Complain about a school

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State schools

State schools include:

  • maintained schools

  • academies and free schools

Call 999 if a child is in immediate danger. Contact your local council or call your local police on 101 if you think a child is at risk.

Complain to the school

Contact the school to discuss the problem first - most problems can be solved this way.

You can make an informal complaint. The school will tell you when they will respond. After they review your complaint, you’ll be told the outcome.

If the problem is not resolved, follow the school’s complaints procedure to make a formal complaint.

​​Every school in England must have one. It’s usually available on the school’s website or from the school office and should tell you the kind of complaints the school deals with.

You may not be able to complain to academies or free schools if you do not have a child at the school.

Complain to DfE

You need to complete the school’s complaints procedure before you complain to DfE, unless one of the following applies:

  • a child is not getting an education
  • a child has been exposed to harm
  • the school is stopping you from following its complaints procedure

DfE will consider your complaint. They may use the information you provide to recommend improvements to school policies.

DfE cannot deal with complaints about:

  • fines for taking holidays in term time (sometimes known as a ‘fixed penalty notice’)

  • lack of compensation or apologies from the school

  • the behaviour of school staff

If you have followed all the steps in the school’s complaints procedure and believe your complaint was not dealt with correctly, you can complain to DfE.

Complain to Ofsted

If you’ve complained to the school and the problem has not been resolved, you can complain to Ofsted. This does not mean that Ofsted will then inspect the school.

They will record your complaint, and may use the information you’ve provided to help them decide what areas to focus their next inspection on.

Ofsted considers complaints about things that affect the whole school rather than individuals.

Ofsted cannot:

  • resolve issues between you and the school

  • ask the school to respond directly to your complaint or take action on it

  • change the outcome of a complaint

  • change the school’s complaints process because of a complaint

You can complain about a state school to Ofsted.

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