Making a complaint about education in Northern Ireland

This information is for families of deaf children and young people in Northern Ireland. Read our information for England, Scotland and Wales.

If you have a concern or complaint, it’s important to know who to speak to about it.

Complaining about an early education setting

If you have any concerns, try discussing it with the manager of the setting. In most cases, you should be able to resolve any problems with them directly. Depending on the type of childcare, they may have a complaints policy.

Contact the Education and Training Inspectorate (NI Direct) if: 

• your child attends an EA nursery and speaking to them hasn't addressed your concern
• your concern is urgent
• your complaint is about the range of childcare services available in your area

If you’re using a registered childminder, contact the childminder agency. If this doesn’t address your concern or your concern is urgent, you can contact the Early Years teams in your area (NI Direct). 

You can also get advice from The Special Educational Needs Advice Centre (SENAC).

Complaining about a school

Before making a complaint, read up on policies and guidance that could help you.

• All schools should have a complaints policy available on their website. Ask to see this policy so you know what to expect and how your complaint should be handled.
• Ask if the school has specific policies relating to the issue you’re complaining about. For example, an equal opportunities or anti-bullying policy.

To make a complaint about a school, follow these steps:

1. If possible, raise your concern or complaint informally with the people involved. For example, if you’re worried about your child’s progress, talk to their class teacher.
2. If the person you’ve spoken to can’t help, or you aren’t happy with their response, you can make a formal complaint to the school principal.
3. If you aren’t happy with the school’s response to your complaint, the next step is to complain to the school board of governors. The complaints policy or any letters you receive in response to your complaint should explain how to do this. They should outline how your complaint will be heard and when you can expect a response.
4. If you aren’t happy with the response from the board of governors, in some cases, there may be an independent review. Independent reviews may be done by the EA, the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) or another external body. The response you receive from the board of governors should tell you if this option is available.

Find more information about making a complaint to your child’s school (NI Direct).

Tips for making a complaint

• If possible, raise concerns informally before making a formal complaint.
• When making a complaint, make it clear that you’re making a formal complaint. Ask them to treat it in line with their complaints policy.
• Think about what you want your complaint to achieve and explain this clearly. For example, do you want an apology? For the other person to admit they made a mistake? To make sure bad practice doesn’t happen again?
• Try to keep all correspondence in writing and keep copies of any letters, emails, meeting notes or reports to do with the complaint. These records may be useful later if you need to take your complaint further.
• If you speak with someone on the phone, keep a record of what was said and the name of the person you spoke with. It can be helpful to send a follow-up email with a summary of what was said and agreed.
• Read up on your rights in education. Sometimes, being aware of your rights can help you to feel more confident when making a complaint.
• Making a complaint can be a potentially stressful or upsetting process. Try to stay calm and focus on the outcome you want, as this can encourage others to understand your point of view.

Making a complaint about the Education Authority (EA)

If you’re not happy with how the EA has handled your case, you can make a complaint. Strict time limits apply. Usually, you must make your complaint within 6 months of the EA’s decision.

Visit SENAC for information about making a complaint to the EA. 

You don’t need to make a formal complaint to the EA in order to appeal to the SEND Tribunal.

The Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO)

NIPSO is an independent service that investigates complaints against public bodies. NIPSO considers complaints against public bodies in education, including:

• grant-aided nurseries
• primary and secondary schools
• further education colleges
• Queen's University
• University of Ulster

If you want to make a complaint about the EA, you must have made a formal complaint to the EA first.

NIPSO will look at whether the EA has followed the law properly and fairly. It will also look at whether there is any evidence of ‘maladministration’. Maladministration means doing something wrong or being dishonest.

Examples of cases that the Ombudsman might consider include, if the EA:

• is failing to deliver support specified in a statement of SEN
• is taking too long to let you know if they will carry out an assessment
• doesn’t respond to any formal complaints that you make

The Ombudsman can’t look at cases where the EA has followed the law, but you disagree with its final decision. If you want to make a complaint about a school, you must have taken all possible steps to follow the school’s complaint’s process.

You should make your complaint to the Ombudsman within 6 months of the decision or action that you're complaining about. Find out more about making a complaint to the Ombudsman (NIPSO).

Help with your complaint

For advice on making a complaint, contact our free Helpline. If you need specialist advice, they will refer you to one of our Advice and Guidance Officers.

Find out more about parental rights (NI Direct).