Making a complaint

If your child has special educational needs (SEN) or a disability and you are unhappy with the service or the support your child is getting, you should speak with someone as soon as possible.

When things go wrong there are ways to move forward. You can:

  • raise your concerns
  • have a disagreement resolution meeting
  • use mediation
  • make a complaint

We give information and advice on different complaint routes which are available to you:

Complaints about schools

Most parents have positive relationships with schools, but on occasions, things may go wrong.

Remember:

  • it's important to raise your concerns as soon as they emerge; by taking positive steps early on, it is more likely that things will be resolved
  • it's important that you co-operate as much as you can with your child’s school in any discussion about your child or young person
  • you may find it helpful to write down your worries before a meeting, if you want to, you can take a friend or relative with you
  • we can help you to express your views and offer you advice on the process.

When considering a complaint, you need to be clear about:

  • what you are complaining about
  • when and where the incident happened
  • who else was involved
  • whether anyone saw it happen
  • who you have spoken to already about the incident
  • what you want to happen as a result of your complaint

All complaints should be taken seriously and schools are expected to have procedures in place for dealing with them. Parents can ask the school for a copy of their complaints procedure so they know exactly how things will be handled.

As a first step the school will usually look into the issues raised in your complaint and will investigate before they respond.

If the complaint is about the head teacher, then you should contact the Chair of Governors of the school. The school will give you the name of the Chair of Governors and how they may be contacted.

The timeline for handling complaints will be in the complaints policy along with the next steps if you are not happy with the first response to your complaint.

In some cases it is possible that disciplinary action may be taken against a member of staff. This is a decision for the Governing Body, not the local authority. There is a separate procedure for schools to follow in dealing with staff disciplinary matters. If disciplinary action is taken you will not be told the details of this due to employment rules on confidentiality.

It's much better if things can be sorted out within school even if this might feel a bit awkward in the beginning.

See further information about school complaints:

EHC Plan provision complaints

If you're unhappy with the provision your child is receiving through their Education Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan), or the provision in their plan is not being provided, you should contact your designated SEN Caseworker as soon as possible, or email: sendept@york.gov.uk.

If you're unsatisfied with their response you could .

Independent Parental Special Education Advice (IPSEA) have provided a model letter for .

The IPSEA website also provides information on making a complaint or challenging a decision the Local Authority have made.

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Disagreement resolution

Disagreement resolution aims to sort out disagreements between parents or young people and organisations that are responsible providing support for a child or young person.

Local authorities have a duty to provide an independent disagreement resolution service for parents and carers, schools and local authorities where there is a disagreement about provision for a child’s special educational needs. Details can be found on pages 244 to 251 of the , which says:

Decisions about provision for children and young people with SEN or disabilities should be made jointly by providers, parents, and children and young people themselves, taking a person-centred approach, with the views of children, young people and parents taken into account when those decisions are made.

You do not have to choose between making a complaint, or using disagreement resolution and mediation.

A parent, carer, or young person can ask for Disagreement Resolution at any time during the SEND process, even if you have already lodged a tribunal appeal. Access to disagreement resolution covers all children and young people with SEND - whether or not they have an EHC Plan. All parties involved in the disagreement have to agree to take part before it can take place.

However, the other party or parties involved in the disagreement have to agree to take part before it can take place. Otherwise Dispute Resolution works in exactly the same way as Mediation.

Dispute Resolution can be used for disputes about:

  • how local authorities or education providers (early years, schools, colleges) carry out their education, health and care duties for children or young people with SEND
  • the SEND provision made by education providers
  • health and social care provision during all the stages of the EHC plan process

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Complaints to Ofsted

is the body which inspects a range of public services including schools. Schools are usually inspected at least once every 3 years. Parents have a legal right to complain to Ofsted on the work of maintained schools, academies, city technology colleges, maintained nursery schools and non-maintained special schools.

Parents can make complaints to Ofsted regarding issues such as:

  • quality of education and standards achieved
  • inadequate provision for pupils with SEN
  • neglect of pupils’ personal development and wellbeing
  • the quality of leadership and management, for example whether the school spends its money well

It's important to remember that you can only make complaints to Ofsted about issues that affect the whole school and not about an individual child.

Ofsted can call an immediate inspection of a school at short notice, if it feels your complaint is very serious.

See further information about (IPSEA).

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Local authority services complaints

The local authority has its own complaints procedure and you can ask for a copy of this that includes a complaints form.

You can also .

Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

If you're not satisfied with the local authority's response, or if the authority does not answer within a reasonable amount of time, then in certain circumstances you can complain to the .

See further information about (IPSEA).

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Health care or social care complaints

See information about on the Healthwatch website.

Healthwatch York is based in the Priory Street Centre, and can be contacted by telephone: 01904 621133, or email: healthwatch@yorkcvs.org.uk.

You can also seek support from the (PALS), who offer confidential advice, support and information on health-related matters.

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Judicial review

You can ask a court (within 3 months of the issue raised) to hold a judicial review to consider whether the action taken by the local authority was made in a lawful, fair and reasonable manner.

As this is a formal legal route it is strongly advisable to seek legal representation if you're considering this option. You may be entitled to Legal Aid.

Examples of issues which might be subject to Judicial Review might include failure to:

  • provide a full-time education
  • provide transport
  • issue an EHC Plan
  • secure the provision in an EHC Plan
  • comply with SEND Tribunal decisions
  • carry out an annual review

See further information about the (IPSEA).

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Support when making a complaint

Contact us if you need support to understand the different complaint procedures, or advice on which to use.

If you're not happy with the outcome of making a complaint, or feel that it has not been dealt with properly, we can give you information on what to do next.

There are other agencies that might be able to support parents, for example the (IPSEA).

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