Section 01What this is for
This is the school's single source of truth for every concern and complaint raised in any channel, from any source, in any term. The register holds the minimum needed to spot patterns and demonstrate response, and nothing more.
It is not a public document. It is not shared with parents. It does not replace individual case files for complex Stage 1 or Stage 2 complaints, which need their own records. For the full thinking on why this matters, see The Culture of Resolution guide.
Section 02Setting it up
The Excel template is the primary download. It ships with locked headers, dropdown menus on Channel / Type / Stage / Subject / Outcome / Anonymous, theme tag reference sheets, a sample-entries tab, and conditional formatting that highlights Stage 2, Escalated, and Serial-marked rows. Sixty blank rows are pre-formatted and ready to use.
The CSV fallback is offered for schools that prefer plain text or want to import to a tool that does not handle XLSX cleanly. The CSV does not include the dropdowns or conditional formatting; the school sets those up itself if needed.
- Download the Excel template (button above). The CSV is offered as a fallback.
- Save a copy with your school name and academic year in the filename, for example
Complaints-Concerns-Register-StFakename-2026-27.xlsx. - Keep it on the school's secure shared drive, accessible to SLT and the Clerk.
- Decide who owns it. In most schools this is the School Business Manager or the Clerk. The Headteacher remains the accountable officer for complaints work overall.
- Start logging. The Register tab is already empty and ready. The Sample entries tab is reference only; do not edit it.
The register is owned by one named person. Edits to existing rows are logged. Resolved rows are not deleted at year-end. Archive previous academic years on the same drive.
Google Sheets users: upload the .xlsx and open with Google Sheets. The dropdown lists carry across. Conditional formatting rules may need re-application from the Reference sheet if Sheets does not preserve them on import.
Section 03The columns
| Column | What goes here |
|---|---|
| Ref | Auto-sequence. Format CR-YYYY-NNNN. |
| Date raised | The date the concern was first raised, not the date it reached the register. |
| Channel | One of: In person, Phone, Email, Written, Third party. |
| Type | Concern or Complaint. Concerns can become complaints; do not retrospectively re-type unless escalated. |
| Stage | Informal, Stage 1, Stage 2, Closed, Escalated. Tracks where the case sits in the published procedure. |
| Subject category | Pick one from the controlled list below. Free text drifts; controlled categories aggregate. |
| Description (one line) | One sentence. Fuller detail in the linked case file if needed. Avoid identifying language where the substance is the point. |
| Owner | The staff member handling the response inside the school. |
| Initial response date | When the school first responded substantively, not when it acknowledged receipt. |
| Resolution date | The date the school considers the matter closed. Blank if still open. |
| Outcome | Resolved at informal, Resolved at Stage 1, Resolved at Stage 2, Escalated to DfE, Withdrawn, Serial-marked. |
| Theme tags | One to four short tags, separated by ;. Use the controlled tag list below. Tags drive trend analysis. |
| Anonymous | Yes or No. Anonymous concerns are logged where their substance is credible. |
| Notes / further action | Brief. Owned actions only. Detailed correspondence stays in the linked file. |
Section 04Subject categories
Use these eight. Add nothing else. Drift in this list breaks trend analysis.
Controlled list
Safeguarding adjacent is for concerns that touch on safeguarding without being a safeguarding referral. True safeguarding disclosures follow the school's Child Protection policy and DSL escalation, not this register.
Section 05Theme tags
Use only tags from this list. Add new tags only at the start of an academic year, with SLT sign-off, so the previous year's data remains comparable.
Curriculum & learning
Behaviour & pastoral
SEND & inclusion
Staff & communication
Operations
Patterns & escalations
Year-group context (optional, additive): year-1 year-2 ... eyfs ks2 ks3 ks4
Section 06How to log a concern
The first staff member who hears the concern is responsible for getting it into the register within the next working day. The minimum entry is: date, channel, type (Concern), subject category, one-line description, owner.
The owner takes it from there. Initial response, resolution, outcome, and theme tags can be filled in as the case progresses. Many concerns will move from log to resolution within 48 hours and never reach a meeting.
A culture of resolution depends on the small entries. A register of formal complaints only is not this register.
Section 07Quality review
SLT reviews the register termly for:
- Completeness. Are all known concerns from the term logged?
- Consistency of categorisation. Are similar concerns being tagged the same way?
- Outcome data accuracy. Are resolution dates and outcomes actually recorded?
The Headteacher signs off the register at the end of each review period before the Themes and Trends Report is produced (annually for most schools; termly only if volume warrants it).
Section 08What this register is not
- Not a confessional log for staff frustrations
- Not the safeguarding record
- Not a public document
- Not a replacement for individual case files on complex complaints
- Not a performance-management tool for staff named in concerns