Government approved guidance for parents complaining to schools

[noblegiraffe]

The number of parental complaints to schools has shot through the roof, with parents regularly complaining to multiple bodies at a time and building groups of disgruntled parents on social media. Over 82% of senior leaders experienced abuse from parents last year.

The government has approved new guidance for parents on how to complain to schools in an appropriate way, in an attempt to address this.

https://www.parentkind.org.uk/assets/parents-resources/Parent-Guide-to-School-Complaints.pdf

I think the bit where it suggests that you don't use AI to generate a complaint because AI doesn't always get it right when citing the law is interesting. The advice not to share your complaint on social media would also make things so much easier.

(there's also a guide for schools on how to deal with parental complaints).
https://www.parentfriendlyschools.org/p/school-guide-to-parent-complaints?utm_source=complaints&utm_medium=button

I think it's about time. We - far too often - get what turn out to be malicious "complaints" sent to all and sundry, taking senior staff away from what they should be doing.

In my role for an LA, the amount of senior officer time wasted dealing with unreasonable complaints, which have not followed appropriate policy, is startling. Unfortunately, the more parents are guided back to policy to resolve issues fairly, the more they double down. The complaint also widens including complaining about the handling of the complaint (which hasn’t followed policy in the first place).

I could write a book ( or perhaps an AMA!).
Parents complaining to the school about their child’s school lunch, but copying in the Director CYPS, HoS School Improvement, a senior education advisor, the local councillor, five other councillors and Rishi Sunak (I’m sure when he was PM he had so much more to think about than little Ruby’s school lunch!).

The parents who were serial complainers (for 6 years) who instigated legal action when senior LA officers told them that they could no longer speak with them (only with their child) as their child was now an adult at 18 and had left the area to go to university.

The police officer parent who emailed her thanks to staff, bought gifts for the headteacher for the care and education she had provided her child, then made a serious complaint to OFSTED (which was batted to the LA). Headteacher was gobsmacked when we made contact to unpick the complaint on behalf of OFSTED.

Malicious, batshit, time wasting but very stressful.