Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to monitor the time taken by schools to respond to formal complaints.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has acknowledged the concerns being raised about parental complaints, including the increasing number of complaints being received by schools and the impact it is having on both parents and carers and school leaders, and has been clear that we need to make the system more robust and respectful with a focus on finding resolutions quickly and in the best interest of children.

The department is working closely with the Improving Education Together group to improve the complaints system, including by exploring how we reset the relationship between schools and parents and carers so that issues can be resolved informally, reduce unnecessary duplication, and clarify roles and responsibilities so that complaints that schools cannot resolve are dealt with in a timely manner by the right body.

We expect to provide more detail on how we will improve the school’s complaints system in the Schools White Paper.