New guidance issued to address increasing complaints in schools
The end of January saw new guidance published for both parents and schools in response to a growing number of complaints escalating beyond informal resolution.
The parents’ guide, produced by the Department for Education in partnership with Parent kind, Ofsted and a coalition of 13education organisations (including trade unions), sets out a five-stageapproach to raising concerns. Its aim is to help parents engage with schools constructively and respectfully, following concerns about the volume and intensity of complaints being made.
Alongside this, separate guidance for schools encourages a more open, transparent and accessible approach when responding to parental concerns. It highlights the importance of treating parents as individuals and recognising the anxiety that can arise when issues relate to a child’s education. The guidance stresses the need for schools to meet parents “where they are” to support effective partnership working.
The publication follows evidence of increasing pressure on school leaders. A survey by the NAHT found that more than 80% of school leaders reported experiencing abuse from parents in the previous year.In addition, Parent kind research in 2025 showed that around one in five parents had submitted two or more formal complaints within a year, with many acknowledging that they had raised concerns publicly on social media.
Focus on resolving concerns before escalation
The parents’ guide advises against using social media to pursue complaints and discourages aggressive behaviour, personal attacks or encouraging wider public involvement. Instead, parents are prompted to consider whether their issue amounts to feedback, a concern or a formal complaint, and to reflect on the most appropriate point of contact within the school.
Parents are also encouraged to ensure that complaints are framed in a constructive, factual and objective way, avoiding accusations against individual staff members. While the guidance emphasises that most concerns are best resolved through discussion with the school, it also explains how parents can escalate matters if they feel issues have not been satisfactorily addressed.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the guidance is intended to help parents feel confident about raising concerns while supporting calm, respectful collaboration between families and schools. She also indicated that the forthcoming schools White Paper will set out further proposals aimed at improving relationships between parents and teachers.
Guidance for schools: accessibility and empathy
The schools’ guidance highlights that complaints policies are sometimes difficult to locate or understand, warning that this can contribute to frustration and escalation. Schools are encouraged to make complaint procedures clearer and more accessible.
The guidance also advises schools to acknowledge parents’ emotions, even where concerns may appear unfounded, and to avoid dismissive responses. It suggests focusing on understanding how parents feel, projecting positive emotions and managing expectations carefully by under-promising and over-delivering where possible.
Ofsted’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, emphasised that the vast majority of complaints can be resolved quickly and amicably at school level, without the need for escalation to Ofsted, if communication remains constructive
Schools and parents are likely to see the Department for Education’s renewed focus on complaints as a positive step, particularly the emphasis placed on addressing concerns promptly and constructively.
The guidance provides a useful opening for schools to re-engage with parents about how feedback, concerns and complaints can be raised in a constructive and proportionate way. It also presents an opportunity for school leaders to review how complaints are handled internally, including whether current policies remain fit for purpose and whether staff have received appropriate training to manage complaints effectively.
That said, significant challenges remain. From a legal and regulatory stand point, the continued existence of different complaints frameworks and guidance for maintained schools and academies creates avoidable complexity. In addition, the Department for Education’s existing best practice guidance, last updated in2021, no longer reflects the scale or nature of the issues schools are facing. There is a strong expectation that updating this guidance will form part of the DfE’s next steps in tackling the problem.
- Parent guide to School complaints >>
- School guide to parent complaints >>
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