Problems at school
Identifying and dealing with them
What do you do if you feel your rights have been ignored, a wrong decision taken, or your child is not being taught properly?
Most difficulties can be sorted out informally and easily by you and the school. It is always best to talk to your child's teacher or head teacher about any problems as soon as they arise. If an informal discussion does not resolve a problem, many schools have set procedures for dealing with parents' complaints. The paragraphs below will guide you on the steps to take if you or your child encounter problems.
Your child's grades
If you believe your child has been given a grade in a public examination that does not do justice to their ability, you can ask the school or college to query the results with the awarding body concerned. When all the awarding body's appeals procedures have been exhausted, schools and colleges can appeal on your child's behalf to the Examinations Appeals Board. They can only do this if they believe that the awarding body's procedures have not been followed or are at fault. The Examinations Appeals Board cannot 're-mark' the examination. You also have the right to re-enter your son or daughter for any examination if the school declines. A re-entry fee will be payable.
Candidates and parents are able to request access to marked examination scripts where results are considered unsatisfactory, for general interest or to inform future learning. Requests for access to scripts must be made through the candidate's school, which will be able to advise on the appropriate arrangements for particular cases.
If your child is being bullied or is bullying
You should talk to your child's school. Each school must have an
anti-bullying policy that sets out how it deals with any incidents of bullying.
As necessary, you should follow the local complaints procedure. This involves
complaining in writing to the head teacher, chair of governors and local
authority in that order. Read more about 
bullying.
If your child is excluded from school
The head teacher is responsible for maintaining discipline in school. Sometimes, they will decide to exclude a child from a school on disciplinary grounds, either for a fixed period or permanently. If this happens to your child, the head teacher must tell you why your child is being excluded and explain your rights:
- to put your views to the governors' discipline committee
- in the case of permanent exclusion, to appeal to an independent appeal panel if the discipline committee has upheld the exclusion. Remember, the decision of the appeal panel is binding. The parent can challenge it only by judicial review
Read more about exclusion.
Special education needs and problems at school
If you feel your child has special educational needs (SEN), you should speak
to your child's school, the child's form tutor, the school's SEN
coordinator or the head teacher. The school should listen to your concerns, and
if appropriate, formulate a programme of action specific to your child. The
school should keep you informed about your child's progress. If your child
has identified SEN but you feel that the school is not fully meeting your
child's needs, you should raise your concerns. If after these
discussions you are still concerned, you may ask the local authority
(LA) to make a statutory assessment of your child's needs that may,
ultimately, lead to a formal statement of SEN.
Should you disagree with decisions about your child's special educational
needs, full information about how and when to appeal is contained in a booklet
that is available from your LA. This will explain how you can appeal to the SEN
& Disability tribunal if:
- the LA refuses to make a statutory assessment of your child after you have asked them to
- the LA refuses to make a statement for your child after an assessment
- you disagree with part 2, part 3, or part 4 of your child's statement, when that statement is first made or if it is changed later
- your child already has a statement and the LA refuses to assess your child again or change the name of the school in that statement, or the LA decides to stop maintaining your child's statement
The SEN & Disability tribunal is an independent body that hears parents' appeals against LA decisions on statutory assessments and statements. The tribunal is based in London, but outside the South East appeals will be heard locally. Visit the SEN & Disability tribunal website for more information via the related links below.
Next Steps
 | Sometimes speaking to parents and carers who have experienced the same
issues and problems as you can be a great way to get valuable advice and
information. Read, respond or ask a question in the |
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 | Benefit from the advice and tips given by our experts by reading or asking a
question in the |
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 | Complaints to the Secretary of State You may also complain to the Secretary of State. If it is believed that a governing body or LA has failed to carry out a statutory duty, or acted unreasonably in the strict legal sense, which means in a way no other such body would have acted, the Secretary of State may intervene. The Secretary of State cannot intervene simply because you disagree with the decision that was taken and cannot substitute a judgement for the LA's. If you wish to complain to the Secretary of State, but are not sure how to go about it, contact the Department for Education and Skills. The details are below. Read more about For a paper copy of this document contact: The DfES Publications Centre Tel: 0845 60 222 60 For general enquiries: Department for Education and Skills Tel: 0870 000 2288 |
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