their child’s class teacher. This usually enables problems to be
sorted out quickly to everyone’s satisfaction. *Teachers have surgery times as
listed in the school booklet when they can meet with parents or an earlier
appointment may be made if the matter is more pressing.
2
Having gone through the above procedures, unresolved concerns should be
brought to the attention of the Headteacher.
3
If the concern is not resolved at this stage, the complainant should then contact
the Chair of the Governing Body.
FORMAL
1
Formal Complaint to the Governing Body
This is a statutory right for parents who still feel aggrieved after informal
discussions. The Headteacher will let you have the name of the Assistant
County Education Officer for the Division of which the school is part and give
you a copy of the Procedure. The complaint will need to be in writing and may
be submitted either to the Clerk to the Governing Body or to the Assistant
County Education Officer. The complaint will then be investigated and urgent
cases will be considered as a priority.
A panel of Governors, usually three, will hear the complaint. They will not
previously have been involved in any detailed discussion of your complaint.
You will have the opportunity of calling any evidence in support of your case.
You will be informed of the outcome of the complaint in writing. If your
complaint is about religious or collective worship, the Governing Body panel will
involve the Diocese in its arrangements.
2
Formal Complaint to Hampshire County Council or the Diocese
This stage is available to you if you are not satisfied with the way the Governing
Body has dealt with your complaint. You can also complain directly to the
County Council when your complaint is against the Council rather than the
school. Unless the complaint is about religious education or collective worship
it will be to the County Council. The complaint should be set out in writing and
sent to the County Education Officer who will arrange for the complaint to be
investigated.
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Subsequently a panel consisting of the County Education Officer, two elected
Members of Hampshire Education Committee, who do not have recent personal
involvement with the school concerned, and a representative of the Diocese will
consider the complaint. Again you will be able to present your case to the
panel and will be notified of the outcome in writing.
If your complaint is about religious education or collective worship, the appeal
will be to the Catholic Bishop of Portsmouth and should be submitted through
the Clerk to the Governing Body or the Headteacher. If your complaint is about
religious education and you follow a particular religious tradition other than
Catholic or Church of England, you are entitled to ask for a member of the
Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education representing that tradition to
be co-opted as an additional member of the panel. Your Headteacher can tell
you which traditions are represented on that Standing Advisory Council.
3
The Role of the Secretary of State
The Secretary of State may not consider any complaint within the scope of
these arrangements until it has first been considered under the Hampshire
Procedure. However, if you are still dissatisfied after the County Council has
considered your complaint, you may then complain to the Secretary of State.
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