Schools: Complaints

(asked on 4th July 2025) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government, for each year following the coming into force of section 496 of the Education Act 1996, how many parental appeals have been made to the Secretary of State under that section, and how many such appeals have (1) been granted and (2) resulted in a request that the local authority reconsider the case.


Answered by
Baroness Smith of Malvern Portrait
Baroness Smith of Malvern
Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
This question was answered on 18th July 2025

The department’s School Complaints Compliance Unit (SCCU) considers how maintained schools and academies handle complaints on behalf of my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. For maintained schools, SCCU considers whether a school has dealt with a complaint in line with education legislation and any relevant statutory policies. If they find a maintained school has not acted reasonably under education law, and identify a practical action to take, they can instruct the school accordingly. These actions are usually a technical or procedural change in a school’s policy, to ensure they carry out their duties in line with education legislation. If the school does not make the required changes, sections 496 and 497 of the Education Act 1996 allow my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education to intervene and issue a direction to the school.

The department does not hold data in relation to complaints about maintained schools prior to 2013. The table below shows the number of in scope complaints received by the SCCU about maintained schools. From 2013 to 31 August 2023, the SCCU did not record if complaints were from parents, but from 1 September 2023 onwards this has been recorded. No directions have been issued in relation to a complaint about a maintained school.

Calendar year

Number of in-scope maintained school complaints

Number of complaints partially upheld/upheld*

2013

12

6

2014

209

81

2015

273

44

2016

302

28

2017

340

23

2018

447

23

2019

354

35

2020

268

15

2021

259

20

2022

343

39

1 January to 31 August 2023

192

2

1 September to 31 December 2023

91

7

2024

330

53

Total

3420

376

*Outcome data split under sections 496 and 497 is not recorded.

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