Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to introduce additional oversight mechanisms for academy trusts in relation to complaints about suspensions and behaviour management.

Parents can raise concerns about behaviour management in academies through the academy’s complaints process.

Where parents believe that an academy has not followed proper procedures or has acted unlawfully, and they have fully exhausted the academy’s complaints process, they can raise a complaint with the department. Parents may also pursue legal remedies where appropriate, including judicial review, and may bring claims to the First‑tier Tribunal where a decision is alleged to involve disability discrimination.

The Schools White Paper sets out the government’s proposals for ensuring the school complaints process works better for all involved.