Education secretary plans complaints system overhaul as schools 'bombarded' by parents' grievances
Bridget Phillipson is preparing to reform the way parents file complaints against schools following concerns that the current system fails both families and educators.
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Ms Phillipson has said that the current complaints system is "working for no one", frustrating families and overwhelming schools, The Times has reported.
Under the current system, parents can lodge grievances through multiple channels, including the school itself, governors, the Department for Education, Ofsted, local authorities, academy trusts, and the Teaching Regulation Agency.
The complaints process could be streamlined or parental complaints could be sent to a central body as schools cope with an increase in the volume of complaints.
New research by the charity Parentkind found that parents feel dismissed by schools and believe the relationship between families and educators is becoming increasingly distant.
Meanwhile, schools are burdened by an influx of complaints that often escalate and take months to resolve.
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Ms Phillipson told The Times that the right to complain was an important principle but she had “heard from parents and school leaders alike that our school complaints system is working for no one - parents find it hard to navigate without clear routes for escalation while schools can be bombarded from all sides”.
She said: "We’re looking at what government can do to streamline the system, making it easier for parents to complain when something is wrong while ensuring schools are dealing only with the complaints they should be and have a clear process to address concerns.”
Head teachers have been invited to an online consultation hosted by the Department for Education's policy lab, which is leading research into the current complaints system. The department is seeking the views of both teachers and parents. Government sources believe trust between schools and families has deteriorated.
Earlier this year, a case in Hertfordshire drew attention when parents Maxie Allen and Rosalind Levine were arrested after allegedly harassing their child’s school with repeated emails and sending critical messages in a WhatsApp group.
The couple were questioned on suspicion of harassment, malicious communications and causing a nuisance on school property, but police later dropped the investigation after five weeks, concluding that there should be no further action.
Parentkind said there was a “broken social contract” and that schools are now handling a “tsunami” of complaints, amounting to millions annually.
A recent poll of 2,000 parents by Parentkind found that 38% had filed a formal school complaint in the past year. It also found that on average, headteachers manage around five complaints each week, with the total number of complaints exceeding five million over the past year.
25% of parents believe trust has deteriorated between families and schools, and 29% felt their concerns were dismissed by school staff.
Common areas of concern included bullying, student safety, school discipline and behaviour policies, homework, and teacher conduct.
The CEO of Parentkind has written to the education secretary to suggest a "peace summit" between schools, parents and the government. He suggested that each school should have a senior teacher who would help to make the school "parent friendly."
He added: "Parents are under enormous pressure with a cost-of-living crisis and ever increasing challenges at home, this sometimes spills over into the classroom, with parents complaining to schools about what they are hearing from their children and on WhatsApp groups.“
"We are seeing a tsunami of parental complaints. It is never right to name and shame a school or engage in a WhatsApp pile-on, but schools need to make sure they have thought through how they engage parents to nip issues in the bud.”
Teachers have reported that handling complaints can be exhausting and takes up a significant amount of their time.
One head teacher said: “The major problem is anyone can make an accusation. For example, you could say there is a drug problem at my school without having set foot in it. Each complaint causes incredible stress and at least 20 hours of work.”
Paul Whiteman, general secretary at the National Association of Head Teachers, said: “We are hearing more often from school leaders who have seen a significant increase in complaints, including a big rise in those that are clearly vexatious or baseless. This can harm their wellbeing, and cause unnecessary stress and workload.”
He added: “Too often complaints are escalated unnecessarily, including sometimes to multiple agencies at the same time, from the Department for Education, to Ofsted, local authorities, and the Teaching Regulation Agency."
“We are urging the government to mandate that complaints should have to go through a school’s complaints policy before being escalated, and that complaints can then only be heard by one body at a time.”