Making a Complaint

How to make a complaint to the school


It is always best to try and resolve things informally with your child’s school.

No-one wants bullying to happen. Schools should be willing to work with parents, carers and children towards this common aim.  However, we know that this is not always possible. The following pages explain how to complain about bullying within a school/ youth setting. It works best if you follow it step-by-step and try not to jump ahead. 

You must keep a record of all contact with the school, their responses and what happened. ABC has made a model incident log you can use to do this.  

Step 1

Contact the class teacher or tutor. A phone call may be enough, but some parents prefer a face-to-face meeting. Rather than trying to grab a few minutes at the end of the day, make a proper appointment time to talk. This means that you can be sure you are both able to give this problem your full attention. 
Explain what has happened. The teacher may well have noticed things too. Ask what steps the school will take next, and when you can expect to see a change. 
You can ask the school for a home/school book so that you and the teacher can write messages to each other every day. This can be a good way of keeping everyone up-to-date with what is going on. 

Step 2

If after the first meeting or phone-call you are still having problems, write a letter to the teacher you first spoke with. Emphasise the fact that the problems are still going on and that you now feel more action should be taken. We have included some sample letters you can use here.
You should make sure you keep a copy of all letters sent and received. You should also make a note in your log of incidents. 
Try to keep your letters short and to the point. 

Step 3

If you are still unhappy you need to speak to your child’s headteacher. You should ask for a meeting, but be prepared for the fact that you may have to wait a little while for this. You should not expect to wait longer than a week. 
Take your log of incidents with you and a copy of the letter you sent to the teacher. You might also like to take any responses you have had. 
Some parents like their child to attend this kind of meeting, some do not. It is sometimes useful if your child attends very briefly at the beginning to explain for themselves what the problem is. Discuss this with your child and be guided by their wishes.
You should ask the headteacher to come up with an ‘action plan’ which tells you what the school is going to do to sort out the problem. You should also make sure that the plan tells you when things should be happening, and who is responsible for making sure they do. 
Make sure that you are happy with everything that goes into the plan, and ask for a copy to keep at home. 
The headteacher may do this with you in the meeting, or may say that this work needs to be done by other members of staff. If it is not done at the meeting make sure you know when the action plan will be finished and when you can see it. 
If you do not feel comfortable meeting with the headteacher you can always write a letter.

Step 4

You should, by now, have an ‘action plan’ with the school. If this plan is not working, or being followed, or you are unhappy, you must complain to the headteacher in writing. As before, you will find an example letter here. 

Step 5

If you are still experiencing problems you should talk to the chair of governors. The school secretary should be able to tell you who this is. The best way to contact them is in writing. You need to write your letter, put it in a sealed envelope marked ‘attention chair of governors’ and then give it to reception. They should then invite you to a meeting to discuss your concerns.  


If you have tried all these steps it may seem like there is nothing else you can do. Please contact ABC. We will do our best to help you.

Some families contact the Local Authority about bullying. They sometimes hold investigations into the way the school has responded to the bullying, but this does not happen very often.  

Parents and Carers can complain to Ofsted about bullying within their child’s school.