Concerns

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Raising Concerns and Complaints

At Tahuna Normal Intermediate School, anyone who wants to bring a matter to the attention of the school should follow this procedure for raising concerns and complaints.

Concerns or complaints should be raised with the school in the first instance. Anyone with a concern or complaint may seek advice or support.

  • Complaints to the Ministry of Education will usually be directed back to the school as the Ministry upholds our ability to self-govern and follow our own policies and procedures for managing concerns and complaints.
  • Complaints about the conduct or competence of a teacher should be made directly to the school. A complaint may only be made directly to the Teaching Council if it meets set criteria.
  • If a member of the school community has a concern or complaint about a student who is not their child, they should not contact that student or their parents/caregivers directly.
  • Serious concerns may be raised directly with external agencies (e.g. New Zealand Police, Oranga Tamariki).
  • We encourage staff to raise employment-related concerns with management in the first instance. Staff can also consider whether they have grounds to raise a personal grievance. See Personal Grievance.
  • If a person has concerns about certain types of serious wrongdoing and fits the definition of a discloser they may choose to instead make a protected disclosure. See Making and Receiving a Protected Disclosure.

 

We expect all parties involved to respect privacy and confidentiality. This includes not publicly sharing information about the matter (e.g. on social media).

Contacting an appropriate person

Anyone who has a concern or complaint should raise it as soon as possible with an appropriate person at the school. This can be done verbally or in writing and, in the first instance, this is usually with a staff member directly involved. If this is not appropriate or there is no staff member directly involved, concerns may be raised with another relevant staff member (e.g. a staff member in charge of a programme, a member of the management team, the principal). The person who receives the concern or complaint may refer the matter to a more appropriate person if needed, or involve another person, including the principal.

 

Contacting the principal or board

If a person feels their concern or complaint hasn't been resolved by speaking directly with a staff member involved, doesn't feel comfortable speaking with that person, or has serious concerns, they may contact:

  • the principal – if the concern or complaint is about a staff member, student, parent or caregiver, or other member of the school community
  • the board chair – if the concern or complaint is about the conduct or competence of a teacher and is serious in nature, is about the principal, or has not been resolved by discussion with the principal
  • a member of the board – if the concern or complaint is about the board chair.

Concerns and complaints can be raised verbally or in writing. If the concern or complaint is not made in writing, the person who receives the information may make a written record, or request that the matter be put in writing. Information provided should be as complete as possible, including the names of people involved and dates of events, if appropriate, and any steps taken to resolve the matter. Contact details should also be provided. Anyone who doesn't want to disclose their identity should indicate this and explain their reasoning but should be aware that it may not be possible to effectively investigate or respond to anonymous concerns or complaints.

School assessment and response

Where appropriate, we aim to resolve concerns and complaints through fair and unbiased discussion. If a concern or complaint is raised verbally, we may be able to resolve the matter at the time through informal discussion. If we receive a concern or complaint in writing, we discuss it with the person who raised the matter as soon as possible. We may determine that further investigation or actions are required. See Assessing and Responding to Concerns and Complaints.

After assessing and responding to the matter, we consider the concern or complaint closed. The school implements any agreed follow-up actions or monitoring processes. If a person is not satisfied with the outcome of their concern or complaint, they may seek advice and may wish to consider contacting an external agency (e.g. the Ministry of Education, Teaching Council, Privacy Commissioner, Ombudsman, or Human Rights Commission).

A full and comprehensive list of policies on concerns and complaints can be found by going to the Board of Trustees page, scroll to the bottom and sign into School Docs.