Complaints & Appeals Policy

Complaints & Appeals Procedure

QINES is an inclusive school that nurtures curiosity, creativity and global awareness through an inspiring, broad and engaging curriculum. Children learn to become resilient and respectful in an environment where each child is challenged and encouraged to thrive and achieve as an individual.

Mission Statement : To provide high quality childcare learning in a safe and clean environment

Our Vision : Empowering pupils to become confident compassionate and internationally minded learners.

Purpose of the procedure

This procedure confirms Quality International Nursery & Elementary School complies with JCQ's General Regulations for Approved Centres (section 5.8) that the centre will draw to the attention of candidates and their parents/carers their written complaints and appeals procedure which will cover general complaints regarding the centre’s delivery or administration of a qualification.

Roles & functions

1. Examinations officer

   Examinations officers play a pivotal role in schools and colleges in the administration, management and conducting of examinations. Exams office staff support teaching colleagues and students. This role is sometimes known as exam manager, exam officer or exam administrator

   An examinations officer’s role covers:

   Liaising with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, including students, parents, Heads of Departments, Heads of Years, teachers, reception staff, site staff, IT staff and awarding organisations.
   Being aware of examination changes each academic year
   Managing invigilators. This includes training new invigilators and updating existing invigilators on rules and regulation changes on an annual basis

   Updating examination-related policies

   Managing the examination entry process, including gathering information from teaching staff to ensure that students’ examination entries are made correctly and on time, making amendments/withdrawals etc.

   Managing the examination preparation process. This includes preparing examination timetables for students and staff; creating seating plans for each examination room; briefing candidates, staff and parents; receiving, checking and securely storing confidential examination materials; administering internal assessment etc

   Supporting the process relating to access arrangements (for example; supporting the SENCo in making applications, rooming, training invigilators, managing emergency access arrangements etc.)

   Managing examination days in accordance with awarding body regulations, including preparing for each exam day, starting an examination, dealing with emergencies, irregularities and malpractice, ending the examination, collecting the examination scripts and packing and dispatching examination scripts

   Contingency planning

   Managing examination results. This includes accessing results electronically/downloading results from awarding body secure sites and preparing for results to be disseminated to each student/candidate. Dealing with requests and administering post-results services. Issuing examination certificates

2. Invigilator

   Examination invigilators are an integral part of the exams team in every school and college. The role of the examination invigilator is to ensure that examinations are conducted according to the current JCQ instructions for conducting examinations.

   The invigilator is the person in the examination room responsible for conducting a particular examination session in the presence of the candidates. Invigilators have a key role in upholding the integrity of the external examination/assessment process.

   The JCQ details the invigilator's role as:

   Ensuring all candidates have an equal opportunity to demonstrate their abilities, ensuring the security of the examination before, during and after the examination, preventing possible candidate malpractice, preventing possible administrative failures, liaising with the examination officer and senior invigilator

   JCQ regulations also state that invigilators must: be familiar with JCQ's "Instructions for Conducting Examinations", the "Warning to Candidates", Information for Candidates' and "Mobile Phone" posters, and any specific instructions relating to the subjects being examined, give all their attention to conducting the examination properly, be able to observe each candidate in the examination room at all times, inform the head of centre if they are suspicious of the security of the examination papers, Invigilators must not carry out any other task (for example, reading a book or marking) in the examination room

3. Definition of a SENC0

   A Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENC0) is an experienced qualified teacher who is responsible for special educational needs provision in school. Every school in the UK is obliged to employ a SENCO as they ensure all students with learning disabilities are well equipped to obtain the right help and support they need at school

   The SENCO has a crucial role in schools – ensuring that ALL children with special educational needs and disabilities receive the support they need. In the past 20 years, the status and importance of the role have developed with successive guidance validating the role.

   A SENCO must be a qualified teacher (by law since 2008) and a newly appointed SENCO must achieve a National Award in Special Educational Needs Coordination within 3 years of starting the role. It is seen as preferable for a SENCO to also be a member of the senior leadership team as this gives them more power in any decision making that affects the provision of SEND pupils in school. It would be highly unlikely for a SENCO to have a full teaching timetable due to their high level of responsibility across the school.

   Responsibilities of a SENCO:

   Supporting with the identification of children with special educational needs Co-ordinating the provision for children with SEND across the school Liaising with parents and carers of children with SEND Liaising with other providers, outside agencies, educational psychologists and external agencies Ensuring that the school keeps the records of all pupils with SEND up to date

   What Special Educational Needs conditions could an SEN student have?

   There are four areas of special educational need that most students individual needs can be categorised under - cognitive & learning, sensory & physical, communication & interaction and behaviour & mental health.

Grounds for complaint

A candidate (or his/her/parent/carer) may make a complaint on the grounds below (this is not an exhaustive list).

Teaching and learning

• Quality of teaching and learning, for example
  • Non-subject specialist teacher without adequate training/subject matter expertise utilised on a long-term basis
  • Teacher lacking knowledge of new specification/incorrect core content studied/taught
  • Core content not adequately covered
  • Inadequate feedback for a candidate following assessment(s)
• Pre-release/advance material/set task issued by the awarding body not provided on time to an exam candidate.
• The taking of an assessment, which contributes to the final grade of the qualification, not conducted according to the JCQ/awarding body instructions
• The marking of an internal assessment, which contributes to the final grade of the qualification, not undertaken according to the requirements of the awarding body (complainant should refer to the centre's internal appeals procedure)
• Centre fails to adhere to its internal appeals procedure
• Candidate not informed of his/her centre assessed marks prior to marks being submitted to the awarding body
• Candidate not informed of his/her centre assessed marks in sufficient time to request/appeal a review of marking prior to marks being submitted to the awarding body
• Candidate not given sufficient time to review materials to make a decision whether to request a review of centre assessed marks.

Access arrangements

• Candidate not assessed by the centre's appointed assessor
• Candidate not involved in decisions made regarding his/her access arrangements
• Candidate did not consent to personal data being shared electronically (by the non-acquisition of a signed data protection notice/candidate data personal consent form)
• Candidate not informed/adequately informed of the arrangements in place and the subjects or components of subjects where the arrangements would not apply
• Exam information not appropriately adapted for a disabled candidate to access it
• Adapted equipment put in place failed during exam/assessment
• Approved access arrangement(s) not put in place at the time of an exam/assessment
• Appropriate arrangements not put in place at the time of an exam/assessment as a consequence of a temporary injury or impairment

Entries

• Failure to clearly explain a decision of early entry for a qualification to candidate (or parent/carer)
• Candidate not entered/entered late (incurring a late entry fee) for a required exam/assessment
• Candidate entered for a wrong exam/assessment
• Candidate entered for a wrong tier of entry

Conducting examinations

• Failure to adequately brief candidate on exam timetable/exam regulations prior to exam/assessment taking place
• Room in which exam held did not provide candidate with appropriate conditions for taking the exam
• Inadequate invigilation in exam room
• Failure to conduct exam according to the regulations
• Online system failed during (on-screen) exam/assessment
• Disruption during exam/assessment
• Alleged, suspected or actual malpractice incident not investigated/reported
• Eligible application for special consideration for a candidate not submitted/not submitted to timescale
• Failure to inform/update candidate on the outcome of a special consideration application

Results and Post-results

• Before exams, candidate not made aware of the arrangements for post-results services and the accessibility of senior members of centre staff after the publication of results
• Candidate not having access to a member of senior staff after the publication of results to discuss/make decision on the submission of a review/enquiry
• Candidate request for return of work after moderation and work not available/disposed of earlier than allowed in the regulations
• Candidate (or parent/carer) unhappy with a result (complainant to refer via exams officer to awarding body post - results services )
• Candidate (or parent/carer) unhappy with a centre decision not to support a clerical recheck, a review of marking, a review of moderation or an appeal (complainant to refer via Examinations Officer to the centre’s internal appeals procedure )
• Centre applied for the wrong post-results service/for the wrong script for a candidate
• Centre missed awarding body deadline to apply for a post-results service
• Centre applied for a post-results service for candidate without gaining required candidate consent/permission

Complaints and Appeals Procedure

If a candidate (or his/her parent/carer) has a general concern or complaint about the centre’s delivery or administration of a qualification he/she is following, Quality International Nursery and Elementary School encourages him/her to try to resolve this informally in the first instance. Any concern or complaint should be made in person or in writing to Examinations Officer. If a complaint fails to be resolved informally, the candidate (or his/her parent/carer) is then at liberty to make a formal complaint to the Head of School.

How to make a formal complaint

• A formal complaint should be submitted in writing by completing a complaints and appeals form.
• Forms are available from Examinations Officer
• Completed forms should be returned to Examinations Officer
• Forms received will be logged by the centre and acknowledged within 7 calendar days

How a formal complaint is investigated

• The head of centre will further investigate or appoint a member of the senior leadership team (who is not involved in the grounds for complaint and has no personal interest in the outcome) to investigate the complaint and report on the findings and conclusion
• The findings and conclusion will be provided to the complainant within 2 working weeks

Appeals

Following the outcome, if the complainant remains dissatisfied and believes there are clear grounds, an appeal can be submitted.

• Any appeal must be submitted in writing by completing a complaints and appeals form available from Examinations Officer.
• Forms received will be logged by the centre and acknowledged within 7 calendar days
• The appeal will be referred to Chair of Governors for consideration
• The Chair of Governors will inform the appellant of the final conclusion in due course