St. Joseph’s International Catholic College
Grievance policy
for students and parents

 

1. Application:
This Policy applies to all Staff, Members of the College Board and volunteers working in the College.

 

2. Rationale
As a College of Faith and Family, the St Joseph’s Community is committed to:

• Developing and maintaining good relationships with all.

• Treating everyone with respect.

• Giving duty of care to all students

• Achieving justice in word and action

 

3. Policy Statement

 

A grievance is a formal objection or complaint, made on the basis of something believed to be wrong,
unfair, offensive, misleading, unlawful or of poor quality.

 

A grievance may be made against the conduct of a person employed at the College, or about specific
practices and policies of the College or against the College generally.

 

A grievance may be made to a teacher, a member of the Staff executive, the Principals, the Executive
Director or a member of the College Board.

 

All grievances will be accepted by the person to whom they are made and referred to the person or
group who will deal with the grievance.

 

In dealing with grievances, the College will:

 

3.1 Provide a fair and safe environment where grievances are dealt with in a transparent and
just way.

 

3.2 Have clear procedures for dealing with grievances.

 

3.3 Procedures that allow for appeal to higher authorities.

 

3.4 Procedures aimed at just outcomes for all concerned.

 

3.5 Appropriate levels of confidentiality are applied

 

4. Policy procedures

 

These following procedures are to ensure the implementation of the Grievance Policy.

 

4.1 Grievances from students.

 

Students are encouraged to resolve a grievance by:

 

(a) Talking to the person with whom they have a grievance, or
(b) Talking to a senior teacher at an appropriate time; or
(c) Talking with a teacher with whom they feel comfortable; or
(d) Talking with their parents / guardians; or
(e) Making a written complaint to the Deputy Administration or the Principal.

 

4.2 Grievances from parents / guardians

 

Parents / guardians are encouraged to resolve grievances by:

 

(a) Talking to the person with whom they have a grievance; or
(b) Talking to the Principal; or
(c) Talking to the Executive Director; or
(d) Making a written complaint to the Deputy Principal Administration or the Principal; or
(e) Raising the matter at a Faith and Family meeting; or
(f) Making a written complaint to any member of the College Board.

 

4.3 Receiving grievances

 

Any member of staff who receives a grievance from a student or parent will:

 

(a) Receive the grievance in a positive manner.
(b) Make sure they have an accurate description of the grievance, usually by having it written.
(c) Promise that the grievance will be dealt with quickly and with justice.
(d) If the grievance is resolved, inform the Principal of the grievance and how it was resolved.
(e) If the grievance is unresolved, immediately inform the Deputy Principal Administration or the Principal of the grievance.

 

4.4 Resolving grievances

 

(a) All grievances will either be resolved or passed on to a higher authority for resolution.
(b) All staff in senior positions – Heads of Stream or Heads of Departments and above will receive regular

 

Professional Learning in how to deal with complaints.

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4.5 Recording grievance complaints

 

(a) The Principals will keep a log of grievance issues and how they were resolved.
(b) This log will be reviewed each Semester to identify and address common causes of complaints.

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