Non State School Grievance

[Daphne808]

Hello,
I am wondering.
I have been trying to air grievances with a non state school my kids go to for some time.

I finally got a response a few weeks back and want to know how can I write a letter to the school without me being sued for defamation of character or slander when I am making the grievance.

The letter is to the lawyer who is the head of the governing body of the school, and the body and the school seem to stick together pretty closely no matter what I say, they have the schools back.

So how do I go about writing a grievance without the fear of me being sued?

Is this ok to write to begin with
This is what I am writing is it defaming in any way.


----
Thank you for your reply finally.

You're a lawyer, how do I write a long list of grievances so that I don't get sued by the school,
Grievances by their very nature require something akin to words I might get sued from. So how do - I, one mother do this to you, the lawyer and head of the governing body of the school, that I want to make a grievance about?

I look forward to your reply,

 

[Sarah J]

Hi Daphne808,

The draft you have above does not contain any defamatory statements in it. It will not get you into trouble on that ground.

In brief, defamatory information is false information that may affect a person's (or company, institution, organisation) reputation, good standing, confidence, respect in relation to third parties. An honest opinion will not generally constitute defamatory matter. It must be a clear opinion as opposed to an allegation/assertion of fact. If you have proof that the statement is true, this will also be a defence to defamation. Triviality may also be a defence where you can show that the statement and its affect t'll unlikely cause the defendant any harm.

Generally, if you are airing your grievances, try to stay away from allegations of fact, and stick to honest opinions. Where you must allege a fact, support this with proof or hard facts.

Hope this gives a better idea of what you can include in the letter.