Complaints and Compliments Policy and Procedures Family: Legislation Reference Code LEG02 Line Manager Responsible: Head of Student Services Approval Date: Final Approval Date 5/11/15 Issue Date: November 2015 Review Date: November 2016 JD/JF/Complaints and Compliments Policy and Procedures/ LEG02/ Sept-2015 Page 1 of 11
Impact Assessment status Issue Number In preparing the Policy and Procedures, any potential disproportionate impact it might have upon staff/learners with protected characteristics, as defined in the Equality Act 2010, have been carefully considered. It is the conclusion of the Policy Group that the Policy and Procedures do not adversely impact on individuals with any of the protected characteristics. LEG02 Issue Date Final approval 5 November 2015 Review Date September 2015 Originator Responsibility Head of Student Services Head of Student Services Contents Aim... 3 Scope... 3 Implementation... 3 Communication Flow... 4 Monitoring of Implementation... 4 Associated Information and Guidance... 4 Related College Policies and Documents... 4 Procedure 1: Making a Formal Complaint... 6 Procedure 2: Logging a Compliment... 8 Appendices... 9 A.1 Record of Complaint... 10 A.2 Complaint Workflow... 11 JD/CM Sept 2015 Page 2 of 11
Aim The policy and procedures aim to ensure that: 1. Customers and stakeholders are aware of how to make a complaint and what to do if they are not satisfied with the outcome. 2. The organisation is accountable for responding to complaints in an appropriate and timely manner. 3. All staff take responsibility for resolving issues within their relevant area of delivery or management, both informally and formally. 4. A formal process exists in order for staff to respond to complaints appropriately in a safe and supportive environment Scope The College welcomes all comments and suggestions about the services it provides and aims to resolve any issues informally in the first instance, and at a local level. Any issues or causes for concern should therefore be reported directly to the relevant person in that area, i.e. Class Tutor, Career Pathway Leader, Work Based Tutor, Support Area Manager or Team Leader. If it is not possible to satisfactorily resolve issues at a local level, complainants should follow the College s formal procedure outlined within this policy. This stage is intended to ensure that all complaints are handled fairly, consistently, and resolved to the complainant s satisfaction, wherever possible. The College has defined a complaint as any expression of dissatisfaction that requires a response. This definition will apply consistently across the organisation and should be adopted when dealing with all customers and stakeholders, i.e. students, parents, general public, external organisations, partners, etc. In the event that a complainant wishes a matter to be raised on their behalf by a chosen representative, i.e. parent, guardian, friend, this will need to be confirmed to the College in writing. The complainant should bring their complaint to the College s attention normally within 2 weeks of the issue arising, explaining the problem as clearly and as fully as possible and providing detail of what steps have been taken to resolve the complaint informally at a local level. They should allow the College reasonable time to investigate the matter and formulate a response within reasonable timeframes, and should recognise that some circumstances may be beyond the College s control. Complaints concerning assessment and accreditation are dealt with through appeals procedures set up with Awarding/Validating bodies. Complaints from contractors will be dealt with as appropriate under the relevant contract terms. Implementation The College will ensure that: 1. Receipt of formal complaints is acknowledged, outlining what will happen next and the timeframes for this action. 2. Support in preparing a formal complaint in writing can be sought via the relevant member of staff if required, with any complaints being signed personally by the complainant. 3. They aim to respond to the complainant within 10 working days either with a resolution or an update on the stages of the formal investigation with reviewed timeframes. JD/CM Sept 2015 Page 3 of 11
4. Appropriate action is taken by the relevant person in the organisation, and that they deal with the complaint objectively and sensitively. Communication Flow 1. The Complaints and Compliments Policy and Procedure will be readily available to all stakeholders via the college website 2. Complaints and Compliments will be recognised, logged, and acknowledged by the Student Services Team or Secretariat. 3. The Head of Student Services will assign the complaint to the relevant member of staff to investigate. 4. Senior Managers will be informed of any serious formal complaints via Secretariat on the day that they are received. 5. The relevant manager overseeing the investigation will formulate a response to the complainant within agreed timeframes and send a copy to Student Services in order for this to be saved to the file and logged as resolved. 6. The complainant should write to the College following the procedures outlined in this policy if they are dissatisfied with the response. 7. Any member of staff dealing with a complaint should not be subject to any form of verbal or physical violence or aggression from the complainant, with appropriate action being taken against anyone displaying these behaviours Monitoring of Implementation All complaints, both informal and formal, will be logged by Secretariat or Student Services and will be monitored on a weekly basis by the Head of Student Services, who will ensure that the complainant is kept informed of timeframes for responses should they fall outside of the policy guidance. This could be where further time is required to investigate the complaint and seek a resolution. The number of formal complaints received by the College will be reviewed annually with a report prepared and presented to both the Senior Management Team and Corporation, who will monitor the handling of complaints in accordance with this policy. Within this report, the Deputy Principal will also report back on any complaints made directly to the College Principal / Chief Executive under stage 2 of the formal complaints procedure. The College s complaints procedure will be reviewed annually, taking into account any feedback received via opinion surveys and focus groups, and in line with the Customer Charter. Associated Information and Guidance Skills Funding Agency Complaints Procedure Related College Policies and Documents Customer Charter Student Code of Conduct JD/CM Sept 2015 Page 4 of 11
Student Disciplinary Procedure Staff Code of Conduct Staff Disciplinary Procedure Students Internal Assessment Appeals Procedure JD/CM Sept 2015 Page 5 of 11
Family Procedure Reference Legislation (LEG02) Procedure 1: Making a Formal Complaint Purpose: To provide a formal process for recognising and responding to formal complaints in order to resolve them effectively and in a timely manner. Responsibility: Head of Student Services is responsible for monitoring the complaints process. Head of Student Services (HSS) Complainant (C) Investigating Manager (IM) All Staff (AS) Chair of the College Corporation (CCC) Principal (P) Deputy Principal (DP) No Procedure Timeframe Responsibility Doc Ref 1. 1.1 If issues could not be resolved informally and directly in the area to which they relate, the complainant should make a formal complaint in writing by completing the record of complaint (attached), or via letter or email to College. (Post to: Head of Student Services, Chesterfield College, Infirmary Road, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S41 7NG or email to: advice@chesterfield.ac.uk ) 1.2 Complaint is logged and an acknowledgement letter/email is sent back to the complainant 1.3 Complaint is assigned by Student Services to the relevant Manager to conduct an investigation into the issues raised in order for a response/resolution to be agreed 1.4 If further time is needed to resolve the issues this will be communicated to the complainant by the Investigating Manager and the Head of Student Services will be informed with new timeframes being agreed 1.5 A written response should be prepared and sent out to the complainant within the timeframes agreed above, with a copy being sent to the Head of Student Services Within 2 weeks Within 3 working days Within 10 working days As agreed across all parties As agreed above C/AS C HSS IM IM/HSS/C IM JD/JF/Complaints and Compliments Policy and Procedures/ LEG02/ Sept-2015 Page 6 of 11
1.6 If the complainant is not satisfied with the outcome of Stage 1 above, they can write to the Principal/Chief Executive (address as above) stating the reason for this (Stage 2) Within 7 working days of receiving written confirmation of complaint outcome C 1.7 The Principal/Chief Executive or nominee (usually the Deputy Principal) will respond and any new information will be considered Within 5 working days P/DP 1.8 If the complainant is not satisfied with the outcome of Stage 2 above, they can write to the Chair of the College Corporation (address as above) stating the reason for this (Stage 3) Within 7 working days of receiving confirmation of the complaint (Stage 2) outcome C 1.9 The Chair of the College Corporation will respond with full consideration having been given to the reasonable responses of the organization at stages 1 &2 Within 5 working days CCC 1.10 If the complainant is not satisfied with the outcome of Stage 3 above, they should refer to the complaints policy of the Skills Funding Agency Following appropriate timescales as per the policy C Issued by: Head of Student Services Issue date: 25.11.15. Version No: 1 Review date: 25.11.16. Monitoring Method: Weekly monitoring via the complaints tracking system by the Head of Student Services, with annual reporting to Corporation on complaints / compliments received. JD/CM Sept 2015 Page 7 of 11
Family Procedure Reference Legislation (LEG02) Procedure 2: Logging a Compliment Purpose: To provide a formal process for recognising and responding to compliments in order to share and build on good practice. Responsibility: Head of Student Services is responsible for monitoring the compliments process. Head of Student Services (HSS) Managers (M) No Procedure Timeframe Responsibility Doc Ref 2. 2.1 A compliment is logged within the tracking system as received and a standard acknowledgement of the compliment is sent to the customer 2.2 Details of the compliment are sent on to the appropriate Manager to be shared with the team and used to inform future development and share good practice Within 3 working days Within 3 working days HSS HSS/M Issued by: Head of Student Services Issue date: 25.11.15. Version No: 1 Review date: 25.11.16. Monitoring Method: Weekly monitoring via the complaints tracking system by the Head of Student Services, with annual reporting to Corporation on complaints / compliments received. JD/CM Sept 2015 Page 8 of 11
Appendices Documentation A.1 Chesterfield College Record of Complaint A.2 Complaints Workflow JD/CM Sept 2015 Page 9 of 11
A.1 Record of Complaint JD/CM Sept 2015 11 Page 10 of
A.2 Complaint Workflow JD/JF/Complaints and Compliments Policy and Procedures/ LEG02/ Sept-2015 Page 11 of 11