Date: 06/11/2020
By Alan Hardie, CEO at NCEA Trust.
Do we always get it right at NCEAT? Of course we don’t; we are human beings and none of us are perfect. Do we always try our best to get it right; absolutely we do. When things go wrong, we try our very best to put it right. We welcome constructive criticism. We properly investigate concerns, admit when we’ve made mistakes and look to improve so that we don’t make the same mistakes again.
When something goes wrong, or you want to find out about something that seems unclear, we would always recommend that you do so via the school or campuses official lines of communication.
We appreciate that it can sometimes be difficult to get hold of the person you would like to speak to, particularly at busy times when they may be teaching, on duty, in a meeting, etc, but by bringing concerns to our attention directly, we are much more likely to find a solution to the problem.
To support you with this, we are currently working to upgrade our communication systems. This will mean a new website, but we are also looking at systems such as voicemail, which generates an automatic email to the member of staff you are trying to contact. We will provide you with more details on specific improvements as we implement them.
However unhappy you are, the least successful way of resolving a situation is simply posting a ‘rant’ on social media.
Often publicly posting about a situation makes it much more difficult for us to investigate impartially and resolve a situation. We’ve yet to experience a case like this when the information posted has been fully accurate. Anyone can be a “keyboard warrior” but this will not lead to an improvement in the situation which is why we would urge that any concerns or complaints are raised through the proper communication channels, then schools have the opportunity to keep a record of these and the outcomes.
Posting like this also tends to attract comments from others who have no involvement in the situation and who may post comments which are untrue, unkind and potentially libellous. If this is the case, we will not hesitate to contact the social media site to have the posts removed, contact Northumbria Police or even take legal action where the need arises to protect one of our
pupils or a member of staff.
We appreciate the anxiety caused to parents and carers when you are worried about your child. Please be assured that we take all reports very seriously and if something happens that concerns you, if you contact us by email or phone using the details below, we will investigate and someone will respond as quickly as they can.
Telephone: 01670 816111
Email: communitysupport@ncea.org.uk
