Senior School Student Feedback and Complaints Policy

POLICY CODE

POLICY NAME

3.3.5b

SS Student Feedback and Complaints Policy

UPDATE BY Head of College

REVIEWED ON Sept 2024

NEXT REVIEW Sept 2026 (Every 2 years)

DEVELOPED BY/ AUTHOR Emma Chamberlain

Policy Objectives

Dulwich College Seoul is committed to developing individuals who see and act ethically. We strive to be a caring, supportive and well-ordered community where students from a variety of cultural and social backgrounds can feel secure and equally valued. We believe students to be partners in their own educational journey, and that good communication is essential in this partnership.

There may be times when students have matters of concern that they wish to raise with the College. With regard to feedback or complaints, the College believes that:

• the interests of students come first

• all parties have the right to express a view, and to be heard

• feedback or complaints should be raised and addressed with courtesy

• confidentiality of individuals should be respected wherever possible

These values are summarised in a Shared Community Values document visible on our website.

The raising of points for feedback or a complaint by a student will never reflect adversely on them or their family. For the purposes of this document ‘feedback’ is less serious than a ‘complaint’ and could usually be solvable through clarification, mediation or explanation. A ‘complaint’ is more formal and likely to require extensive investigation.

Submitting feedback

There are a number of avenues through which students can provide feedback to their teachers or to the College. These include:

• Speaking or writing to their form tutor or class teacher

• Speaking or writing to their Head of Year

• Raising the point with a student council representative to be taken for discussion

If students prefer not to raise the point directly, they may also use the QR code found in each classroom and in the bathrooms to submit a Microsoft Form detailing their feedback. This form is received by a member of the Senior School Leadership Team who will then redirect to the appropriate person, or investigate.

Regardless of their chosen method of feedback, we commit to responding to pupils in a timely manner pending discussion with the appropriate staff member(s), and will notify them of either any changes as a direct result of their feedback, or of the reasons why change could not be affected at this time.

Raising a Complaint

Upon consultation with the student body regarding their preferred method of communicating complaints, if the matter is thought to be of a major concern, the student should use the QR code found in each classroom and in the bathrooms to submit a Microsoft Form detailing their complaint. They will be directed to detail whether their complaint is academic or non-academic, and then will be guided to answer a series of questions helping to detail the issue(s), those involved, and the dates of any specific incidents.

This form is received by a member of the Senior School Leadership Team who will either investigate themselves, or redirect to the appropriate Head or Year, Head of Department, or the Head of School, as is appropriate.

Having investigated the situation fully the appointed staff member will seek to resolve it and communicate with the student.

If appropriate, the investigator may consult with or ask another member of staff to investigate the complaint, in which case that staff member will communicate directly with the student. Timescales for the management and resolution of the complaint will vary according to the nature of the complaint but, normally, we would hope to reach a resolution within three working weeks from receipt of the complaint. The resolution of the complaint shall be set forth in writing and provided to the student who originated the complaint. The College does not respond to anonymous complaints.

If the matter is not resolved, the student should write to the Head of the College who, in all but the most exceptional of cases, is the final arbiter on matters to do with students’ welfare and education.

Appealing the Resolution of a Complaint

If a student feels the complaint has not been adequately resolved, they should direct their parent (s) to the parental Concerns and Complaints Policy (3.5.5), to follow the procedure there.

Parents and students have a final right of appeal to Governors and if they wish to avail themselves of this right, they should write to Dulwich College Management International and the Co-Chair of the Advisory Board. Contact details can be obtained from the Head of College’s Executive Assistant.

Contact Details

Email: To contact a member of staff by email, please use the protocol: firstname.lastname@dulwich-seoul.kr