beta This is a new complaint form – your feedback will help us to improve it.

Complain about a school to Ofsted

You can use this service to raise complaints about a school as a whole.

If you are a whistleblower with a concern about a school, please contact the Department for Education .

If you need help completing this form

Telephone: 0300 123 4666
Monday to Friday. 8am to 6pm

Find out about call charges

What we cannot help you with

We cannot resolve disagreements between you and a school or affect the results of a school's complaints process.

Ofsted can only accept complaints about state schools, academies and free schools (including residential schools). Find out how to complain about:

• Private schools
• Sixth form or further education colleges

There are some types of complaint Ofsted can't investigate. Find out how to complain about:

• Admissions
• Exclusions
• Special educational needs

• religious education or religious character of the school. Contact the school or the Department for Education . You can complain to Ofsted if you're concerned about extremism in school

Before you complain to Ofsted

Before contacting us you should:

1. Complain to the school first, for example, talk to a teacher about your problem.
2. Make a formal complaint to the school. The school's complaints procedure will tell you how to do this.
3. If you are not happy with how the school responded to your written complaint, follow the next steps in the school's complaints procedure. This may tell you to complain to the governing body or another organisation.

Every school must have a complaints procedure. You can usually find this on the school's website.

You should complete all steps in the school's complaints procedure before you contact Ofsted.

What we'll ask

We'll ask you to tell us:

• who you are and what your complaint is about
• how the school and anyone else you've contacted have responded to your complaint
• if any child or children are involved and how they have been affected

We'll ask for your contact details so that we can acknowledge your complaint. We'll tell you how we use your information.

What happens next

We’ll aim to review your complaint within 30 working days.

We may:

• discuss the complaint with the school at the next inspection
• refer your complaint to another organisation if they can act on what you tell us

Warning Ofsted must refer your complaint to other appropriate organisations if it raises concerns about the safety or wellbeing of a child.

This form will take approximately 20 minutes to complete