martonschool.myfreeforum.org

Dean.Lomax · Fledgling Poster Joined: 11 Oct 2005 Posts: 4

Hi

This is the first time I have posted to this site. For those of you that don't know me I am a parent governor at Marton and have been since the school opened. I have followed the events of the last 14 months and have tried to act where I feel appropriate.

There is a full Governor's meeting on Thursday 24.11.05 and we finally have an item on the agenda to address these matters, all be it the item is actually about the Marton School Action Group.

Unfortunately, I am away in London and will not be able to attend. However, I have forwarded a list of concerns that either I have, or that someone else has raised with me. These concerns cover the issues raised on this and the other website and in the media. They also cover the lack of official complaints that the Governors have actually seen when there have been several sent in to school. There are a couple of other points which I can't disclose here for confidentiality reasons.

I am sure following the meeting, as I have expressly requested from the chairman that these points be raised, we will finally make some headway in to dealing with the issues.

For any one that may be concerned, please note, none of the matters I have discussed here are bound by confidentiality. The meeting minutes are a public document and available to be viewed by all. As the points I have raised have no reason to be declared confidential, they will be included in the minutes.

Thanks

SL · Fledgling Poster Joined: 06 Dec 2005 Posts: 1

I read this last week and have been watching - waiting for a follow up. I have now seen on this site that Mr Veale has sent all the complaints to the government - I hope that does not mean that all the questions you raised at the governors meeting were not dealt with ? What about all the complaints ? What did they say about the Action Group - are they going to actually start talking to them to see if any problems can be sorted out at last ? Are the governors making a statement to parents about the meeting or do I need to get a copy of the minutes ?

I am sure you know all about complaints procedures as you are a governor, but I have been looking up information about them and found some interesting things on the government's website.
Perhaps alot of people reading this website won't know about them :-

(I have highlighted ones which jumped out at me thinking about the way our school has dealt with complaints)

Framework of Principles

8. An effective Complaints Procedure will:

·encourage resolution of problems by informal means wherever possible;
·be easily accessible and publicised;
·be simple to understand and use;
·be impartial;
·be non-adversarial;
·allow swift handling with established time-limits for action and keeping people informed of the progress;
·ensure a full and fair investigation by an independent person where necessary;
·respect people’s desire for confidentiality;
·address all the points at issue and provide an effective response and appropriate redress, where necessary;
·provide information to the school’s senior management team so that services can be improved.

9.It is suggested that at each stage, the person investigating the complaint (the complaints co-ordinator), makes sure that they:

·establish what has happened so far, and who has been involved;
·clarify the nature of the complaint and what remains unresolved;
·meet with the complainant or contact them (if unsure or further information is necessary);
·clarify what the complainant feels would put things right;
·interview those involved in the matter and/or those complained of, allowing them to be accompanied if they wish;
·conduct the interview with an open mind and be prepared to persist in the questioning;
·keep notes of the interview.

18. An effective procedure will specify how a complaint will be dealt with if it concerns the conduct of the headteacher or a governor or where a headteacher or governor has been involved in the issue previously.

23. As well as addressing an individual’s complaints, the process of listening to, and resolving complaints will contribute to school improvement. When individual complaints are heard, schools may identify underlying issues that need to be addressed. The monitoring and review of complaints by the school and the GB can be a useful tool in evaluating a school’s performance.

There are lots of examples for schools to use on the site too, so why has it all gone so wrong at Marton ?