Raising Concerns and Complaints
At St Joseph's School, anyone who wants to raise a concern or complaint should follow this procedure. For an overview, see Concerns and Complaints Process 
.
- Concerns or complaints should be raised with the school in the first instance. Serious matters may also be raised with external agencies directly (e.g. police, Oranga Tamariki).
- If a member of the school community has a concern or complaint about a student who is not their child, they should contact the school. They should not contact the student or their parents/caregivers directly.
- Anyone with a concern or complaint may seek advice or support (e.g. a friend, relative, lawyer, union, employee assistance programme, counselling or mediation services). A support person and/or a representative may help raise a concern or make a complaint and may attend arranged meetings. A support person and/or representative is expected to respect privacy and confidentiality, as with other people involved in the process.
- We expect all concerns and complaints to be raised in a respectful way, in accordance with our conduct expectations and inclusive school culture. The school will assess and respond to all concerns and complaints in a timely, fair, and respectful manner.
- Concerns and complaints should be raised as soon as possible to allow the school to respond effectively. There is no time limit on when a concern or complaint may be raised with the school. A concern or complaint relating to an historic event may require a more complex investigation and response. This includes historic
sensitive claims.Sensitive claims relate to mistreatment, neglect, or physical, sexual, or psychological abuse.
Sensitive claims can be raised directly with the police and may also meet criteria to be raised with other agencies:
- Sensitive claims may be lodged with the Ministry of Education if claimants believe they were abused (physical, sexual, psychological), mistreated, or neglected when they attended a specialist school or primary school before 1989, or any state school that is now closed (including specialist schools and health camp schools), and they believe that this experience has harmed them in some way.
- Complaints of sexual abuse against Catholic church personnel in New Zealand are referred to the National Office for Professional Standards.
See Sensitive claims of abuse in state schools 
(Ministry of Education)
See Report Abuse or Concerns (National Office for Professional Standards)
How to raise a concern or complaint
Concerns and complaints can be raised verbally or in writing. If a concern or complaint raised verbally cannot be resolved through discussion, the person who receives the information may make a written record of the discussion or ask that the concern or complaint be received in writing.
- Anyone who has a concern or complaint should raise it as soon as possible with an appropriate person at the school. This is usually with a staff member who is directly involved (e.g. classroom teacher, teacher in charge of a programme). The person who receives the concern or complaint may refer the matter to a more appropriate staff member, which may include senior staff, the principal, or the board.
- Serious matters can be raised directly with the principal, who may escalate the matter to the board as required.
- A concern or complaint about the principal should be raised with the board chair.
- A concern or complaint about the board chair should be raised with another board member.
If a person feels their concern or complaint has not been resolved after receiving a response, they may escalate the matter to the principal or board.
We encourage staff to raise employment-related concerns with senior staff in the first instance. Staff may raise a personal grievance if the matter meets the requirements of the Employment Relations Act 2000. See Personal Grievance.
If a person has a concern about certain types of serious wrongdoing and fits the definition of a discloser they may choose to instead make a protected disclosure. See Making a Protected Disclosure.
At St Joseph's School, a "discloser" means an individual who is or has been an employee (including someone who is/was employed on secondment), a contractor, a volunteer, or a board member. A person who discloses information in support of, or relating to, a protected disclosure by someone else is also entitled to protection, as long as they meet the requirements of the Act.
Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Act 2022 (s 8)
Anyone who wants to raise a sensitive claim at the school should raise this with the board. The board may need to refer the matter to other agencies, as appropriate (e.g. police).
Sensitive claims relate to mistreatment, neglect, or physical, sexual, or psychological abuse.
Sensitive claims can be raised directly with the police and may also meet criteria to be raised with other agencies:
- Sensitive claims may be lodged with the Ministry of Education if claimants believe they were abused (physical, sexual, psychological), mistreated, or neglected when they attended a specialist school or primary school before 1989, or any state school that is now closed (including specialist schools and health camp schools), and they believe that this experience has harmed them in some way.
- Complaints of sexual abuse against Catholic church personnel in New Zealand are referred to the National Office for Professional Standards.
See Sensitive claims of abuse in state schools (Ministry of Education)
See Report Abuse or Concerns (National Office for Professional Standards)
Providing information
Information provided as part of a concern or complaint should be as complete as possible, including the names of people involved and dates of events, if appropriate, and any steps taken to resolve the matter. Contact details should also be provided.
In circumstances where a person does not want to disclose their identity, they should indicate this and explain their reasoning but should be aware that it may not be possible for the school to maintain their anonymity, or to effectively investigate and respond to anonymous concerns or complaints. The school is likely to be restricted in the actions and responses we can take in relation to matters that are raised anonymously, and may consult with NZSBA or seek legal advice.
What happens next
The school aims to acknowledge and respond to concerns and complaints promptly. For information about how the school will respond to a concern or complaint, see Assessing and Responding to Concerns and Complaints.
If a complaint is raised about a specific person, we inform that person at an early stage to ensure fairness and meet the requirements of natural justice, unless there are exceptional circumstances (e.g. safety concerns).
Natural justice is a requirement of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 (s 27.1) and the Education and Training Act 2020 (s 78).
Natural justice means ensuring people are treated fairly. The key principles of natural justice are:
- decision-makers must be unbiased
- decision-makers must provide those affected by the decision with the opportunity to be heard.
Natural Justice (Legislation Design and Advisory Committee)
It is likely that a school representative will meet with the person who raised a concern or complaint and any person who is the subject of their concern or complaint.
We expect parties involved to:
- respect privacy and confidentiality
Privacy refers to the right to have personal information protected. The Privacy Act 2020 outlines how personal information must be collected, stored, used, shared, and disposed. For more information, see Privacy Policy.
Confidentiality refers to the responsibility to ensure personal information is kept secret. Confidential information may be shared if it is in the best interests of the student. See Sharing Student Personal Information with External Agencies.
- allow the school to follow our procedures
- not communicate with each other until next steps are agreed and/or notified (this applies both in and out of school).
If a person who has raised a concern or complaint decides to withdraw it, the school may need to consult with NZSBA or seek legal advice, as the matter raised may still require consideration and response.
Related policies
Legislation
- Employment Relations Act 2000
- Privacy Act 2020
- Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Act 2000
Hei mihi | Acknowledgement
SchoolDocs appreciates the professional advice of the Anderson Lloyd legal team (Dunedin) in reviewing our Concerns and Complaints policy and procedures.
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