At Safa Community School we believe that students and parents are entitled to expect courteous and prompt, careful attention to their needs and wishes. The School takes very seriously any complaints and concerns that may arise which involves either your own child or the School as a whole. We also welcome suggestions and feedback on how to improve the School.
We will give prompt and serious attention to any areas of dissatisfaction. We anticipate that most concerns will be resolved quickly in an informal manner by approaching the appropriate member of staff. If this does not achieve the desired result, we have a procedure for dealing with concerns.
SCS recognises and acknowledges the parental entitlement to complain or raise a grievance and will endeavour to work with parents in the best interests of the students in our care. The culture of the School is open and complaints are received in a positive manner. If a parent is in doubt about whether or not to raise a concern, we would encourage them to contact the School, as we are here to help. We would ask, however, that together the school and parents present a united front in order to avoid any child receiving potentially confusing or conflicting messages.
We aim to bring all concerns about the running of the School to a satisfactory conclusion for all parties involved, to ensure a good quality of service students and parents, to provide the best practice while following legislation, to guarantee transparency through open communication with parents and staff alike, and to maintain a good working relationship between everyone involved with the school. We will make every effort to resolve any issues within our setting.
This policy may be used by anyone who has a concern, suggestion, compliment, feedback or complaint about any aspect of the School. In essence this will mean the parents and carers of the School’s students, but may include neighbours of the school, or any other members of the local community.
Confidentiality is vital. All conversations and correspondence will be treated with discretion and respect. The subject of the communication including any personal information will only be shared between staff on a ‘need to know’ basis. Knowledge of such will be limited to the Principal and/or Head of School and those who may be directly involved. It is the School’s policy that complaints made by parents will not have any adverse effect on their children in any way.
In the event of some complaints it may be necessary to involve a third party, such as government authorities and/or the police, and should this be deemed appropriate, the School will ensure the complainant is also aware of this referral at the time.
The vast majority of concerns and complaints can be dealt with informally. There are many occasions where concerns can be resolved straight away without the need to submit a formal complaint. Concerns raised at this stage might not be classified as complaints.
When a complaint is made directly to the Principal or Head of Secondary/Head of Primary, stage 1 is not required and the formal procedure begins at stage 2.
Individuals may decide to raise their concerns with a member of the school administrative staff, class teacher, senior teacher, nurse, Principal or Head of Secondary/Head of Primary depending on their level of concern and the types of issues they want to discuss. Depending on the sensitivity and seriousness of a concern or complaint, any individual wanting to raise a concern or complaint may contact the Principal or Head of Secondary/Head of Primary directly. In these cases, it will be at the discretion of the Principal/Head of Secondary/Head of Primary as to whether or not to direct them to a particular staff member first.
It is advisable that any parent who has a concern about any aspect related to:
Steps to be followed:
It is not necessary to record or monitor complaints at this level. The Principal and/or Head of Secondary/Head of Primary does not have to be informed about the concern at this stage if resolved to both parties’ satisfaction. There are no specific time scales for dealing with concerns at this stage. However, as at all stages, it is our aim that all concerns should be considered and dealt with as quickly and effectively as possible.
Most complaints should be resolved amicably and informally at this stage. If the individual is dissatisfied with the response they have been given and would like to take their complaint further, they will be referred to the school’s complaints procedure and advised how to escalate their complaint to the next stage.
At this stage, all communications between parties need to be carefully recorded and monitored with the following information:
Discussion with the Principal/Head of Secondary/Head of Primary
Before proceeding with a formal investigation, the Principal/Head of Secondary/Head of Primary will meet with the individual and discuss their concerns. It may still be appropriate and satisfactory to reach a resolution at this point. If not, the Principal/Head of Secondary/Head of Primary will proceed in accordance with the complaints policy, and will advise the parents accordingly.
Submitting a formal complaint
By this stage it must be clear that the concern is a definite complaint and it will be dealt with according to this policy and should be formally submitted in writing to the Principal/Head of Secondary/Head of Primary. For parents not comfortable with making written complaints, there is a template form for recording complaints (see the last page). All written complaints must be written in English.
Steps to be followed:
A record of the written complaint from parents and the summative points from the meeting shall be kept in the following files:
Correspondence, statements and records to individual complaints are to be kept confidential where local legal requirements permit access.
In the event that the complainant remains dissatisfied with the outcome of the school’s investigation, the matter may be referred to the School Executive Board for appeal.
Contact: Trish Gregory – Parent Liaison – [email protected]
This appeal is reviewed by or on behalf of the proprietor and consists of at least three people (one panel member must be independent of the management and running of the school) ‘who were not directly involved in the matters detailed in the complaint’.
The elected members of the panel will request a full report from the Principal/Head of Secondary/Head of Primary along with all relevant documents.
On the basis of these, the members of the panel will call for a briefing from individual members of staff.
The members of the panel will acknowledge within 24 hours of receipt of the referral that the complaint is being reviewed and he/she will ask the parent if they wish to add further details for consideration.
A date will also be given by which the parent may expect a full response. The member of the panel may be able to offer a new approach which may satisfactorily conclude the matter for the parent.
The response will be clear and detailed but, if the parent remains dissatisfied the member of the panel will also offer a meeting.
A copy of the panel findings and recommendations will be provided to the complainant and, where relevant, the person complained about; and available for inspection on the school premises by the proprietor and the principal.
If a meeting is requested those involved will be:
In the unlikely event that the school is unable to address an individual’s concerns to their satisfaction, the individual may wish to approach the regulator, Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) in Dubai. This option can be pursued even if the child is withdrawn from the School.
Parents may approach KHDA directly after the last or any stage of this complaints procedure.
Contact details for the KHDA:
Website http://www.khda.gov.ae/en/aboutus/contactus.aspx
Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) Block 8, Academic City,
P.O Box 500008,
Dubai, U.A.E.
Tel: +971-4-3640000 Fax: +971-4-3640001 Email: [email protected] Twitter: twitter.com\KHDA
Monitoring and Review
Monitoring and review take place on a regular basis in accordance with the School Development Plan.
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