BISPP Complaints Procedure
Brightstar International School of Phnom Penh (BISPP) has established procedures for responding to complaints made against the school. We are committed to best practices, ensuring that all concerns are taken seriously. Our policy aims to handle concerns, whenever possible, without the need for formal procedures. The school addresses informal concerns promptly at the earliest stage to minimise the need for lengthy and time-consuming formal processes.
This policy applies to complaints made by parents/guardians of students at BISPP, individuals with parental responsibility or who care for a student, staff members, and students concerned about actions or lack thereof taken by the school.
To ensure an effective response to your complaint, it is helpful if you cooperate with the school to find a solution. Please express your complaint in detail and be specific as early as possible by filling out a complaint form. Respond promptly to requests for more information or meetings, seek assistance if needed, and treat all parties involved in the complaint with respect.
Informal Stage
Many concerns can be dealt with informally. Your first point of contact should be the student’s homeroom teacher, front desk team, or academic manager.
Arrangements will be made to meet with you or contact you by telephone or in writing as soon as possible. The staff member handling the issue will make a brief note of the concerns and the outcome of the discussion, including any agreed actions.
Depending on the circumstances, the school will consider who would be the appropriate person to address the concern and whether it should be dealt with informally or moved to the formal stage.
It may be necessary to seek advice before responding to a concern. If so, the school will endeavour to provide you with an update on the progress of their inquiries as quickly as possible.
If you remain dissatisfied following this informal approach, you may raise a formal complaint.
Formal Stage
Formal Consideration of Your Complaint
If a concern cannot be resolved informally, you are entitled to progress to the formal stage.
Formal complaints should be lodged as soon as possible, but no later than 3 months after the incident or issue has occurred. (The school may consider exceptions if, for example, the matter relates to child protection or safeguarding).
Formal complaints should, where possible, be put in writing to the Principal using a BISPP complaints form. The form should include details of the complaint, actions already taken to resolve it, and actions that may help to resolve the problem. If the complaint concerns the designated manager or academic manager, it should be sent to the Managing Director. If the complaint is about the Managing Director, it should be made in writing to the Chairman of the school, and if the complaint is about the Chairman, it should be made in writing to the government. The school will acknowledge the complaint in writing within 3 school days of receiving it.
The designated manager will investigate the complaint. The person investigating should not have had any prior involvement with the case.
During the investigation, the designated manager may contact you to clarify the details of the complaint. You will have the opportunity to meet with them, and you may bring someone (not acting in a legal capacity) to support you in explaining your complaint. The choice of this person is yours, but it may be preferable to involve someone in whom you have confidence who is not directly connected with the school.
The designated manager will, where necessary, talk to witnesses and take statements from those involved.
If the complaint involves a student, the parent/carer will be contacted; if the student is to be interviewed, ideally a parent/carer should be present. In cases where this is not possible, a staff member the student feels comfortable with, such as a learning mentor, should attend the interview. Parents will be informed if their child is to be interviewed.
Confidentiality is crucial in securing the confidence of all concerned. Conversations and correspondence must be treated with discretion. However, parties to a complaint should be aware that some information may need to be shared to carry out a thorough investigation.
Once the designated manager has established all relevant facts, they will provide a written response explaining their decision and the reasons for it. If follow-up action is necessary, the school will indicate any proposed actions. You may be invited to a meeting to discuss the outcome.
The school will aim to respond to formal complaints within 15 school days. If this is not possible, the school will keep you informed of their progress.
Closure of Complaints
BISPP may need to close a complaint if, despite our best efforts, the complainant remains dissatisfied. While the school will do everything possible to resolve a complaint, it may not always be possible to meet all of the complainant’s wishes. Sometimes, it may be necessary to agree to disagree.
Serial or persistent representations can detract from key responsibilities at the school. Therefore, the school reserves the right to close a complaint and cease correspondence if all reasonable actions have been taken to resolve the complaint and the official process has been exhausted.
If the complainant continues to make representations to the school or attempts to reopen the same issue, the correspondence may be recognised as vexatious. The Chairman of the school will inform the complainant in writing that all procedures have been followed, reasonable actions have been taken, and the matter is now closed. There will be no obligation on the part of the school to engage in further correspondence.
