Parental Engagement with School
Oaklands school staff are here to help. Please ensure all communication, whether written or verbal, in person or at distance, is polite and courteous. School staff will not continue conversations, discussions or meetings if they feel intimidated, threatened or are abused. We have a Complaints Procedure for use when you are dissatisfied with how the school has dealt with an issue or concern.
Some advice is given below to help ensure you and where relevant your child interface with the school so that matters can be dealt with correctly. The guidance also covers coming on to the school site.
- Meetings will be arranged when appropriate and necessary in the school’s view. The school will decide who is best placed to discuss the matter with you. Please do not demand meetings with specific members of staff or refuse to meet with the staff identified by the school as best placed to deal with your concern.
- Any meeting in school is a confidential matter, the details of which will not be discussed with other parents, equally parents are asked not to discuss, outside of the meeting, confidential matters related to their child, or publish the same on social media. The school in communication may draw reference to groups of parents but will not make specific references to any child or incident without parental permission
- Child protection concerns or those relating to safety will be dealt with swiftly. In other cases, appointments to see members of staff will need to be made further in advance. This is because school staff are busy and unlikely to be available straightaway. Please do not come into school Reception in the hope that a forceful demand will mean you can circumvent an appointment.
- Inflammatory comments or statements should be avoided. When expressing concerns, the tone should be courteous at all times. Emotive and accusatory words such as ‘disgusting’, use of capitals or defamatory statements should not be included. Concerns should be limited to the current situation and not draw on past events or those which have been dealt with previously.
- Concerns and complaints should be taken up with the person who was most directly involved in the incident, unless it is of a very personal nature to do with that staff member. In that case it should be addressed to their Head of Department. In line with the complaints policy, the Headteacher should not be involved immediately and will only become involved when the correct procedure has been followed. This is to ensure a suitably neutral review of your concern, if necessary, at a later stage.
- When raising a concern, it is likely that you will have one version of the matter based on the information you have. If you have a concern, please do not publish this on social media as this may compromise the school’s ability to manage the matter objectively.
- All complaints are taken seriously and dealt with in a timely manner. We will work to resolve them. Threatening staff with the press, local authority or Ofsted is not a means to fast-forward your complaint.
- It is not appropriate or permitted for parents or carers to walk around the school site to find a member of staff. Parents and careers will be escorted to prearranged meetings. Under Section 547 Education Act 1996, it is a criminal offence for a person who is on school premises without lawful authority to cause or permit a nuisance or disturbance. This also extends to minors (students or other children) , who may be on roll, who at the time are not permitted to be on site, either with or without a parent. ( Students who are excluded are not permitted to be in a public place in school hours.)
- The school may call the police if either a student or parent is on the school site when they do not have the authority to be here. The school grounds although publicly accessible are private property and owned by the Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth.
- If we believe a parent is on site under the influence of drugs or alcohol they will be asked to leave the school site. This action will then be followed up with a letter raising our concern. If we believe a parent, a minor, or a parent with a minor is under the influence of drugs or alcohol and is likely to endanger the safety of others we will notify the police.
- Parents are not permitted to collect confiscated items from reception during the school day, unless given specific permission by staff.
Please note any concerns and complaints which are received and do not comply with our expectations indicated above will be unattended until the communications meet the expectations outlined above.
These standards apply to written, verbal and in person communication.
The Governing body can lawfully ban parents and students from the school site.
Parents or carers who breach these terms will be subject to restricted access to staff.
School staff apply these rules and procedures on behalf of the governing body. If you are unhappy with these procedures please contact the Governing Body
Updated March 24
