Education complaints procedure

You should contact the school as soon as possible to tell us about your complaint:

• if you make your complaint to the school in writing, we will try to acknowledge your letter within two working days
• if you phone, we can normally call you back in two working days

Meeting about your complaint

If a meeting is required, it will be held within seven working days. The meeting will normally be held at the school at a time that suits both you and us, and you will usually meet with your child's class or guidance teacher, a senior member of staff or both.

You are welcome to bring a person to the meeting with you as a supporter and also an interpreter or translator, if required (please ask your school if you would like help with arranging this).

We will try to make sure that the meeting is held in a calm, reasonable way and in line with the East Lothian Schools Code of Good Practice.

At the meeting, we will:

• listen to your complaint and treat you fairly
• work positively with you towards finding a realistic, achievable solution
  

After the meeting, we will write to you with our decision within ten working days.

We hope to settle most matters at this stage, but if you remain dissatisfied, you can go to Stage 2 of the complaints procedure.

Anti-bullying East Lothian (ABEL)

If you are making a complaint about bullying, ABEL is a good source of advice and information; you may find it helpful to phone them on 0131 653 5234.