DEALING WITH A COMPLAINT 

WHAT IS A COMPLAINT?
A complaint is defined as an expression of dissatisfaction about the services provided by Qualia Academy, the conduct of, actions or lack of actions by a member of staff, unacceptable delay in dealing with a matter or the unreasonable treatment of a customer or other person.

Complaints relating to any of the following are not covered by these procedures, as separate procedures apply.

• Child and vulnerable adult protection 

• Data Protection Access 

• Functions of Qualia Academy 

• Apprentice/Learner Exclusions 

• Staff grievance 

• Whistle blowing by an employee

Serious complaints or allegations relating to the abuse of learners, assault, criminal or financial matters are also subject to separate procedures.
Please note that assessment appeals are not to be dealt with as a complaint and are to be dealt with via the assessment appeals process. 

INFORMAL STAGE
Qualia Academy hopes that complaints can be resolved informally by contacting the most appropriate member of staff concerned and encourages the complainant to discuss the matters causing them concern.

At initial contact, the member of staff taking the details of the complaint and will complete a written record of the complaint (this could be completed by the member of staff, the customer or someone on behalf of the customer) by completing the Qualia Academy Complaints form.

The member of staff dealing with the complaint will then seek to resolve the matter informally and will:

• record the date and details on the Customer Feedback Register; 

• record the date when the complaint was acknowledged either in writing, face to face, email or telephone; 

• make enquiries to establish the facts; 

• seek advice and guidance as appropriate; 

• attempt to resolve the matter informally; 

• establish whether the complainant is satisfied;

• advise complainants of the next stages if they wish to proceed to a formal consideration of the complaint; and 

• make a note of the outcome on the Customer Feedback Register.

This stage would normally be expected to be completed in 5 working days.

Every effort should be made to resolve the complaint at the informal stage, with the agreement of the complainant.

Where the complaint has not been resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant the manager dealing with the complaint should be informed within 5 working days that the complainant wishes to proceed to the formal stage.

FORMAL STAGE 1 

Where an informal complaint has not been resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant or the complainant has indicated they wish to go straight to the formal stage, the most appropriate service manager will deal with the escalated complaint.

e.g Stand-alone plus commercial qualifications and Apprenticeships to Learner Manager; employer or contract issues are to be directed to quality the improvement officer – Kirsty Watson.

The responsible manager will:

• Make the complainant aware of the procedure and timescales.

 • Formally acknowledgement receipt of the complaint in writing within 5 working days. 

• If the complaint concerns a member of staff, inform them and provide them with a copy of the complaint, making an appointment to speak to the staff member to further discuss events. 

• Prepare a report with the result of the investigation and consider actions to be taken. 

• Record the complaint and its outcomes on the Feedback Register, including the details of the root cause and any preventative action necessary. 

• To uphold the complaint, where it is considered no further action is needed or the complaint is unsubstantiated, the complainant should be advised in writing.

This stage would normally be expected to take no more than 10 working days.

FORMAL STAGE 2
If the complainant is still not happy with the outcome of the complaint at Formal Stage 1, it can be progressed to Formal Stage 2. However, this would only be where there is further evidence offered to support the complaint.

If there is no further supporting evidence we can advise the customer to go straight to The ESFA, omitting Stage 2 of the process. This is only providing that there is no further evidence offered and we have adhered to our policy. Please note that there are other bodies alternative to the ESFA that may deal with a complaint about Qualia Academy, including OFSTED and examining bodies.

If a case is accepted as a Stage 2 complaint, the further evidence offered by the complainant will be reviewed by the Managing Director at Qualia Academy.

If the case can be resolved at this point, the Managing Director agrees the resolution with the complainant; a letter is sent confirming what has been agreed and closes the complaint.

In circumstances where there remains no resolution, the Customer Feedback Coordinator will arrange for a panel to review the case. The panel will consist of an independent Level 1 Director from within Qualia Academy and an independent customer representative.

The panel will sit at the earliest convenient date and provide their decision to the Managing Director and to the customer.

Details of the complaint at this stage will be updated on the Customer Feedback Register by the Customer Feedback Coordinator.

This stage would normally be expected to take no more than 20 working days.