Contents. Important notes. Definitions and abbreviations. What has gone wrong? 1 Gathering information 2 Useful documents 2

Transcription

1 Making a Complaint

2 Contents What has gone wrong? 1 Gathering information 2 Useful documents 2 Informal approaches 3 Working with the school 3 Who to talk to 3 Handling meetings 4 Who else can help? 5 If you are not happy 5 Mediation 5 Formal complaints 6 Flowchart: Where to take a complaint 7 Flowchart: Where to take a complaint: Special Educational Needs 8 School level complaint 9 Complaints procedure 9 Writing to the headteacher 9 Putting your case together 11 Complaining to the governors 11 Governors panel meeting 12 The panel s decision 12 Taking things higher 13 Complaints to the local authority 13 Complaining to the Secretary of State 14 Local Government Ombudsman 15 Teaching Agency (complaints about teachers) 16 Ofsted 16 Complaints about Academies Education Funding Agency 17 Legal action 17 Using a solicitor 17 Judicial Review 18 Personal injury / Educational negligence 19 Further help 20 Important notes The information in this booklet is based on the laws of England. This booklet covers general complaints. It does not cover admissions exclusions SEN Tribunal appeals and disability discrimination claims complaints against independent (private) schools Definitions and abbreviations Academy Academies receive state funding but have more independence than maintained schools. DfE Department for Education EFA Education Funding Agency. The EFA can investigate complaints about Academies. Free schools Free schools are a type of Academy set up in response to local demand. Governing body The governors with the headteacher have overall responsibility for the school. They work for the school unpaid. Local authority (LA) The local authority deals with the administration of a local council. The education department may be part of the LA s children s services authority or trust. LGO Local Government Ombudsman Maintained school Maintained schools are community schools, voluntary aided and controlled schools and foundation schools. Ofsted Ofsted is responsible for inspecting schools in England. SEN Special educational needs SENCO Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator School record All the documents the school holds relating to your child. Advisory Centre for Education 2012

3 Things aren t right at my child s school. What can I do? Sometimes school life does not run smoothly and parents may need to raise matters with the school or in some cases make a formal complaint. This booklet will help you deal with school problems at all levels, from an informal meeting with the class teacher to formal complaints to the governors and taking matters further. What has gone wrong? Even before you ask for a meeting it s important to stop and think about what has gone wrong and what you want the school to do to sort it out. ACE advises Make some notes about: What went wrong? anything the school did that you are unhappy about anything the school should have done but didn t You may have several issues. Try to list them separately. Write down details of any particular incidents. Your child How has the problem affected your child? Educationally? Socially? Emotionally? Previous meetings Has there already been contact between you and the school on this issue. Was there any agreement? What do you want to happen now? This might be: an action by the school such as a change of class, extra help, better playground supervision an apology an assurance that it won t happen again a review of school policies Advisory Centre for Education 2012 my child in school Making a Complaint 1

4 You may well be feeling upset and angry about what has happened. It may be tempting to go straight in to school and vent your feelings, but this is not likely to work in your favour. It is much better to keep up good relations and to show that you want to work with the school. Some parents also worry about repercussions on their child if they complain. This shouldn t happen, but you will reduce the risk by being polite and cooperative. Gathering information It is important to keep a written record of all contacts with the school, particularly if you may be moving on to a formal complaint. These might be: incidents affecting your child phone calls or meetings copies of letters. If your complaint relates to something that had a significant effect on your child, see if there is anyone who can write a statement about this. That might be a professional such as a doctor, health visitor or youth leader or perhaps a family friend who knows the child well. Useful documents There are a number of documents that you may find useful. School complaints procedure. School policies. All schools are obliged by law to have certain policies including: behaviour policy, anti-bullying policy, SEN policy. Government guidance and advice. This is available to schools in a number of areas e.g. behaviour and discipline, exclusions. It can be found on the Department for Education website. See Further help, page 20. School record parents have a right to a copy of their child s full school record. Request this in writing. 2 my child in school Making a Complaint Advisory Centre for Education 2012

5 The school record In this guide when we refer to the school record, this is the child s full educational record. The definition of the educational record is very wide. It is not just the usual school reports or details of academic achievement. It covers any information held about a child that comes from a teacher, another school or local authority employee, the pupil or parents. Amongst other things, you would expect to find copies of incident reports, assessments of your child and copies of letters from you. It does not include teachers own notes made for their own personal use. You need to request your child s school record in writing from the school. Address your letter to the chair of governors and copy it to the headteacher. The school has 15 school days to comply with your request. There is no charge to look at the record but the school may make a charge for a written copy. You can start with informal approaches to the school while you are gathering your information. Informal approaches Working with the school If this is the beginning of your contact with the school over the current issue it is best to give the school a chance to sort matters out informally first. Sometimes problems can arise from a misunderstanding which can easily be clarified by talking to the right person. Who to talk to In a primary school the best person to start with is probably your child s class teacher, in a secondary school it may be the form tutor, subject teacher or head of year. If you have already had dealings with these people, you may wish to go in at a higher level such as the head or deputy. If your child has special educational needs the SENCO may be the best person to talk to. Make an appointment; this will give you a better chance of being heard than if you just try to grab a member of staff at the beginning or end of the school day. If you are having difficulty arranging an appointment, put your request in writing. Advisory Centre for Education 2012 my child in school Making a Complaint 3

6 Dear [teacher / headteacher] I should like to raise a concern relating to my child [give child s name, class etc]. I am not happy / worried because [give brief details of your concerns]. I hope that we can sort this out informally. I would like to arrange a meeting with you to discuss my concerns. The best times for me would be [give details of days / times]. I hope that we can to work together to resolve this matter. Yours sincerely Handling meetings Many parents find it daunting even going to an informal meeting at school. Here are some ideas that may help. Remember that at this point the priority is to share your concerns and explore possible ways forward. Be prepared have a written list of your points. It may help to give the teacher a copy at the beginning of the meeting. Be tactful think carefully about how you put your points across. Listen carefully to what the school says and try to see both sides of the situation. Be open minded but don t be fobbed off if you feel your complaint isn t being taken seriously. Take someone with you to support you and to take notes. Tick off the points on your list as you go along to make sure you don t miss anything. Note the teacher s points and any agreements. At the end get a summary of what has been agreed even if it is only that the school will look into the situation. Set some deadlines and arrange a further meeting to check progress. Thank the member of staff for taking the time to meet you. 4 my child in school Making a Complaint Advisory Centre for Education 2012

7 ACE advises stick to the facts Keep a record of all the problems affecting your child so you can give examples. Rather than saying for instance The teacher keeps picking on my child it may be preferable to give examples e.g. Mr Y has given my child 6 detentions in 2 weeks for talking. Other people involved have escaped with just a telling off. Who else can help? You may feel you want some support in talking to the school. A friend or relative may be able to do this. Some schools have parent support advisers or there may be other community organisations which could help. Contact the Family Information Service or Citizens Advice Bureau in your local authority for details of organisations that are able to support parents. All local authorities must have a Parent Partnership service to support parents of children with SEN. A Parent Partnership officer or volunteer may be able to attend meetings with you. For more information see Further help, page 20. If you are not happy If you feel that you have not been able to resolve things informally, you could: ask for a meeting with someone higher ask for mediation make a formal complaint. Mediation Mediation involves an independent person sitting down with both parties and helping them come to a mutually agreeable resolution. It is an entirely voluntary process. Each local authority must give access to a disagreement resolution (mediation) service for parents of children with SEN. If your child does not have SEN, the school or local authority may have access to a more general mediation service or there may be a community organisation that can provide it. Advisory Centre for Education 2012 my child in school Making a Complaint 5

8 Formal complaints If you have not been able to obtain a satisfactory outcome by informal means you may want to move to a formal complaint. It is important to balance any benefit with the time, trouble and stress of making a complaint. Keep your child in mind throughout. The process should be about securing an acceptable outcome for your child, not about scoring points off the school. Do not let the complaint become an end in itself. If you are making a formal complaint, it is vital to go through the right channels. Your complaint may not be able to be heard at a higher level if you have not been through the lower levels first and you may find you are knocked back to the beginning again. You will also need to state in writing that you are making a formal complaint in order to trigger any time limits for a response. See the charts on pages 7 and 8 for details on where to take a complaint. If your complaint is about Admissions, Exclusions or SEN / Disability there are other ACE publications that may help. See Further help, page 20. What kind of school does your child go to? State-funded schools vary as to the amount of control the local authority and governors have in the running of the school. This will make a difference as to how you can take a complaint forward. The different types of state funded schools are: community schools voluntary controlled schools voluntary aided schools foundation schools Academies (Free schools are a type of Academy) How to find out: Go to You can search by name of school location or postcode. The Type of Establishment will tell you what sort of school it is. Use that information to help you follow the complaints flowcharts. 6 my child in school Making a Complaint Advisory Centre for Education 2012

9 Where to take a complaint General Behaviour/discipline (not exclusions) Bullying School level complaint Community Voluntary controlled Voluntary aided Foundation Academy Secretary of State Education Funding Agency Complaint about member of staff School level complaint Community Voluntary controlled Foundation Voluntary aided Academy Local authority Secretary of State Teaching Agency (serious professional misconduct only) Education Funding Agency Advisory Centre for Education 2012 my child in school Making a Complaint 7

10 Where to take a complaint: Special Educational Needs For more detail see ACE s SEN booklets. Special Educational Needs Child without statement of SEN Statutory assessment/statement Refusal to assess Refusal to issue statement Disagreement with final statement Failure to make provision on statement School level complaint School level complaint SEN dispute resolution Community Voluntary aided/controlled Foundation Academy Local authority Secretary of State Education Funding Agency First-Tier Tribunal (SEND) Local Government Ombudsman 8 my child in school Making a Complaint Advisory Centre for Education 2012

11 School level complaint The majority of formal complaints can be dealt with at a school level. Complaints procedure All schools have a legal duty to produce and publish a complaints procedure and all complaints must be dealt with in accordance with it. The complaints procedure may follow a model policy drawn up by the local authority or religious body. The exact details and complaint stages may differ from school to school but will generally include an informal stage, a written stage to the head and a written stage to the governing body. A typical school complaints procedure may look like this: 1. Raise concern informally with staff member concerned 2. Formal written complaint to the headteacher 3 Consideration by the governors complaints committee. Some schools may have an additional stage between 2 and 3 where the complaint is investigated by the chair of governors. Guidance on drawing up complaints procedures (Complaints procedure toolkit) is available from the DfE. This guidance covers: stages of complaint recording and resolving complaints conduct of governors panel meeting timescales. Writing to the headteacher At this stage you need to make a formal complaint in writing. This will also help you to clarify your points and see what further evidence you may need. You can use the model letter on page 10 pick out what is appropriate for your case. Some schools may have their own complaints form for parents to fill in. Advisory Centre for Education 2012 my child in school Making a Complaint 9

12 Dear [headteacher: insert name] I am the parent of [child s name and class / year]. I am writing to make a formal complaint about [add details of complaint e.g. school s failure to address bullying; failure to make SEN provision; action of teacher; unreasonable charging]. So far the following actions have been taken... [List any meetings you have had, any investigations that have taken place, any actions the school has taken. You can include copies of letters, s, records of telephone calls or meetings] I am not happy with the actions taken because... [e.g. don t go not far enough; investigation inadequate; problem still ongoing; no action] The effect on my child is... [Include any external evidence such as medical reports] School policies say... Government guidance says... I would like you to put things right by... [State what remedy you would like e.g. offering an apology; changing school policies; giving my child extra help] I would like to meet with you in person to discuss my complaint. I wish to support the school and hope that we can work together to resolve this issue. Yours sincerely You will also want some written evidence to send in advance or take with you. See below on Putting your case together. For the meeting with the headteacher use our guidelines on handling meetings on page 4. If you are not happy with the outcome of the headteacher s investigation, there will be at least one further stage of complaint to the governing body. 10 my child in school Making a Complaint Advisory Centre for Education 2012

13 Putting your case together You will need to be able to back up your complaint with evidence. You will need: child s full school record incident reports and witness statements if applicable school policies e.g. SEN, behaviour, anti-bullying, confidentiality, child protection, homework. These may be available on the school s website appropriate government guidance e.g. behaviour The following are available on the Department for Education website (see Further help, page 20): a list of statutory policies that schools must have Governors guide to the law with detail on policies and duties of governors Statutory guidance and departmental advice to schools. For more information on specific areas see ACE guides Getting extra help, Disability discrimination, Tackling bullying. Complaining to the governors If your complaint has not been resolved by the headteacher the next stage will be to take it to the governors of the school. Write to the chair of governors using a similar letter to the one above. Ask for your complaint to be heard in person by the governors complaints panel. Before the meeting make a list of the points you want to make and any questions you want to ask. Collect any other evidence you want to rely on and make copies of all written material to give to the governors. Think about taking a friend, family member or adviser to support you. It s best to inform the clerk beforehand if you are bringing someone with you. ACE advises Remember to be very clear about the outcome you want. It is also worth thinking about what you might compromise on. For instance, if the governors agree that things could have been handled better, do you still want to insist on a formal apology? Advisory Centre for Education 2012 my child in school Making a Complaint 11

14 Governors panel meeting Government guidance suggests how this should be run: The complaint must never be heard by the whole governing body but by a panel of governors, generally 3 or 5. The panel must not include anyone who has previous involvement in the complaint. The panel should include a cross section of governors There should be a clerk to take notes. It is likely to be the clerk who will send you information before the meeting. You can check with the clerk how the meeting will be run. The meeting must be held in private, should be welcoming and informal and should aim to resolve the complaint and achieve reconciliation. The meeting must be conducted in a fair way. In particular: Each side should be given the opportunity to state their case and ask questions. Written material must be seen by all parties. If any new issue comes up, all parties must have time to think about it and comment. The panel s decision Guidance recommends that the panel could: dismiss the complaint in whole or in part uphold the complaint in whole or in part decide on appropriate action to resolve the complaint recommend changes to systems and procedures to prevent situation reoccurring. The Chair of the panel should write to tell you of the panel s decision. The deadline for this will be set out in the complaints procedure. Generally the panel s decision is final and cannot be revisited. The school complaints procedure will tell you if there is any further level of review. 12 my child in school Making a Complaint Advisory Centre for Education 2012

15 Taking things higher If you are not happy with the governors response you may be able to take things higher in some cases. Check the school s complaints procedure to see whether there is a further review stage by the local authority or, for church schools, a diocesan body. Complaints to the local authority There is no automatic further right of complaint to the LA. Most school matters are handled internally and the LA does not get involved. However there are some exceptions to this: Complaints about a member of staff in community and voluntary controlled schools can be made to the LA as it is the employer. This does not apply to foundation or voluntary aided schools or Academies, as in these schools the governing body employs the staff. You can also complain to the LA about any matter that is its legal responsibility. Such matters include: SEN the LA is legally responsible for arranging the provision in a statement of SEN transport LA has a statutory duty to make free travel arrangements for certain groups of children. See the transport briefing on the ACE website provision of alternative education e.g. excluded or sick children provision of enough school places for children in the area. How to complain to the LA You can find details of your LA via DirectGov, your local library or search for the LA website. Ask for a copy of the complaints procedure. Make your complaint in writing to the director of children s services. It is also advisable to copy your complaint to the LA Monitoring Officer. The Monitoring officer has the overall responsibility to ensure that all LA decisions are lawful and do not constitute maladministration. For a complaint about the LA it may help to get your local councillor or MP involved. Advisory Centre for Education 2012 my child in school Making a Complaint 13

16 Complaining to the Secretary of State For all state-maintained schools, if you think you can show that the school has broken the law, or acted unreasonably, you can write to complain to the Secretary of State for Education. The Secretary of State can only look at your complaint if your child is on roll of the school you are complaining about. If the school is an Academy, your complaint must be made to the Education Funding Agency (EFA) (see below, page 17). Unreasonableness in the strict legal sense means the school s action or decision was one that no reasonable person could have made. It may help to show that the school has not followed Government guidance. Guidance covers many aspects of school life and can be found on the Department for Education website. With any complaint to the Secretary of State you should include copies of any letters you have received from the school about the issue, a copy of the governing body s decision and copies of any other letters between you and the LA. Send any other letters or statements which you used to make your points to the governors. The Secretary of State can direct schools and local authorities to take a particular action, although he does not often use these powers. Write to the Secretary of State at: Department for Education Sanctuary Buildings Great Smith Street London SW1P 3BT Dear Secretary of State I am writing to complain that my child s school has behaved unreasonably / illegally. [Describe your complaint and the action taken so far.] I am asking you to use your powers under the Education Act 1996 sections 496 /497 to direct the school as follows: [Say what the school should do to put things right.] Yours sincerely [Include a copy of responses to previous levels of complaint] You can also fill in a web-based form on the DfE website. 14 my child in school Making a Complaint Advisory Centre for Education 2012

17 The DfE will acknowledge your complaint within 15 working days. They will let you know how the investigation will proceed. A full investigation and response can take up to six months. Directions to schools and LAs are rare but the DfE investigation may put pressure on the school to do things differently. Local Government Ombudsman If your complaint is about the local authority and you are not happy with the outcome, you can take it further to the Local Government Ombudsman. The LGO will investigate complaints where it appears there has been maladministration causing injustice. Maladministration has a wide definition. This might include: delay in taking action failure to respond to phone calls or letters not providing proper information not consulting properly. Matters that come under the remit of the LGO are: errors in an independent appeal or review panel hearing for admissions or exclusions. For Academies complaints must be made to the EFA see page 17 errors in the way that the LA has carried out its duties e.g. a delay in carrying out statutory assessment failure of the LA to carry out a statutory duty e.g. school transport or providing education for children out of school. You will need to show that you or your child has suffered as a result of what the LA did or failed to do. In some cases the LGO may award small amounts of money to compensate you for the time and trouble taken to complain and to pay for things such as catch up tuition for the child. Where the LGO cannot investigate The LGO cannot investigate if there is another way of resolving the dispute such as an appeal to the First-Tier Tribunal for SEN and Disability. The time limit for complaint to the LGO is 12 months. Normally you will be expected to go through the LA complaints procedure first. However in urgent cases, for instance where a child is not receiving education, the LGO may start an investigation straight away. It is worth ringing and discussing your situation with them. Decisions on complaints can be viewed on the LGO website. For more information about the LGO see Further help, page 20. Advisory Centre for Education 2012 my child in school Making a Complaint 15

18 Teaching Agency (complaints about teachers) The General Teaching Council for England was abolished in April Complaints regarding a teacher s professional misconduct in all types of school are now heard by the Teaching Agency. Members of the public can refer a case of misconduct if it would be serious enough to result in a teacher being barred from teaching. All local procedures should be exhausted first. Be aware that it is very rare indeed for a teacher to be struck off. The Teaching Agency has published a document Teacher misconduct: the prohibition of teachers which sets out the grounds on which a prohibition order might be issued. This is available from the Department for Education website. Ofsted Parents can make a complaint about a school to Ofsted. Ofsted cannot investigate complaints relating to individual children, but they can investigate qualifying complaints which relate to whole school issues. These relate to: the quality or standards of the education provided in the school the quality of leadership in the school the spiritual moral or cultural development of the children the contribution of the school to the well being of the children. In investigating a complaint Ofsted: can ask for information from Governors and LA can set up a meeting for parents of registered pupils may publish a report may bring forward an inspection of the school. A complaint to Ofsted may be a suitable way forward when a number of parents have significant concerns about a school. 16 my child in school Making a Complaint Advisory Centre for Education 2012

19 Complaints about Academies Education Funding Agency Academies are funded by the state and education at them must be free. Rather than coming directly under most education law, they are governed by a funding agreement with the Secretary of State for Education. This gives them more freedom than state maintained schools. Academies must have a published complaints procedure. There must be provision for complaints to be heard by a panel including at least one person independent of the running of the school. If you need to take matters higher, the Education Funding Agency (EFA) investigates complaints against Academies on behalf of the Secretary of State. It will look at complaints that: the Academy has delayed in investigating a complaint or has not followed its published procedure the Academy is in breach of its funding agreement. the Academy has acted unlawfully. The time limit for complaining to the EFA is 12 months The EFA may ask the Academy to review its procedures or review its decision. If the Academy does not comply the Secretary of State may seek to enforce the Funding Agreement through the courts. The EFA also considers complaints about admission appeal panels for Academies. Legal action This section will give you some general information on using a solicitor and some types of legal action. If your complaint has reached this stage you will need qualified legal advice. Using a solicitor The majority of complaints can be dealt with by parents on their own and involving lawyers at an early stage may be counterproductive. However, if you are considering any kind of legal action it is important to get specialist legal advice. It is important only to use a solicitor who is an education specialist. The Education Law Association will be able to give you a list of members in your area. For contacts see Further help, page 20. Advisory Centre for Education 2012 my child in school Making a Complaint 17

20 Costs Be aware that fees may be charged. In some cases this can amount to a considerable expense. Always find out as much as possible about the potential costs in advance. If you are on a low income you may be eligible for legal aid in some cases. Community Legal Advice will be able to refer you to a solicitor or law centre with an education contract. Be aware that as a result of reforms to the legal aid system only SEN cases will be eligible for legal aid from April If you are not eligible for legal aid it may be possible to get some pro bono help. This is where a lawyer works for free on certain cases. You can apply for a pro bono solicitor via LawWorks, but there is no guarantee they will be able to find a volunteer. If your child has SEN, some of the large disability organisations may also have access to some pro bono legal advice. ACE advises Think carefully and seek legal advice before starting a court case. It is often expensive, time-consuming and stressful. It is important to think about the likely outcomes and expense and decide whether it is worth the effort of going to court. Judicial Review Judicial review is one of the most common forms of action in education cases. It is a review of decisions of public bodies to check they have been properly made. Public bodies include Government Departments, Local authorities, appeal panels and maintained schools. Academies may be able to be judicially reviewed in some cases. The time limit for applying is within 3 months of the decision A parent or child can apply for Judicial Review if they consider a decision to be: Illegal Unreasonable Procedurally unfair Breach of Human Rights Act 18 my child in school Making a Complaint Advisory Centre for Education 2012

21 Possible outcomes The court cannot remake the decision but can make an order requiring the public body to make the decision again properly or to carry out or not carry out a specific action. Detailed factsheets on Judicial Review are available from the Public Law Project website. See Further help, page 20. Personal injury / Educational negligence A school has a general duty of care to the child. This includes matters such as making sure the school environment is safe and ensuring adequate supervision. It may be possible to make a claim for personal injury if: there was a duty of care in the circumstances there was a breach of the duty of care the child suffered harm or loss and damages are sought This might for instance be the case if a child had an accident because playground equipment was not properly secured. Sometimes parents are looking for compensation because they feel the school has been negligent regarding their child s education, for example by failing to identify SEN. Educational negligence cases are likely to be considered as personal injury cases and are notoriously difficult to win. Advisory Centre for Education 2012 my child in school Making a Complaint 19

22 Further help From ACE Information and free advice booklets can be downloaded from Please see our specialist booklets if your complaint is in the area of exclusions, admissions, SEN, bullying or school transport. From the Department for Education Telephone: Links to statutory guidance and departmental advice: Publication: Guide to the law for school governors Complaints procedure toolkit: leadership/governance Taking your complaint further Secretary of State for Education Web form: aboutdfe/complaintsprocedure Address: Department for Education Sanctuary Buildings Great Smith Street London SW1P 3BT Education Funding Agency For complaints about Academies Website: aboutdfe/complaintsprocedure Address: Academies Central Unit (Academy Complaints) Education Funding Agency Earlsdon Park Butts Road Coventry CV1 3BH Teaching Agency Teaching Agency: Teacher regulation division Telephone: Website: leadership/teachermisconduct Ofsted Telephone: Publication: Complaints to Ofsted about schools: a guide for parents Website: SEND First Tier Tribunal (SEN and Disability) SEN helpline: Publication: How to appeal an SEN decision a guide for parents Website: 20 my child in school Making a Complaint Advisory Centre for Education 2012

23 Local Government Ombudsman Website: Advice line: The LGO handles complaints about local authorities Advice for parents Parent Partnership Parent Partnership is an impartial service funded by the LA to support parents of children with SEN. You can find details of your local service via the National Parent Partnership Network. Website: Telephone: Family information service The FIS in your LA may have information about local organisations that can help families. Website: Citizens Advice Websites: Legal information Education Law Association Telephone: Website: Children s Legal Centre Telephone: Website: Community Legal Advice Telephone: Website: (search for Community Legal Advice) Law Centres Federation Telephone: Website: LawWorks Solicitors Pro Bono Group Telephone: Website: Public Law Project Website: Publishes information sheets on judicial review. Does not give advice direct to the public. Advisory Centre for Education 2012 my child in school Making a Complaint 21

24 ACE is a charity and depends on grants and donations to operate our advice service. If you have found our advice helpful and would like to make a donation please visit Thank you. Whilst ACE has made all reasonable efforts to ensure that the information contained in this booklet is accurate and up-to-date at the time of publication, it does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as a substitute for legal advice. ACE cannot accept any responsibility for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of any reliance placed upon it. Advisory Centre for Education (ACE) Ltd ACE, United House, North Road, London N7 9DP Telephone: (Admin only) Registered Charity: Registered Company: Designed by Grasshopper Design Company