Complaints procedure: what to publish on your school website
Your complaints procedure explains how anyone, not just parents, can make a complaint and how you'll handle it.
Check this on my websiteWho it applies to
- Published on
- The school's own website
- School type
- Academies and maintained schools
- School stage
- All stages, from early years to sixth form
- Does not apply to
- No school types are excluded
When it's due
Keep it up to date
There's no fixed date. Update it whenever something changes.
What's needed
Publish your complaints procedure on the statutory information or policies page on your website, showing each stage, how to escalate, that anyone can complain and how complaints about SEN support are handled.
In this requirement
- 1School complaints procedure4 parts
- Academy: Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
- Maintained: Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
- 2Trust complaints policy2 parts
- Academy: Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
Section 1 of 2
School complaints procedure
The school must publish its complaints procedure: the school's own distinct procedure that covers all complaints about the school, that anyone can complain, not just parents, and how SEN complaints are handled.
- Academies: Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
- Maintained schools: Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
What it must contain
4 parts- Says the complaints procedure covers all complaints about the school or its servicesMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
- Says the school has its own distinct complaints procedureMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
- Says anyone can complain, not just parents or carers of registered pupilsMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
- Says how complaints about SEN support are handledMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
What the official sources say
Set out in 4 official sources:
What maintained schools must publish online
Schools must publish their complaints policy to comply with section 29 of the Education Act 2002 . The best practice guidance supports them to set up and review their complaints procedures.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Complaints policy > What schools must publish
They must also publish the details of any arrangements for handling complaints from parents and carers about the support they provide for pupils with special educational needs ( SEN ). They must do this as part of their SEN information report .
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Complaints policy > What schools must publish
What academies must publish online
All academies and trusts (with the exception of 16-19 academies) must have a complaints procedure that meets the requirements in the standard at the Education (Independent School Standards (England) Regulations 2014 Schedule 1, Part 7. The complaints procedure must be available to parents and carers of children attending an academy.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Complaints policy > What academy schools and trusts must make available
Academy schools must publish the details of any arrangements for handling complaints from parents and carers about the support they provide for pupils with special educational needs ( SEN ). They must do this as part of their SEN information report .
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Complaints policy > What academy schools must publish
Best practice guidance for school complaints procedures 2020
Following changes to the School Information (England) Regulations 2008, since 1 September 2016, maintained schools must publish their complaints procedures on their websites. This does not apply to community or foundation special schools that are established in hospitals or maintained nursery schools.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ 'Publishing your procedure' section
In accordance with Section 29(1) of the Education Act 2002 , all maintained schools and maintained nursery schools must have and publish procedures to deal with all complaints relating to their school and to any community facilities or services that the school provides, for which there are no separate (statutory) procedures.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Introduction
Show 4 more from this source
Under Section 29(1)(b) of the Education Act 2002 , you must publicise your complaints procedures.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ 'Publishing your procedure' section
You must have your own distinct complaints procedures in place. A guidance document for parents on making complaints does not satisfy the legal requirement to have in place a procedure to deal with all complaints.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ 'Your complaints procedure' section
You must not limit complaints to parents or carers of children that are registered at the school.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ 'Who can make a complaint?' section
You should determine how often to review the complaints procedure. We recommend at least every 2 to 3 years, as this should enable you to take into account any: – legislative changes – new guidance issued by us
Should: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.§ 'Reviewing your procedure' section
Education Act 2002 s29 (complaints procedure)
b publicise the procedures so established.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ s29(1)(b)
a establish procedures for dealing with all complaints relating to the school or to the provision of facilities or services under section 27, other than complaints falling to be dealt with in accordance with any procedures required to be established in relation to the school by virtue of a statutory provision other than this section, and
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ s29(1)(a)
Section 2 of 2
Trust complaints policy
The trust must publish a complaints policy that meets the independent school standard and says how SEN complaints are handled.
- Academies: Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
The register sets this section for academies only.
What it must contain
2 parts- Says the complaints procedure meets the independent school standardsMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
- Says how complaints about special educational needs support are handledMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
Questions schools ask
Do schools have to publish a complaints procedure?
School complaints procedure: Academies and maintained schools must. Trust complaints policy: The official sources we check set nothing for maintained schools. Academies must.
What does a school complaints procedure need to include?
Says the complaints procedure covers all complaints about the school or its services; Says the school has its own distinct complaints procedure; Says anyone can complain, not just parents or carers of registered pupils; Says how complaints about SEN support are handled; Says the complaints procedure meets the independent school standards; Says how complaints about special educational needs support are handled.
When do we need to update our complaints procedure?
Keep it up to date. There's no fixed date. Update it whenever something changes.
Where does the requirement for the complaints procedure come from?
It is set out in What maintained schools must publish online, What academies must publish online, Best practice guidance for school complaints procedures 2020 and Education Act 2002 s29 (complaints procedure).
Recent changes to the official guidance
Updates to the official sources that affect this requirement, newest first.
24 October 2024 · What maintained schools must publish online
The DfE changed the complaints policy section of its list for maintained schools.
24 October 2024 · What academies must publish online
The DfE changed the complaints policy section of its list for academies.
11 January 2019 · Best practice guidance for school complaints procedures 2020
Replaced best practice advice with an updated version for 2019.
9 September 2016 · What maintained schools must publish online
Added requirement about school complaints procedure which came into force on 1 September 2016.
9 September 2016 · What maintained schools must publish online
Reinstated section on special educational needs (SEN) and disability, which was removed in error. Added link to The School Information (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2016.
We last checked these sources on 21 September 2026.
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Official wording that does not apply to schools (2)
All academies and trusts (with the exception of 16-19 academies) must have a complaints procedure that meets the requirements in the standard at the Education (Independent School Standards (England) Regulations 2014 Schedule 1, Part 7.
If at the time of the opening of anyMainstream Academy,Special Academy,Alternative Provision Academyor16-19 Academythe investigation of a complaint made to the governing body of thePredecessor School/Pupil Referral Unithas not yet been completed, theAcademy Trustmustcontinue to investigate that complaint in accordance with the complaints procedures established by that governing body.
Official sources last checked 21 September 2026 · register version 1.0.4