Complaints & Compliments Policy & Process

   

Introduction 

Pinehirst Education are committed to providing a high-quality Education services to all our students and professionals. We view complaints as an opportunity to learn and improve our services s as well as an opportunity to put things right for the person or organisation that has made the complaint. 

Our aim is to ensure complaints are handled sensitively and speedily to enable us to:

  • Demonstrate our commitment to clients, learners, and other stakeholders.

  • Demonstrate our commitment to providing the best possible service.

  • Help to find out about things that have gone wrong so we can fix them.

  • Help to prevent things going wrong again in future.

A complaint is defined as an expression of dissatisfaction with a product or service delivered by us whether justified or not. 

Responsibilities 

Overall responsibility for this policy and its implementation lies with Paul Morton Director of Education. P.morton@Pinehirst Education.net                 

Policy principles 

Our policy principles are to:

  • Provide a fair complaints Process which is clear and easy to use. 

  • Publicise our complaints Process so that people know how to contact us. 

  • Make sure everyone at Pinehirst Education knows what to do if a complaint is received.

  • Make sure all complaints are investigated fairly and in a timely way.

  • Ensure complaints are, wherever possible, resolved and that relationships are repaired.

  • Gather information which helps us to improve what we do.

  • Ensure that all complaint information will be handled confidently. 

Complaints process

Pinehirst Education will not normally investigate complaints which are received more than six months after the incident or occurrence took place, this is subject to the complaint received and the action required. Complaints can arrive through many different channels and may be received verbally, by phone, by email or in writing. 

All complaints are required to be logged by Pinehirst Education whether informal or formal. Reasonable complaints will be dealt with as below, if more time is needed the complainant will be advised.

If a complaint cannot be resolved immediately and requires to be formally addressed by Pinehirst Education and our complaint process applies. 

· Step 1 the complaint information will be passed to Individual responsible for managing complaints within 5 working days of receiving the complaint. 

· Step 2 the information will be added to the complaints/opportunities to improve log. 

· Step 3 a letter acknowledging receipt of the complaint will be sent within 5 days of receiving it, enclosing a copy of this policy, a contact name and date of expected reply. 

· Step 4 the complaint will then be investigated. 

· Step 5 we will write within 28 days of receiving a complaint, confirming our final position - Whether the complaint is justified or not, the reply to the complainant will describe the action taken to investigate the complaint, the conclusions from the investigation, and any action taken as a result of the complaint.

If the complainant feels that the problem has not been satisfactorily resolved at this stage, they can request that the complaint is reviewed by a different person at Pinehirst Education and the following process applies: 

· Step 6 a letter acknowledging receipt of the complaint will be sent within 5 working days of receiving it.

· Step 7 the complaint will then be investigated.

· Step 8 write within 10 working days of receiving the complaint confirming our final position - Whether the complaint is justified or not, the reply to the complainant will describe the action taken to investigate the complaint, the conclusions from the investigation, and any action taken as a result of the complaint.

· Step 9 The decision taken at this stage is final unless it is appropriate to seek external assistance with resolution.

The complainant also has the right to raise any complaints to the appropriate Awarding Organisation, or complaint to the Ombudsman for if they felt that Pinehirst Education had not dealt with their complaint adequately.

 

Compliments and Feedback

  • We define a compliment as an expression of praise concerning a high level of service delivery and/or student Care/Support received.

  • Acknowledgements will be sent within 5 working days of receipt in respect of all feedback and compliments. 

  • Compliments and feedback which warrant a response will be replied to within 10 working days.

  • Compliments and feedback may be communicated internally and via social media networks if applicable to external stakeholders and partners and with the student approval.

Monitoring and Reporting

Pinehirst Education records complaints and reviews these regularly to identify any trends which may have an impact upon other learners. Where a complaint is upheld, the impact on other learners is considered and action is taken to ensure learners are not disadvantaged. 

Where it has been established that a complaint is valid, we will take appropriate action that will be proportionate to the gravity and scope of the occurrence. This will be documented at management meetings and added to the risk register.

Confidentiality and Support

All complaints will be treated as confidential to safeguard interests and information limited to those involved in the complaints process. If in exceptional cases and for justifiable reasons the complainant wishes to remain anonymous throughout the process, this may be considered. However if disclosures are made it may be necessary to share information and this must be explained to the complainant. Pinehirst Education will not normally investigate anonymous or malicious complaints.

Safeguarding, Bullying and Harassment

Where a complaint relates to issues linked to perceived safeguarding, bullying and/or harassment, Pinehirst Education will consider these policies alongside the Complaints Policy and Process. The Safeguarding, Child Protection, Prevent and Missing from Education Policy and Process will take precedence over the Complaints Policy and Process.

Pinehirst Education sets out the standards expected of all who make use of Pinehirst Education facilities at any of its Centres. This policy supports the standards of behaviour set out Pinehirst Education Values. Anyone who feels it appropriate to express dissatisfaction is offered the opportunity to raise issues openly with full assurance that they will be dealt with courteously, fairly, objectively and in a timely manner. 

We aim to treat members of our community courteously at all times and expect our community members to treat our staff and students in a similarly respectful way. We take seriously any threatening, abusive, or violent behaviour against any of our staff, students, or local community. 

If a student, parent / guardian, or visitor is violent or abusive, they will be asked to stop. If they persist, we may exercise our right to take action to have them removed, immediately if necessary, from our site. 

These types of behaviours will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Any staff or students exhibiting these behaviours will be dealt with via Pinehirst Education disciplinary processes. 

Any incident of threatening, abusive, or violent behaviour may additionally be reported to Merseyside Police. ( 0151 709 6010 or 999 )

Vexatious Complaints

Pinehirst Education is committed to dealing with all complainants fairly and impartially and to providing a high quality service, but it is not expected that staff should have to tolerate behaviour, which is considered to be unacceptable, for example, any communication which is: 

  • Abusive, offensive, defamatory, or distressing; 

  • Aggressive, threatening, coercive, malicious, or intimidating; 

  • Unreasonably persistent or demanding. 

Pinehirst Education reserves the right to end the complaint handling process and will inform the complainant in writing that the Process has been exhausted and the matter is now closed. 

Pinehirst Education Associated documentation with this Policy.

  • Complaints Form – available from staff at Reception.

  • Student Admissions Policy and Process

  • Appealing against Assessment Decisions Policy and Process

  • Grievance Policy and Process for Staff

  • Whistleblowing Policy and Process

  • Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy and Process

  • Malpractice and Maladministration Policy and Process

All Pinehirst Education Policies are subject to screening for Equality Impact Assessment 

Equality Impact Assessments are carried out to see whether the policy has, or is likely to have, a negative  impact on grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief,  marriage or civil partnership, sex, or sexual orientation. 

Pinehirst Education not only fulfils its legal position in relation to current and future equality legislation, but  additionally goes beyond compliance in providing and promoting “Opportunities for all to succeed”, free from  any aspect of discrimination, harassment, or victimisation.  

All staff have a duty of care to look after the interests of and support their colleagues. This policy takes account  of our commitment to eliminating discrimination, identifying, and removing barriers and providing equal  opportunities for our learners, staff, and visitors to ensure that no one feels excluded or disadvantaged. 

Safeguarding, Child Protection, Prevent and Missing from Education 

All staff have a responsibility to support and promote Pinehirst Education Education’s commitment to providing a safe  environment for students, staff, and visitors. Additionally, all staff have a responsibility to report any  safeguarding or Prevent issues to the Designated Senior Lead for Safeguarding and Prevent.

Document Version: 2 (March 2023)  ( REVIEW DATE June 2024)

Complaints & Compliments Policy and Process 

Author APMc

Quality Assurance 

This Policy and Process maps to the following external quality assurance frameworks 

  • Inspection Framework 

  • MATRIX 

  • QAA 

  • QIA 

  • ESFA