No matter how experienced you are, all school leaders receive complaints from time to time. These can range from informal, verbal comments up to formal, written complaints; from minor to major concerns.

They may come from students, staff, parents, or even members of the public. They could be about students, teaching or non-teaching staff, you, the board, your school policies, or school events. Some you might be ready for, others will come out of the blue and surprise you.

Complaints may escalate rapidly unless they are well managed. It is better to have processes in place and rarely need them than to have nothing in place and end up with an issue that has the potential to flare up.

KEY FEATURES OF COMPLAINT

Receiving and clarifying the complaint

Deciding how to handle the complaint

Finding out about the complaint

Making a decision about the complaint

Review