Reduce complaints by building strong relationships with pupils, parents and carers

Case study

School details

School name: Kensington Primary School

Location: London

Phase: Primary

Number of pupils: 700

Contact details: Email Executive Headteacher Ben Levinson at ben.levinson@kensington.ttlt.academy

Impact and outcomes

Kensington Primary School has seen several improvements since putting in place these approaches. Improvements include:

a reduced number of complaints – we’ve only received 1 formal complaint this year from a local resident who is not a parent
positive feedback from parents and carers – out of roughly 200 survey responses, 98% said they have a positive home-school relationship and felt confident speaking to school staff

Background from Ben Levinson, Executive Headteacher

Formal complaints cause a lot of work for school leaders. Looking into them requires time to investigate the root cause, as well as extra meetings and administration tasks. At our school, we’ve found that investing time to build relationships with parents and carers has helped to reduce complaints. When parents feel included, valued and informed, they’re less likely to raise formal concerns. School leaders can choose to use or adapt these ideas in their own school setting.

Find opportunities to build relationships with parents and carers

At Kensington Primary School, teachers contact parents and carers in the first half term of each academic year to share something positive about their child. This helps to build goodwill with families, softening any future concerns they may have.

We also prevent complaints escalating by:

listening to parents and carers early when they have a concern, investing the time to understand where they are coming from
working together with parents and carers to solve problems

For example, someone worried about their child’s friendships or reading progress often just wants to talk and find a solution. Bring everything back to wanting the best for their child, as this will always be common ground.

It’s also helpful to remember that when parents and carers are upset, it’s not always about the school. Sometimes they are dealing with stress or problems caused elsewhere. Understanding this can help schools approach these situations with empathy.

Support teachers and staff

Parents and carers are less likely to complain when they feel heard. To help with this, we support our teachers to have empathetic conversations, building trust with families.

We:

empower our staff to prioritise their wellbeing
train staff about how to handle difficult conversations with compassion, honesty and directness - based on a framework from the book ‘Crucial Conversations: Tools for talking when stakes are high’
let them know they have the backing of the senior leadership team when they need it

Bring parents and carers into school life

Relaxed spaces give parents and carers a chance to share their thoughts in a low-pressure way. This makes it easier for schools to address concerns before they escalate.

This makes it easier for schools to address concerns before they escalate.

At Kensington Primary school, parents and carers can:

join their children during lessons to see what teachers are doing in-person
volunteer – for example, to gain work experience in the classroom or help assemble new furniture for the school
run their own activities – for example, we asked them for help with coffee mornings, which they now run themselves
attend fairs and other events, finding opportunities to celebrate our multi-cultural community and build a network