Complaints about schools in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Always start by complaining directly to the school and following its complaints procedure before taking the complaint further.

Wales

All schools in Wales must have a published complaints procedure.  School Governing Body Complaints Procedures provides guidance to schools on setting up a complaint’s procedure, Annex 1 details a recommended complaints procedure.  

Citizens Advice (Wales) has a useful page on Sorting out school problems. 

School Admission Appeals 

The Welsh government has  published a sc​hool admission code and an appeals code and also a useful frequently asked questions document. See School admission and appeal codes.  

Exclusions 

For information about schools exclusions and how to complain, see the Welsh government’s School exclusion: guidance for pupils. 

Special Educational Needs 

Parents or children can appeal to the Special Educational Needs Tribunal for Wales (SENTW) against certain decisions made by W​​elsh local authorities about a child’s educational needs.  They can also make a claim to SENTW about disability discrimination in Welsh schools. 

Further infor​mation is available from Citizens Advice: Taking action about discrimination in Education and SNAP Cyrmu

Public Services Ombudsman for Wales 

The Public Services Ombudsman for Wales has an extremely limited ability to investigate complaints about schools. For instance, he can investigate complaints about the administration of the complaints process but not the original complaint itself.

See their factsheets for further information:

• Education school complaints general information
• Education school exclusions appeals
• Education school admission appeals
• Education Special Educational Needs

Scotland

There is i​​nformation about school complaints on the Scottish Government website: Guidance on the Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act 2006. 

Citizens A​dvice provide a lot of information about making complaints in Scotland: Problems at school – Citizens Advice Scotland. 

School Admission Appeals 

Section 3 of  Choosing a School: A Guide for Parents, on the Scottish Government website, explains the process for appealing school admissions. Appeals are heard by an education appeals committee set up by the local authority. Enquire (the Scottish advice centre for additional support for learning) have a factsheet about Education appeals committees. 

Exclusion​​s 

The Scottish Government sets out its national policy on exclusion in Included, engaged and involved part 2: preventing and managing school exclusions. Appeals must be made to the local authority and will be heard by their education appeals committee (see above). 

There is a lot useful information about school exclusions on Enquire’s website: Exclusion from school.  

Additional Support Needs 

Enquire have a Raising concerns page with advice for parents who are unhappy with the additional support for learning their child is receiving. This explains all the stages and different options involved in making a complaint. 

For some complaints the Additional Support Needs Tribunals for Scotland can consider appeals made by parents and young people against decisions of education authorities regarding the provision of educational support. The Scottish government provides some legal advice for this through the Education Law Unit.

Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO). 

If the complainants are not satisfied a​​fter completing the school’s or the local authority complaints process some complaints can be taken to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO). This would normally be complaints about policies and procedures rather than an individual’s complaint. 

Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland government website explains how to make a complaint about a school: Making a complaint to your child’s school – nidirect. 

School Admission Appeals 

NIDirect ​​​provides information on: Appealing a school place decision.  When an appeal is made, an Independent Admissions Appeal tribunal decides if the school has correctly applied its admissions criteria. 

The Exceptional Circumstances Body (ECB) processes applications from parents/guardians for admissions to post-primary school (years 8-12 only) where it is claimed that a child must be at a particular school but an application made through the normal admissions process has failed. 

Expulsions 

The Northern Ireland Department of Education website explains legislation and guidance on suspensions and expulsions. 

Special Educational needs 

The Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (or SENDIST) considers parents’ appeals against the decisions of the Education Authority about children’s special educational needs, where the parents cannot reach agreement with the Education ​​Authority. 

It also deals with claims of disability discrimination in relation to children at school.   

Nothern Ireland Public Service Ombudsman (NIPSO).  

When all ​​​the usual procedures have been pursued and the complainants are still not satisfied they may be able to take their complaint to the Nothern Ireland Public Service Ombudsman (NIPSO). This would usually be where there has been a failure with the process rather than an individual’s complaint. 

For England please see Complaints about schools in England. 

Disclaimer

The Commons Library does not intend the information in this article to address the specific circumstances of any particular individual. We have published it to support the work of MPs. You should not rely upon it as legal or professional advice, or as a substitute for it. We do not accept any liability whatsoever for any errors, omissions or misstatements contained herein. You should consult a suitably qualified professional if you require specific advice or information. Read our briefing for information about sources of legal advice and help.