About Us School Administration Policy Document Principles and Guidelines for School Complaint

Principles and Guidelines for School Complaint

The Church of Christ in China Kei Long College

Handling of School Inquiries / Complaints - School-based Mechanism and Procedures

 

Introduction

We will manage complaints with a positive attitude. Apart from treating the complainants and the complainees fairly, they will be handleed properly in accordance to our established procedures.

 

Scope of Application of the Complaint Handling Mechanism

In accordance with the essence of school-based management, the "Education Ordinance" confers the power and function of the School Management Committee in managing the School. Hence, we will work with the school sponsoring body to handle school-related complaints. In case the matter of complaint involves the daily operation and internal affairs of the School, the complainant is encouraged to raise it directly to us for better settlement.

 

In case the complaint involves the following areas, the complainant should lodge a complaint with the Education Bureau even if the incident only took place at the school level. The Education Bureau will handle the following complaints directly:

Complaints about education policies (e.g., class structure, class size, etc.);

Complaints of alleged breaches of the Education Ordinance (e.g., corporal punishment, teacher registration) or breaches of the Codes of Aid (e.g., overcharging, expulsion of students); or

Complaints about services provided directly by the Education Bureau (e.g., school places allocation, services provided by Regional Education Offices).

 

Types of Complaints Not Accepted

Complaint Types Notes Special Circumstances / Arrangements
Anonymous Complaints Complainants should provide their name, address/email address and contact number, whether in writing or in person. In case of doubt, we may request the complainant to produce identification documents to confirm his or her identity. If the complainant fails or refuses to provide his/her name, address/email address, and telephone number and results in us not being able to verify the complaint and give a written reply, the complaint will be regarded as an anonymous complaint and will not be handled by us. Depending on the situation (e.g., sufficient evidence is available, or the complaint involves a serious or urgent incident), we will decide whether to follow up on the anonymous complaint for internal reference. If it is decided that the anonymous complaint does not need to be followed up, we will only briefly list the reasons and keep the file for record-keeping purposes.
Complaints Not Raised by the Person Concerned Complaints should be lodged in person by the parties concerned, and other persons must obtain prior written authorization from the parties concerned to file a complaint on behalf of the parties concerned. Complaints related to students (including minors and persons with intellectual disabilities) may be filed by parents/guardians, or persons authorized by parents/guardians on behalf of the parties concerned. If the complaint is lodged by more than one person on behalf of the parties concerned, we will ask the parties concerned to designate a representative as the point of contact with us.
Complaint Events Took Place More Than One Year Ago Complaints related to the daily operation of the School should be lodged within the same school year, as the objective circumstances/evidence may have changed or disappeared if the incident has occurred for more than one year (or the person/complainee has resigned or left the School, which can cause difficulties in collecting evidence and making it difficult to conduct investigations). To provide greater flexibility, the time limit for lodging a complaint is calculated on a calendar year basis.

Depending on the situation (e.g., sufficient evidence is available, or the complaint involves a serious or urgent incident), we will decide whether it should /can investigate complaint events that have taken place more than a year ago.

 
Complaints with Incomplete Information We will ask the complainant to provide specific information on the case. If the complainant fails to provide sufficient information, which makes investigation impossible, the complaint will not be handled by us.  

 

Complaint Handling Procedures

Unless the person concerned insists on making a formal complaint, our school staff will promptly provide assistance or help resolve his/her problem under general circumstances. Please refer to Diagram 1 in the annex on the School's complaint handling process.

 

Informal Complaint Handling Procedures

Immediate / Prompt Handling

Once we have received a public enquiry, comment, or informal complaint (whether orally or in writing), our school staff will listen carefully, understand, and clarify the ideas and requests of the parties concerned. If the incident is considered minor, our school staff will gather the necessary information and provide assistance as much as possible., or they will respond to the issue/s raised by the person concerned and assist in solving the problem/s as soon as possible.

 

If necessary, our school staff will arrange for the staff in charge of the relevant affairs to have a direct dialogue or meet with the parties concerned to explain the School's standpoints, clarify misunderstandings, and clear up doubts. The response time required for the informal complaint handling procedures is usually no more than three days.
Replying to Complaints We will provide verbal response to inquiries / comments / complaints raised orally. Cases resolved by the informal complaint handling procedure will normally not be replied in writing. In normal cases, we will decide whether to give a simple written reply to the parties concerned / complainant based on individual circumstances.
Complaint Records Under general circumstances, cases handled with the informal complaint handling procedures are not formally filed. If the relevant enquiry / complaint has been answered or resolved immediately, we will extract the key points for future reference.

 

Formal Complaint Investigation Procedures

Investigation Stage

We will adhere to the following procedures if a formal complaint is received: 

Appoint appropriate personnel to investigate and respond to the complainant.

If necessary, we will issue a notification letter to confirm receipt of the complaint. The complainant will be asked to agree to submit personal and complaint-related information. For easy contact, the name, title, and telephone number of the person responsible for handling the complaint will also need to be provided.

If necessary, we may contact or make an appointment to meet with the complainant and other relevant persons in order to gain an in-depth understanding of the incident. The person concerned / organizations may be requested to provide relevant information.

Complaints are handled as soon as possible. We will generally complete the investigation and reply to inform the complainant of the investigation result within two months from the receipt of the complaint.

A complaint case can be formally closed if the complainant accepts the results of the investigation.

If the complainant does not accept the investigation results or how the complaint was handled by us, he/she may, upon provision of new evidence or sufficient justification, file an appeal request to us in writing within 14 days from the date of our response to the investigation.

 
Appeal Stage

We will adhere to the following procedures if an appeal request is received from the complainant:

Appoint appropriate personnel (a person of a higher rank than the one responsible for the investigation phase or another team of personnel) to take up the responsibility for handling the appeal case and responding to the complainant.

In order to handle the appeal case as soon as possible, we will generally complete the appeal investigation within two months from the receipt of the appeal request and give a written reply to the complainant on the appeal result.

The case can be formally closed if the complainant accepts the appeal result.

If the complainant is still not satisfied with the result of the appeal or how we have handled the appeal and has raised a new complaint, we will file another case for handling. Otherwise, we will not follow up any further on the appeal.

 
Resolving Conflict Through Mediation In the process of complaint handling, we will, according to the nature of the case, consider whether it is appropriate to seek the assistance of a mediator to conduct mediation or invite independent / professionals to provide opinions and assist the parties concerned (including the complainant and the respondent/ organization) in finding solution/s.
Responding to Complaints / Appeals

If the complaint or appeal is made in writing, we will reply in writing. If the complaint or appeal is made orally, we will decide to reply either orally or in writing, depending on the circumstances of the case.

 

In normal ciscumstances, the time limit for the response is two months from the date of receipt of the complaint or the complainant's consent to our request for his/her personal data. In case the information is incomplete, we will request the complainant to supplement the information. The time limit for the response will be completed within two months from the date when we receive the required information. If a response cannot be made within the specified time, we will explain in writing to the complainant on the reasons for a longer time required to process the complaint / appeal.
Complaint / Appeal Record We will keep a clear record of cases handled through formal complaint investigation procedures.

 

Arrangements for Handling Complaints
Designated Staff – after taking into account the nature of the complaint, its scope, and the people involved, we will assign a designated staff or set up a task force to handle the complaint. We will follow the table below on the arrangements for the responsible personnel at each stage of complaint handling in the School:

Personenl Involved Investigation Stage Appeal Stage
Students Teachers Subject Chair Teacher
School Staff Subject Chair Teacher / Vice-principal / School Principal Vice-principal / School Principal / Supervisor
School Principal Supervisor Central Board of School Managers of Secondary Schools
Supervisor / Chairman of the IMC Central Board of School Managers of Secondary Schools Central Board of School Managers of Secondary Schools

 

Mechanism for Declaration of Interests - Responsible teachers and related persons are required to declare their interests to the School before the launching of investigations or where appropriate. Should there be a conflict of interest, the person involved must avoid suspicion and should not have access to any information related to the case or ask the person responsible for the case to provide information. To avoid conflicts of interest, no person who is being complained should participate in or supervise the investigation or sign any letter addressed to the complainant.

 

Confidentiality - All contents and information of complaints will be kept strictly confidential and restricted to the internal reference or relevant persons only. In case we need to collect personal data during the complaint handling process or when we have received requests from the parties concerned for the disclosure of data/records in respect of the complaint case, we will observe the regulations and recommendations laid down in the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance. We will ensure that only authorized responsible officers have access to the relevant information. The responsible personnel shall neither disclose nor publicly discuss the contents and information of the case without authorization.

 

Review of Complaints

A complainant or school may request the “Review Board on School Complaints” (Review Board) set up by the Education Bureau to review the complaint case under the following circumstances:

The complainant has presented sufficient supporting reasons or new evidence to prove that we / Education Bureau has mishandled the case.

The complainant does not accept the investigation results and still continues to complain despite the fact that we have properly handled the complaint according to the established procedures.

Before the person concerned makes a request for review, the case must have been undergone by us / Education Bureau's investigation and appeal stage. The person concerned must explain the reasons for their dissatisfaction and provide sufficient supporting reasons or new evidence, the request may otherwise not be accepted by the Review Committee.

 

Measures for Handling of Unreasonable Behaviours and Demands

  Management Measures
Facing of Unreasonable Attitude or Behaviours Any unreasonable attitude or behaviours, including violence, intimidation, foul language, and offensive or abusive behavior or language, whether expressed in person or via telephone/writing, is unacceptable. Our school staff will express clearly that they do not accept unreasonable attitudes and behaviours and will request the complainant to change his/her attitudes and stop the relevant behaviours. If the complainant's attitudes and behaviours remain unchanged, the staff may terminate the meeting or interview with the complainant after issuing a warning and ask the complainant to leave the meeting venue. We may take appropriate actions, such as calling the police or taking legal steps, under an emergency or if necessary.
Facing of Unreasonable Demands If the complainant makes an unreasonable demand that has a negative impact on the School, such as interrupting the operation or services of the School; or if other stakeholders are affected by the complainant's unreasonable behaviours, we will consider restricting the complainant's contact with us, including stipulation on the time, frequency, date, sessions, and communication method with school personnel (for example, make appointments before coming to the School, express opinions in writing, contact designated personnel, etc.). We will notify the complainant in writing of the arrangements and handling procedures.
Facing of Unreasonable Persistent Complaints If the complainant still continues to complain unreasonably despite we have carefully reviewed and properly handled the case in accordance with the established investigation and appeal procedures and has given a detailed and objective written explanation to the complainant of the investigation results of the complaint, we will limit or cease contact with the complainant and stop handling the case.