1. Purpose 

Christ Church Grammar School (the School) welcomes feedback and acknowledges this may include both positive and negative information. The School aims to resolve any complaints in a prompt, professional and just manner, and may integrate knowledge gained through feedback and complaints to support ongoing improvement in the School operations and processes where appropriate.  The School retains discretion regarding whether any further action or change is required in response to a complaint.

This policy does not apply to employment related complaints made by employees.  Employment related complaints are managed under the Staff Grievance Resolution Procedure.

The School’s Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct provides direction on ethical and conduct issues.  The values and direction included in these codes informs the approach to complaint resolution.

The purpose of this policy and related procedures is to:

• Provide an easily accessible, child-friendly and effective mechanism for parents, students and others to express their concerns or make complaints so that wherever possible options for resolution can be identified as soon as possible.
• Ensure that concerns and complaints are handled impartially, justly, confidentially and with appropriate sensitivity.
• Define the roles and responsibilities of complainants and staff in managing and resolving concerns and complaints.
• Maintain a School environment that is free from intimidation, harassment and discrimination for all people involved at the School and its community.
• Promote clear, open and honest communication (i.e. verbal and non-verbal) with emphasis on the maintenance of mutual respect and reciprocity at all times, recognising the importance of constructive engagement in resolving complaints.

2.  Definitions 

Complainant:  A student, parent or member of the community who makes a complaint.

Complaint: A complaint is defined as an expression of dissatisfaction made to the School by a student, a parent, or a member of the public in relation to the School, a student or a staff member, where a response or resolution is explicitly or implicitly expected.  A complaint may be made about the School, a specific School department, a School activity, a School policy, procedure or document, an individual member of staff or about one or more students.

Enquiry/Concern:  An enquiry or concern may be raised by a student, parent, staff member, or member of the public and involves the seeking of information or the expression of worry or uncertainty regarding an issue that may indicate actual or anticipated emotional distress (e.g. worry, anxiety, sadness, frustration).  An enquiry or concern is generally able to be addressed at the time it is raised by a staff member and does not typically require formal investigation or complaint handling processes.

Investigation:  Formal examination of a complaint by an authorised staff member in the school or an external third party when required.

Managing a complaint:  Coordinating all the processes involved in addressing the complaint to its conclusion/resolution.

Referring a complaint:  Forwarding a complaint to the person responsible at the School to respond which can include involvement of senior staff members or executive.

Resolution:  An outcome that addresses the issues raised and is determined by the School to be reasonable and fair in the circumstances.

Unresolved complaint:  A complaint that has been considered, but remains unresolved or unsatisfactory to the complainant following completion of the School’s internal resolution process.

3.  Policy Principles 

3.1  The School’s approach to complaint management and resolution is underpinned by the following objectives which are based upon best practice:

1. Visible: any information required to lodge a complaint will be easy to access
2. Simple: the process will be easy to use and understand
3. Timely: complaints will be acknowledged and addressed promptly
4. Objective: complaints will be handled in an unbiased and equitable manner
5. Confidential: the process will remain confidential to the parties directly involved
6. Fair: procedural fairness will be accorded to all parties to the process
7. Resolution: the decision or action taken regarding the complaint will be communicated to the complainant as soon as the decision is made. Action will be taken to correct the problem and prevent recurrence of the same
8. Informative: all information gleaned from a complaint will be analysed and used for continuous improvement in the School’s operations and procedures

3.2  The School aims to ensure that:

1. Every attempt is made to resolve a complaint at the local or most proximal level.
2. Where necessary, complaints will be escalated or referred through the leadership structure of the School.
3. A range of processes may be used to resolve a complaint or a dispute.
4. All parties will be given an opportunity to respond to the complaint before a decision is made.
5. The School retains the right and indeed the responsibility to address a complaint matter, even in a situation where a complaint may be withdrawn, in order to meet its duty of care and statutory obligations.

3.3  Anonymous Complaints are discouraged. However, the School will consider an anonymous complaint if it raises a serious matter (e.g. child safety) and there is sufficient information to enable the conduct of an investigation.

3.4  Any documents and records provided or created while receiving and investigating a complaint will be managed and stored in accordance with the School’s Record Keeping Policy.

3.5  A complainant may withdraw the complaint at any time during the process. However, the School may continue to consider the matters raised.

3.6  The Principal may dismiss a complaint that is determined to be frivolous, vexatious, lacking in substance or unable to be reasonably considered by the School. The complainant will be advised of the decision to dismiss and the reasons for closing the complaint process. Once the complaint process has been closed, the School is not obliged to engage in further correspondence or reconsideration of the matter unless the School determines that further review is appropriate.

3.7  Nothing in this policy precludes a person or the School, from reporting an alleged criminal action to the police or other relevant external authority (e.g. Child Abuse to the Department of Communities Child Protection and Family Support and the Ombudsman for Western Australia). A complainant may also seek resolution of a complaint through an external body at any time.  The School reserves the right to suspend any internal complaint process where the matter has been referred to an external relevant authority.

3.8  Responsibilities under this policy:

1. The Principal is responsible for establishing and maintaining processes for managing and reviewing enquiries, expressions of concern and complaints.
2. All employees are responsible for making every effort to promptly resolve concerns and complaints at an individual, local level where this is appropriate.
3. The Principal or their delegate are responsible for resolving complaints that cannot be resolved at an individual level.
4. The School maintains an online Complaints Register which is reviewed regularly by the Executive and Chair of Council and at least annually by the whole of Council. Information relating to complaints will be handled confidentially and disclosed only to those persons who have a legitimate need to know, or where disclosure is otherwise required or authorised by law, governance obligations or the proper investigation and resolution of a complaint.
5. The Principal is responsible for escalating to the Chair of Council any complaint or concern that is assessed as serious, sensitive, high-risk or otherwise appropriate for governance oversight. The Chair of Council may determine whether the matter should also be referred to Council.
6. The receipt of a complaint or allegation of child abuse, including but not limited to sexual abuse, committed against a student by a staff member, another student, or by another person on School premises or during a school related activity, will result in the submission of a reportable incident to the Director General of Education.
7. The Principal will ensure that any complaint or allegation of child abuse or other serious safeguarding concern is immediately escalated to the Chair of Council. Where appropriate, the Chair of Council may determine that the matter should also be referred to Council.
8. The Director General of Education is responsible for ensuring that the School complies with the Registration Standards, including the standard on its complaints handling system. Any student, parent or community member is entitled to contact the Director General with concerns about how the School has dealt with a complaint. Information is available on the Department of Education website.  While the Director General may consider whether the School has breached the registration standards, they do not have power to intervene in a complaint or override the School’s decision.

 4. Related Legislation and Policies

Equal Opportunity Act 1984

Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cwlth)

Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986 (Cwth)

Education Act 1999

The Teachers Registration Act 2012

Child Safety Policy

Code of Ethics

Code of Conduct

Code of Conduct – How to Comply

Code of Conduct (Students)

Full Fee-Paying Overseas Student Policies

Work Health and Safety Policy

Mandatory Reporting and Child Protection Policy

Managing Misconduct Policy

Student Behaviour Management Guidelines

Student Bullying Policy

Workplace Sexual Harassment and Sex Discrimination Policy

Workplace Bullying Policy

 

Appendices

Lodging a Complaint (Complaint Form)

Information/ Leaflet for Parents

Information/ Leaflet for Students

Appendix A 

OFFICIAL COMPLAINT FORM
Date		Time
Complaint’s Name
Children at School?	Yes    /    No
If yes, Student Name		Year
If no, Address		Home Phone
		Work Phone
		Mobile Phone
Details of complaint
Details of how the complaint might be resolved
Has the complainant discussed the complaint with the staff member concerned?
If yes, details	Teacher/Tutor/Year Group Co-ordinator’s name		Date Reported
Complaint made in person	Yes    /    No
If yes, Complainant’s Signature
If no, name of person recording complaint

Appendix B

Matters of Concern

A Leaflet for Parents

Christ Church Grammar School welcomes suggestions and comments from parents and takes seriously complaints and concerns that may be raised. This leaflet provides guidance in the use of our complaints system.

If you need assistance in resolving a concern or complaint:

Our staff will help you:

• Obtain information about school policies and procedures
• Make inquiries about student programmes, performance and behaviour
• Clarify a problem and register a concern with the School
• Direct letters of enquiry or complaint

When you have a problem, please identify it clearly before going to the school.  If there is more than one issue, then list them to ensure that the extent of the problem is clear to the school.  Decide whether the problem is a concern, an enquiry or a complaint.  This will help us to find a solution.

At all stages, staff will work with you to establish an agreed plan of action and timeline.

A complaint may be made about the provision of education or the conduct of a Christ Church Grammar School employee.  Seeking information as early as possible can solve many problems.  If you have any questions or concerns about your son’s progress, homework or assessment procedures contact the class teacher (for students in Prep School), Tutor (for students in Senior School) or the Year Group Co-ordinator (for Boarding).

A complaint will be treated as an expression of genuine dissatisfaction that needs a response.

We wish to ensure that:

• Parents wishing to make a complaint know how to do so.
• We respond to complaints within a reasonable time and in a courteous and efficient way.
• Parents realize that we listen and take complaints seriously
• We take appropriate action with the full knowledge of the parent concerned.

Making a Complaint

Complaints can be made:

• Verbally
• Online
• By letter; or
• By email.

Help is available at the school to support complainants to formulate, write and lodge a complaint. Complaints can be lodged with the school using any of the contact methods listed above.

When you contact the School, ask to speak to the appropriate staff member and be as clear as possible about what is troubling you. We recommend parents contact the person who knows their son the best i.e., his tutor (Senior School), classroom teacher (Preparatory School) or Year Group Coordinator (Boarding Community).  This person may be able to sort things out quickly with the minimum of fuss.   However, if the matter is about your son’s tutor, classroom teacher or Year Group Coordinator, please contact your sons Head of House (Senior School), the Deputy Head of Preparatory School or the Director of Boarding.  If you prefer to take the matter to a more senior member of staff, please address your concerns to the Head of School, Deputy Principal or the Principal.

Minimum information when making a complaint:

You should provide the following information when making a complaint:

• Your name and contact details
• Copies of any relevant correspondence or documents relating directly to the complaint
• The nature of the complaint; and
• What you consider is needed to resolve the complaint

In the case of a verbal complaint, where you do not want to be identified or do not wish to lodge the complaint in writing, we will endeavour to work directly with you to resolve the matter.  Please ensure where necessary that you have accurate details specific to your complaint.

Management of a Complaint:

If you raise something face-to-face or by telephone, it may be possible to resolve the matter immediately and to your satisfaction.

If you have made a complaint or suggestion in writing, we will do our best to contact you within five working days, to respond to your concerns and explain how we propose to proceed.

In some circumstances, the person you contact will need to discuss the matter further with other staff. If a detailed exploration of the issue is needed, you may be invited to come in to discuss the concern with staff members involved. You should be aware that when a complaint is made in writing about the conduct of an individual staff member, that staff member will receive documentation of the substance of the complaint, and in most cases, the name of the complainant.  A letter or report will be sent to you following such a meeting. This will tell you of the outcome of your complaint. It will explain the conclusion, the reasons for it, and any action taken or proposed.

Rejecting a Complaint:

Complaints judged to be vexatious, trivial or without substance, or where it is judged to not warrant further action, will not be progressed. You will be advised of this decision in writing.

Enquiring on a complaints progress:

You may enquire as to the progress of your complaint at any time by directly contacting the appropriate person. At the time of lodging a verbal complaint, or in the acknowledgment letter for a written complaint, this person will be identified for you.

“What happens about confidentiality?”

Your complaint or concern will be treated in a confidential manner and with respect. Knowledge of it will be limited to the Principal and those directly involved. The Chair of School Council may also need to be informed.  It is the School’s policy that complaints made by parents will not adversely affect their children.

We cannot entirely rule out the need to make third parties outside of the School aware of the complaint and possibly identify those involved. This would only be likely to happen where, for example, a child’s safety was at risk or it became necessary to refer the matter to the police including issues pertaining to mandatory reporting processes. You would be fully informed and involved in such action.

While information relating to specific complaints will be kept confidentially on file, we would point out that anonymous complaints may not be pursued.

Action, which is needed to be taken under staff disciplinary processes as a result of complaints, would be handled confidentially within the School by the Principal.

“What if I am not satisfied with the outcome?”

We hope that you will feel satisfied with the outcome, or at least that your concerns have been fully and fairly considered.

If you are not satisfied, the Principal will offer to refer the matter to the Chair of Council. Alternatively, you may wish to write directly to the Chair. The Chair will call for a full report from the Principal and will examine matters thoroughly before responding.

The School recognises and acknowledges your entitlement to express concern or complain and we hope to work with you in the best interests of the children and young people in our care and our employees.

Appendix C

Matters of Concern

A Leaflet for Students

 

Any Problems, Complaints or Suggestions?

 If so, the School would like to hear.

 

How do I make a complaint?

• By talking about it – or by writing it down if you find that easier
• You can do it by yourself, or as part of a group, or through your parents.

To Whom

• To anyone on staff
• To a School Prefect

We recommend you discuss the issue with your tutor (Senior School), classroom teacher (Preparatory School) or your Year Group Coordinator (Boarding) or speak with a staff member with whom you feel most comfortable.

Does it matter what the issue is?

• No, it can be a big problem or a small one.  Discussing it can often help to find solutions.

What will happen next?

• If possible, the staff member will deal with it in person. If not, they will go on your behalf to someone who can help.

Do others have to know?

• The teacher or person you speak to will not talk to anyone else about the issue unless they have to do so for your safety and wellbeing. If you are worried about confidentiality, tell the staff member– they will understand.

Even if you find the issue hurtful or embarrassing, don’t worry – it will only be discussed by staff who can help you.