Schools sometimes get it wrong. Nobody in education would deny this. Usually it’s human error, an inexperienced member of staff or someone doing something in a hurry without thinking through the implications.
Occasionally a process or policy needs to be corrected. Very, very rarely there is discrimination against a student. When schools do get it wrong, they are usually relatively good at admitting and addressing this.
The overwhelming majority of the time, however, schools follow sensible rules appropriately, fairly and with the best interests of students running through them like lettering in a stick of rock.
Of course, a school’s complaints process is a necessary buffer for parents to use when there is a legitimate disagreement.
But flaws in the (ESFA) mean headteachers increasingly find themselves in a time-consuming, stressful and unfair situation as the complaints process is misused by a minority of parents.
How to fix the school complaints system
This is a problem that government can address relatively easily with three changes, drawn from our experience at Harris Federation of where the biggest problems in the system exist.
1. A clear end for complaints
First, the right to keep escalating a complaint to the next stage of the process is open to abuse by those who keep going, even if their complaint has been thoroughly investigated, just because they don’t like the outcome. This is to the detriment of schools and pupils.
Of course, there need to be checks on schools to ensure they’ve been fair - but if a school properly investigates and concludes it has been rational and right in its approach, what is the benefit in allowing the complaint to continue to be escalated, first to the multi-academy and then to governors, only for the same conclusion to be reached each time?
There needs to be a clear point at which a complaint with the school is concluded.
2. Ofsted as a last resort
Linked to the above, some parents ignore the school’s complaints system and go straight to Ofsted, causing significant and unnecessary stress for heads, as well as draining time and resource.
Complaints should only be able to be raised with Ofsted after they have been through the school first.
3. Define when a complaint becomes vexatious
The current guidance does not meaningfully define the moment at which a complaint crosses the line from acceptable to vexatious.
Any teacher or head who has suffered the toxicity of being named and targeted online by a parent has a right to argue that this in itself crosses that line.
Heads can’t fight back when parents throw public accusations at their school. Whatever “truth” a parent tells about their child’s experience, it would be unprofessional, inappropriate and often a GDPR and 51 risk to challenge this with the facts.
But having to remain silent in the face of being publicly humiliated or lied about - or as a leader when your staff are being targeted - is exasperating and exhausting.
What’s more, because investigations into complaints rightly take time, there can be a temptation for some to air their complaint on social media, causing a “pile-on” without taking any responsibility for the accuracy of what they are saying
This not only endangers the wellbeing of staff, it can also genuinely compromise their personal safety, not to mention the harm to the privacy and 51 of the child involved. This is almost always because a parent does not agree with their child being sanctioned for not following the most basic of school rules.
The fact that this is becoming more common shows we need clear guidance to define when a complaint is becoming vexatious and a process that can be followed to tackle this.
The impact of vexatious complaints
Ultimately, it only takes one abuse of the complaints system to paralyse senior staffing time and ruin the confidence of middle and junior leaders.
For schools in a larger trust, there is, thankfully, support from the centre - although it still means time, resource and stress in handling one parent’s disagreement with how a school operates.
For standalone schools, however, the pressure on a head to be firstly judge and jury and then, if they don’t uphold a complaint, to find themselves as the accused in a follow-up, is immeasurable.
The system that schools have to follow for complaints is no longer fit for purpose. Its failings don’t just affect leaders and teachers but entire school communities, too. The government should act.
Rebecca Hickey is secondary director at The Harris Federation
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