Make a school complaint (1 Viewer)

[jekyll]

Hey,

The thing is, my school has placed 2 major internal assessment tasks for chemistry within the span of 2 weeks. Originally, in the assessment schedule, a half-yearly block was to take place in term 2, and task 1 would've taken place at the start of this term. However, the schedule was amended and the half-yearlies for all subjects are now pushed to the end of this term. We spoke to the head teacher to just switch the placements of the two tasks, so task 2 (half yearly) should go ahead as planned and task 1 would occur next term - as per the assessment schedule - but she refused and became furious with the students.

This is really unfair as this has not happened for any other subjects and the weighing for both these tasks together adds up to around 50%.

Would it be possible to file a complaint to NESA, and if so is there a certain email/number I need to address this issue to?

Thanks.

 

[jimmysmith560]

Before escalating the complaint beyond your school, you should first inform the principal of the issue that you and your peers are currently facing. There might be a chance that the principal will be able to assist you in addressing this problem. Both NESA and the Department of Education recommend that you first raise the matter with the school. In your case, the option of discussing a possible solution with the principal remains. However, if attempts to address the issue by raising your concerns to the principal are futile, this is when you can file a complaint to either the Department of Education or NESA. The Department of Education handles complaints with respect to NSW government schools (i.e. public and selective schools), while NESA handles complaints regarding non-government schools (i.e. religious and private schools). You need to therefore determine the entity to which you need to direct your complaint based on the type of school that you attend.

If you attend a NSW government school, you can file your complaint to the Department of Education by completing the online form available using the following link:

Complaint, compliment or suggestion form

Use this online form to make your complaint, compliment or to make a suggestion. We will pass your feedback on, so it can be managed locally.

education.nsw.gov.au

It would be a good idea to ensure that you outline exactly what occurred as you tried to solve the problem while including as much detail as possible so that those who will receive your complaint gain a good understanding of the issue that you are facing.

In the case of non-government schools, the Department of Education states the following:

The department does not manage complaints about independent or Catholic systemic schools.

If you have feedback or a complaint about a non-government school in NSW, contact the school directly. All registered non-government schools are required to have a complaint procedure. Where possible and appropriate, schools are required to provide an opportunity to resolve the issue. Schools may have information on their websites about their complaint processes or they can be requested directly from the school.

The NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) is responsible for monitoring the compliance of non-government schools with the requirements of the Education Act 1990. In some circumstances, NESA may take action in relation to complaints about non-government schools in NSW.

Making a complaint about other education services

What to do if you have questions, issues, complaints or compliments about other education services, including early childhood education services, Vocational Education and Training (VET) service providers, and non-government schools.

education.nsw.gov.au

Filing complaints against non-government schools appears to be a slightly more demanding process, as it is required that the complaint is made in writing. If you attend a non-government school, the information that needs to be included as part of your complaint can be examined using the following link:

https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/regulation/school-registration/raising-concerns

I hope this helps!