Complaints Policy 

At The O’Brien International School and College, we endeavour to ensure that our school provides the very best education for all our children. However, we acknowledge that parents may have grievances over specific matters that may result in a complaint. The following policy sets out the procedure at our school.

Aims and Objectives

The school aims to be fair, open and adhere to our core values when dealing with any complaint. We consider all complaints and deal with them as swiftly as possible. We aim to resolve any complaint through dialogue and mutual understanding, and, in all cases, we put the interests of the child above all other issues. We endeavour to provide sufficient opportunity for any complaint to be fully discussed, and then resolved. A complaint and all associated records will remain confidential with the members of staff dealing with the complaint until it is necessary to address the issue further.

The Complaints Process

How to share a concern:

1. If a parent is concerned about anything to do with the education that our school is providing, they must in the first instance, discuss the matter with their child’s class teacher or form tutor. Most matters of concern can be dealt with in this way. All teachers work very hard to ensure that each child is happy at school and is making good progress. They always want to know if there is a problem, so that they can act before the problem seriously affects the child’s learning. It is important that the parent makes an appointment to meet with the class teacher/form tutor rather than post any complaint on Social Networking sites or discussing with other parents. We endeavour to acknowledge any parental complaints within 48 hours.

2. What to do if the matter is not resolved through informal discussion? Where a parent feels that a situation has not been resolved through contact with the class teacher/form tutor, or that their concern is of a sufficiently serious nature, they should make an appointment to discuss it first with our deputy head.  If the situation cannot be resolved at this stage, then the parent may arrange a meeting with the Director. The Director considers any such complaint very seriously and will investigate each case thoroughly. We hope that most complaints escalated to this level will be resolved at this stage. We endeavour to acknowledge any parental complaints within 48 hours.

3. Sharing a concern about the School Leadership Team. Should a parent have a complaint about the School Leadership Team, they should arrange a meeting with the Deputy Head in the first instance. If the matter remains unresolved then this should be escalated to the Director

4. How to take the matter further with the Valencian Authorities.

Only if the procedure fails to resolve the matter should a formal complaint be made to the Generalitat de Valencia via The “Hojas de reclamaciones por los empresarios y/o profesionales con establecimientos abiertos al público en la Comunitat Valenciana”. This complaint must be made in writing, stating the nature of the complaint and how the school has handled it so far. The parent should send this written complaint to PL. GABRIEL MIRÓ, 7 03001 - Alacant/Alicante. After hearing all the evidence, the Generalitat will consider its decision and inform the parent about the outcome in writing. Complainants can be reassured that all communications relating to complaints, whether verbal or written, will be treated in the strictest confidence.