Schools’ Complaint Procedures - Additional information for parents and students

Under the Education Act 1998, legally, all schools are managed by the school Board of Management, on behalf of the school patrons. It is the school Board of Management that employs the school’s teachers and other staff members except in Education and Training Board (ETB) schools, where it is the ETB that is the employer. The school principal manages the school on a day-to-day basis.

As the Department of Education and Youth (‘the department’) has no role in the employment of staff in schools or day-to-day management of schools, a complaint about the child’s school and its staff should be made to the school itself.

While the department does provide funding and policy direction for schools, it does not have the power to instruct schools to follow a particular course of action with regard to individual complaint cases. The department’s role is to clarify for parents and students how their grievances and complaints can be progressed.

If you're worried about your child at school or you have a complaint about the school, your child's class teacher (or tutor) is the best person to approach first for an informal discussion.

If your complaint is about a staff member (excluding the principal), you should contact the school principal.

Complaints regarding the principal should, in the first instance, be discussed with the principal. Such meetings in relation to complaints against a principal may be facilitated by the deputy principal. If, after meeting with the principal, you can’t resolve a problem informally, the school should have a formal complaints procedure that you can follow (see below)

They will usually be in the classroom during the day, but you can leave a message with the school office asking the teacher/principal to contact you.

If the teacher can't help, or if you are not satisfied with their response, you can talk to the principal of the school (depending on your complaint, a school’s own procedures may ask you to speak to another member of staff before speaking with the principal). You should be able to arrange a meeting or a telephone conversation through the school’s office.

If you can't resolve a problem informally, the school should have a formal complaints procedure that you can follow. This procedure should lay out what you may have to do and how long it should take the school to deal with your complaint. The school’s complaint procedures should be available on the school’s website. If not, you should contact the school directly and request their complaint procedures.

Typically, if having spoken with the school principal, you are still not happy that your complaint has been resolved you may contact the chairperson of the school’s board of management. In the case of ETB schools, you may contact the relevant director in the Education and Training Board (ETB) and address the correspondence as “Private and Confidential”.

In accordance with the Ombudsman for Children Act 2002, the Office of the Ombudsman for Children provides an independent and impartial complaint handling service. Under section 9 of the Act, the Ombudsman for Children can investigate complaints relating to the administrative actions of a school recognised by the Department of Education provided the complainant has firstly and fully followed the school’s complaints procedures. The key criterion for any intervention by the Ombudsman for Children is that the action complained of has or may have adversely affected the child.

More information about the Ombudsman for Children can be obtained on www.oco.ie or by contacting them at:

• Email: oco@oco.ie
• Address: Ombudsman for Children’s Office, Millennium House, 52-56 Great Strand Street, Dublin 1
• Phone: 01 865 6800
• Free-phone: 1800 20 20 40

This is a matter for the school management authority.

The relevant information can be accessed by clicking the following links:

• Circular 0048/2018 - Revised Procedures for Suspension and Dismissal of Teachers and Principals (ETBs)
• Circular 0049/2018 - Revised Proceduresfor Suspension and Dismissal of Teachers and Principals (Primary, Secondary, and Community and Comprehensive Schools)
• Circular 0050/2018 - Procedures for Suspension and Dismissal of Principals of Community National Schools (Primary, ETB)

Please see information regarding:

Guidelines for Discipline and Procedures for Dealing with Alleged Misbehaviour on School Transport.

Some department programmes and services are delivered to the public through a range of organisations. There are separate arrangements for complaints about the State Examinations, third-level institutions and so on. You should contact these bodies directly for further information.

Information on Expulsions, Suspensions and Refusal to enrol.