Is There a Way to Escalate My Complaint If I'm Not Satisfied with the Response?

If you're not satisfied with the response to your complaint in Havering, there are steps you can take to escalate it.

For complaints about schools, after exhausting the school’s complaints procedure, you can escalate to either the governing body or trustees, or, if applicable, to the Department for Education (DfE) or Ofsted, depending on the nature of your concern.

For complaints about council services, you have a two-stage process:

• Stage 1: Initial response within 10 working days.
• Stage 2: If unsatisfied, you can request a review by replying directly to the Stage 1 response within 20 working days. A full response at this stage should come within 20 working days.

Furthermore, if you're still dissatisfied after Stage 2, you can reach out to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

Here’s a concise overview:

It's important to keep thorough records of all communications during this process. If you need to submit a complaint or escalate one, you can start the process online by visiting Havering's complaints page.