Education and Skills: make a complaint or compliment

Here you will find advice on how to make a complaint or compliment about a school in Northumberland.

Please note that the local authority are unable to investigate internal school matters. Parents and carers must follow the school's own complaints process and make their complaints known to the headteacher and chair of governors in the first instance. Information regarding the school's complaint process should be available on the individual school website.

To submit feedback relating to the Local Authority Education & Skills services please contact us either by email, telephone, or post: 

Email us on clientrelations@northumberland.gov.uk.

Call us on:
  • 01670 628888
  • 0800 373 615 (freephone)
Write to us:
Client relations
Children’s services
Morpeth
Northumberland
NE61 2EF
 
Please click here to download a general complaints procedure.

Informal complaints:
  • If your complaint hasn’t been resolved by the class teacher or the head of year, you should then contact the headteacher or deputy headteacher.
  • Staff should work alongside the parents, carers, or pupils to resolve the issue.
Formal complaints:
  • If you aren’t satisfied with the outcome of the informal investigation, you can then write to the headteacher, or the chair of governors of the school.
  • You should then receive a written response from the school, however if you are dissatisfied with the response, you can refer to the complaints committee.
  • Only when this process is exhausted should you complain to the local authority.
Ofsted can investigate complaints about the work of the school as a whole, but are not in a position to investigate any matter that relates only to your child.