Parents Handbook

Support/Concerns/Grumbles/Complaints It has always been recognised that children living away from home may need extra support and guidance or have worries which they need to discuss with others in order to receive help or advice. There are plenty of people at the Royal Grammar School to assist boarders and many lines of communication to the outside world if they feel that the people in school cannot help them. The following information and a copy is issued to all boarders to ensure they are aware of all the help available and to advise them on their rights emphasised by the law. Boarders should not be afraid to complain. It is their right to be treated properly and it is their right to complain if they think they are not being treated fairly. Students should not hesitate to ask if they simply want someone to talk to or have a “shoulder to cry on”. Things that might make a boarder unhappy or upset: • He feels he has been treated unfairly by a member of staff in school or in the boarding house • He feels that a sanction is unjust or in some way not right • Another student has treated him unkindly • He feels he is being bullied • He finds it difficult to make friends • He thinks he is being discriminated against in any way • He feels that no one understands the difficulties he is having with some of his work • Someone has hurt him or abused him or has made suggestions he thinks are not right • He feels the food he is getting is not as good as it should be • Someone is making fun of him • He is homesick • He feels that there is not enough respect of his privacy • Someone has taken something of his and has not returned it • He thinks he is being badly taught or is not getting a fair deal • OR ANYTHING ELSE HE THINKS IS WRONG. A boarder may just want someone to talk to or he may want to make a formal complaint. Either way, this procedure should assist him in deciding what to do. What if a boarder just wants to talk to someone? He will probably have friends who may be able to help him or an older boarder to whom he feels he can turn. The Head of Boarding, Housemaster, Boarding Tutors or other members of staff always want to help. There is an independent listener who is not directly part of boarding who can be contacted. He should turn to anyone he feels he can talk to comfortably.