Blowing the whistle to the Department for Education
How to make a whistleblowing disclosure about academies and post-16 providers.
Applies to England
What is whistleblowing
A whistleblowing disclosure can be made to report any wrongdoing in your setting which is in the public interest.
Read whistleblowing for employees to find out about:
- what counts as whistleblowing
- how you will be protected by law if you make a disclosure
Who can make a disclosure
You can make a disclosure directly to the Department for Education (DfE) if you are:
- an employee
- a volunteer who has knowledge of the setting – for example if you are a trustee in an academy trust
Only employees are protected by law if they make a disclosure directly to their employer. Disclosures made to DfE by volunteers may not receive the same protections. However, DfE will always protect the identity of any whistleblowers.
More information on how we handle whistleblowing disclosures is available.
What to include in a disclosure
Give us the full details of your school so we can investigate. Make sure you provide us with the setting’s:
- full name, especially if it is a common name such as ‘St Mary’s’
- address and postcode
Without this information we cannot investigate.
Make a disclosure
You can make a whistleblowing disclosure directly to your setting.
You can also make a disclosure to DfE. How you make a disclosure to us will depend on the type of setting you are in.
Schools
To complain or make a disclosure about an academy trust or free school, use:
- the Customer Help Portal if you agree to disclosing your identity
- our complain about a school guidance if you wish to remain anonymous
Colleges and independent training providers
Complain or make a disclosure about a post-16 education or training provider by:
- emailing your complaints or disclosure to customer.complaints@education.gov.uk
- sending a letter to:
Customer Service Team,
Department for Education
Cheylesmore House
Quinton Road
Coventry CV1 2WT
What happens after making a disclosure
Once we receive your disclosure, we will:
- send an acknowledgement (if you shared your contact details)
- confirm that we will not contact you unless we need further information for any investigation
We will not enter into a conversation with you once we have started a formal investigation. This is to ensure we:
- protect your confidentiality and anonymity
- do nothing that could potentially undermine the legitimacy of the outcome of any investigation