Aim of the Policy
The procedure aims to regulate the order and the manner of accepting and registering complaints, conducting an inspection, finding out whether there are violations of the legislation and taking measures in the case of proving the existence of such and responding to the person who has submitted the complaint or the signal. The current procedure regulates the responsibilities of Saint George School and Preschool employees who are in charge of accepting, registering and checking a submitted complaint, and responding to the person who has submitted the complaint or the signal.
Scope
The current procedure covers complaints and signals for violation of the legislation of the Republic of Bulgaria, submitted to the school/ preschool.
The school/ preschool intends to resolve complaints informally where possible, at the earliest possible stage.
There may be occasions when complainants would like to raise their concerns formally and the procedure for dealing with such complaints is outlined here.
Definitions
The following definitions explain the difference between a concern and a complaint:
A concern is defined as “an expression of worry or doubt over an issue considered to be important for which reassurances are sought”. The school/ preschool will resolve concerns through day-to-day communication as far as possible. A complaint is defined as “an expression of dissatisfaction however made, about actions taken or a lack of action”. Reference
Legislation in place:
Law for Preschool and School Education; Child Protection Law; Law for Access to Public Information; Law for Protection of Personal Data. Labor Code European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) Convention of the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse The Case Law of the European Court of Human Rights The complainant
The complainant will receive a more effective and timely response of their complaint if:
Follow all procedures; Co-operate with the school/ preschool throughout the process, and respond to deadlines and communication promptly; Treat all those involved with respect including respect of people’s privacy; Not publish information, details or spread your complaint on social media or associated platforms. The investigator
A responsible person will be appointed to look into the complaint and establish the facts. They will:
Interview all relevant parties, keeping notes; Consider records and any written evidence and keep these securely; Prepare a comprehensive report to the Head of School and Preschool or Complaints Committee which includes the facts and potential solutions. Contents :
Stage 1 Informal
St. George School and Preschool takes informal concerns seriously and makes every effort to resolve the matter quickly. It may be the case that the provision or clarification of information will resolve the issue.
The complainant should raise the complaint as soon as possible to the reception desk employees either in person or by letter, telephone or email.
The school / preschool will acknowledge informal complaints within 2 working days , and investigate and provide a response within 7 working days.
The informal stage will involve a meeting between the complainant and the designated member of staff.
If the complaint is not resolved informally, it will be escalated to a formal complaint.
Stage 2 Formal
Submission :
To submit a complaint to St. George International School you need to contact the reception desk at +359 2 4144 414 and mobile 0885 689 971, within the working hours, and at the e-mail address provided by St. George International School: reception@stgeorgeschool.eu . Anonymous signals shall not be checked. To submit a complaint to St. George Preschool you need to contact the reception desk at +359 88 516 0742 within the working hours from 08:00 to 18:00, and at the e-mail address provided by St. George Preschool: sgp.reception@stgeorgeschool.eu . Anonymous signals shall not be checked. The reception desk officer who has received the signal is obliged to put the signal in writing, entering the following information in the Electronic Register: The phone number from which the signal has been received The time when the signal has been received The name of the person who has submitted the signal Information, as detailed as possible about the violation. After putting in writing, the reception desk officer immediately directs the signal to the Head of School and Head of Administration for the School and Head of Preschool for Preschool, and if the signal has been received via e-mail during non-working days, the reception desk officer directs the signal on the first working day after the signal has been received. If the signal is about a violation which necessitates urgent and/or immediate actions, the reception desk officer who has accepted the signal reports verbally to the Head of Administration, Head of Preschool, Head of Primary School or Head of Secondary School, and to the Head of School or CEO and puts the signal in writing afterwards. Registering and directing written complaints and signals.
All complaints and signals received at the school/ preschool are subject to registration: Complaints and registrations submitted verbally Complaints and signals submitted in writing. The written request/ signal shall contain:
- the full name and address of the person or organization from which it originates;
- the nature of the request;
- date;
- signature of the applicant;
- mobile or landline telephone number, if any;
- mail for providing the answer.
The registration of complaints and signals is done by an employee of the reception desk, by entering the complaint or the signal in the Electronic Correspondence Register. Upon entering in the Register, the complaint is given an entry number which contains the year and the date of registration. These steps being performed, an official file is created. The registered signals or complaints are submitted to the following persons in charge: 3.1. Preschool (for educational process)
1) Head of Preschool
3.2. School (for educational process):
3.2.1. Primary School:
First level of decision making Head of Primary In case of circumstances demanding taking a decision at the next management level: Head of School 3.2.2. Secondary School:
First level of decision making: Head of Secondary In case of circumstances demanding taking a decision at the next management level: – Head of School
3.3. In case of circumstances demanding taking a decision at a higher management level or for issues not related to the educational process:
-Committee for signals and complaints, consisting of Head of Administration, Legal Advisor and HR and Compliance Officer
3.4. In case of a decision unsatisfactory for the complainant by the Committee for signals and complaints, the complainant refers to the CEO
3.5. In all cases where there is reason to consider that the case may go to court, the Legal Advisor and CEO are immediately notified.
The relevant person in charge makes a resolution of the incoming documents. The resolution should also contain information about the deadline for the inspection of the situation, the date of resolution, as well as instructions if needed.
4. The resolved documents should be sent back to the administrative department. The Head of Administration enters the following information in the Electronic Register: the school officials responsible for the execution of the procedure, the deadline for making the check-up, as well as other information according to the resolution. After this information has been entered, the Head of Administration makes copies of the documents and hands them in for information and execution to the employees appointed in the resolution.
5. Resubmitted signals and complaints on an issue which has already been resolved shall not be reviewed, unless they refer to the execution of the resolution or if they are based on new facts or circumstances. The signal and the complaints which are not reviewed are returned to the complainant with the reasons stated.
III. Inspection of a registered complaint.
The inspection on a submitted complaint/signal should be carried out within the shortest term possible but no later than 7 /seven/ working days after the registration. The manager/person in charge to whom the complaint/signal is directed, prepares the inspection and suggests to their line manager while following the school Organigram, a date for its execution. The preparation includes: Becoming acquainted with the information available regarding the circumstances stated in the complaint. Offender, other persons and factors involved. Contacting the complainant for clarification of additional circumstances. Examining the case(s) relating to the signal/complaint, in which conversations are held with all, directly and indirectly, related staff or children/students, and their stories are reflected in a report and a statement of findings report. The inspection is conducted in accordance with the regulatory framework of St. George International School and Preschool. The inspection findings report must include mandatory information about the circumstances identified in relation to the complaints/signals, and if necessary, legally justified recommendations for addressing the identified violations. Inspections shall not be carried out in a conflict situation or in case there is pressure applied by any of the parties. St. George School and Preschool applies the Staff Code of Conduct and encourages an atmosphere of mutual understanding and support among the school community. Response to registered complaints and signals.
Within 7 /seven/ working days after the inspection on the registered complaint/signal is carried out, the manager who has carried out the inspection prepares a response to the complainant. The response should be coordinated with the persons stipulated in the school/ preschool Organigram, who has assigned the task of carrying out the inspection. The response should contain information about: when the inspection has been carried out what is found out during the inspection the complaint/signal being legitimate what recommendations have been made if a violation is found out an administrative punishment having been enforced. The Head of School/ Preschool, the complaints committee or the CEO respectively, approves and signs the responses to the written complaints and signals, and the latter are recorded in the respective register. The entire file of the closed complaint case is transferred for storage to the Head of Administration. The response is sent to the complainant(s) on the next day after the response is signed, but no later than the legally defined term. Responsibilities of the officials.
The Head of School/ Preschool, Head of Primary School or Head of Secondary School and the Head of Administration are in charge of the matters dealing with complaints and signals submitted to St. George International School and Preschool. The Head of School/ Preschool, Head of Primary School or Head of Secondary School and the Head of Administration: organise and execute the procedure for working with complaints and signals for each particular case and inform the respective management level of any infringement. With respect to a competent intervention, are allowed to assign the inspection on the complaint/signal to a certain teacher or to the school counsellor. are in charge of the timely (within the terms defined) sending of the response to the complainant. The Head of School/ Preschool and the Head of Administration are in charge of taking successive actions on removing the violation. The actions include: Produce a project for eliminating the violations stated in the complaint/signal. Carry out the follow-up control until the violation is eliminated. Put together all original documents on the complaint and transfer the file for storage in the administrative department after the case is closed. Head of Administration keeps an electronic register of received signals/complaints and resolutions on them. St. George International School and Preschool reception desk officers are in charge of accepting, putting in writing and handing the complaints/signals into the respective management level of the school. The current procedure is approved by the Board of Governors of St. George International School & Preschool. VII. Persistent complaints
Unreasonably persistent complaints
Most complaints raised will be valid, and therefore we will treat them seriously. However, a complaint may become unreasonable if the person:
Has made the same complaint before, and it has already been resolved by following the school’s complaints procedure. Makes a complaint that is obsessive, persistent, harassing, prolific, defamatory, or repetitive. Knowingly provides false information. Insists on pursuing an unfounded complaint, or out of the scope of the complaint’s procedure. Pursues a valid complaint, but unreasonably (e.g. refuses to articulate the complaint, refused to co-operate with this complaints procedure, or insists that the complaint is dealt with in ways that are incompatible with this procedure and the time frames it sets out) Changes the basis of the complaint as the investigation goes on. Makes a complaint designed to cause disruption, annoyance or excessive demands on school staff Seeks unrealistic outcomes, or a solution that lacks any serious purpose or value or are in violation of the Bulgarian laws. Steps we will take
We will take every reasonable step to address the complainant’s concerns and give them a clear statement of our position and their options. We will maintain our role as objective arbiters throughout the process, including when we meet with individuals. We will follow our complaints procedure as normal (as outlined above) wherever possible.
If the complainant continues to contact the school in a disruptive way, we may put communications strategies in place. We may:
Give the complainant a single point of contact via an email address. Limit the number of times the complainant can make contact, such as a fixed number per term. Put any other strategy in place as necessary. Stopping responding
We may stop responding to the complainant when all of these factors are met:
We believe we have taken all reasonable steps to help address their concerns. We have provided a clear statement of our position and the possible courses of action. The complainant contacts us repeatedly, and we believe their intention is to cause disruption or inconvenience. Where we stop responding, we will inform the individual that we intend to do so. We will also explain that we will still consider any new complaints they make.
In response to any serious incident of aggression or violence, we will immediately inform the police and communicate our actions in writing. This may include barring an individual from our school site and/or terminating the contract.
Duplicate complaints
If we have resolved a complaint under this procedure and receive a duplicate complaint on the same subject from a partner, family member or another individual, we will assess whether there are aspects that we hadn’t previously considered or any new information we need to consider.
If we are satisfied that there are no new aspects, we will:
Tell the new complainant that we have already investigated and responded to this issue, and the local process is complete. If there are new aspects, we will follow this procedure again.
