School related complaints

Darlington Borough Council will not normally become involved in resolving complaints in respect of the day to day running of schools and their implementation of school policies and procedures.  All schools should have their own complaints procedures in place which you will need to follow if you have a complaint. Please see a copy of a model complaints procedure produced by the Department for Education and Skills.

School Complaints Procedure [pdf document]

Please follow the link to Darlington Borough Council's School Finder for all schools' contact information.

There is guidance for parents available on the following websites:

However, there are certain types of complaints for which separate statutory arrangements exist, as detailed below.

  • content of the curriculum, including the national curriculum
  • religious education and worship
    school admissions
  • transfers to maintained schools
  • temporary or permanent exclusions
  • home-to-school transport
  • special educational needs

If your complaint is about one or more of the above issues, you should contact the Corporate Complaints Unit in the first instance at:

Darlington Borough Council
Town Hall
Darlington
DL1 5QT

Telephone 01325 388043 or complaints@darlington.gov.uk

For further information - Parents Information leaflet [PDF Document]