Complaints Policy and Procedures

Policy Statement

At The Little Learners Montessori MAA training centre, we strive to provide the best possible service a learner, applicant or employer can expect, including but not exclusively high-quality training. However, we recognise that sometimes things may go wrong. If for any reason you are dissatisfied with the service that we provide, please let us know so we can deal with your concern and where appropriate, ensure improvements are made as part of our ethos and commitment to continuous improvement. We encourage you to make a phone call so that we can talk about your problem and resolve it swiftly.

Policy Aims

• We aim to make this policy and procedure easy to understand and use
• We aim to make this policy and procedure easy to access
• We treat all complaints seriously and aim to use our findings as part of our continuous improvement process
• We will provide additional support to anyone wishing to make complaint that has a learning difficulty or disability, or a physical disability that means additional support is required

What is a complaint?

• A complaint is when you inform us you are not happy about the service we provide. It can be about anything, can be relatively minor or something more serious and could include:
• When we do not deliver a service on time
• When we give you, the learner or employer, the wrong information
• When you receive a poor-quality service
• When you have a concern with a member of our staff
• When you think you have been discriminated against (Equality Act 2010 – 9 protected characteristics – refer to section 7 Appendix 2)

If you have concerns about assessment and quality assurance decisions, please refer to QU001 Learner Appeals Policy and Procedures, rather than use the complaints policy and procedures.

Our Commitment

• Making a complaint is as easy as possible
• We treat your complaint seriously and with the utmost professionalism
• We deal with your complaint promptly and in accordance with our confidentiality policy
• We learn from complaints and use them to review and improve our service
• However a complaint is received, it will be dealt with efficiently, with the aim of resolving the issue as quickly as possible, to the satisfaction of the customer
• Confidentiality: Except in exceptional circumstances, every attempt will be made to ensure all parties maintain confidentiality. However, the circumstances giving rise to the complaint may be such that it may not be possible to maintain confidentiality (with each complaint judged on its own merit). Should this be the case, the situation will be explained to you
• If we receive a complaint, we will try, wherever possible, to resolve it immediately and notify you of the outcome. We will send:
  (a) an acknowledgement within five working days, including the details of who will be dealing with the complaint
  (b) a final response within ten working days
• If we are unable to resolve the complaint within in 10 working days, we will:
  (a) ask for any further information required and within 10 working days of receipt
  (i) update you and state when we hope to complete our investigations
• We record all complaints and review them at our Senior Leadership Team meetings to consider if we need to make any changes to improve our services to prevent a re-occurrence
• An annual review of complaints and resolutions is carried out and the associated report is reviewed by the Board
• If for any reason you are unhappy with our response to your complaint you can escalate your complaint to our Director

Procedures

Stage 1

• A learner, applicant or employer who has a complaint, can raise the matter with any Little Learners Montessori MAA training centre staff member; we encourage you to speak to your usual point of contact or their manager in the first instance, as sometimes issues can be resolved swiftly and locally without commencing with the complaint’s procedure
• The Complaint will be acknowledged within five working days and investigated. You will receive a response to your complaint within ten working days, or a reason for any delay in responding to you. If you are unsatisfied with the outcome, you can escalate the complaint by moving to stage 2 of the complaints process

Stage 2

• As part of our process, if you are not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint, you will be able to escalate your complaint to our Director and ask for the original decision to be reviewed before receiving a final response. Our Director can be contacted at:
  Jenna Hamilton-Heward
  Email: jenna@montessoriapprentice.co.uk
  Tel: 07538724183
• Our Director will attempt to resolve the complaint to your satisfaction. A formal response and full explanation will be given in writing, this is the final internal stage of our complaint procedure. In the absence of the Director, either due to holiday or sickness, the escalated complaint will be referred to another member of the Board

Stage 3

• If you remain dissatisfied, and the internal complaints procedure has been exhausted, you will be given the details of the relevant external body to escalate your complaint to. A list with links can be found in section 6 appendix 1
• If you have concerns about assessment and quality assurance decisions, please refer to QU001 Learner Appeals Policy and Procedures, rather than use the complaints policy and procedures

Stage 4

• Review: one month after your complaint has been resolved, we will contact you to check that you are still satisfied with the outcome and that the issue has not reoccurred

Further Information

Education and Skills Funding Agency: Complaints procedure – Education and Skills Funding Agency – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Ofsted: Complaints | Ofsted

The Equality Act 2010 – 9 Protected Characteristics

Equality Act 2010: guidance – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Protected characteristics | Equality and Human Rights Commission (equalityhumanrights.com)

Definitions of the 9 Protected Characteristics 

Age: A person belonging to a particular age (for example 32 year olds) or range of ages (for example 18 to 30 year olds).
Disability: A person has a disability if she or he has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on that person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
Gender Reassignment: The process of transitioning from one gender to another.
Marriage and Civil Partnership: Marriage is a union between a man and a woman or between a same-sex couple. Same-sex couples can also have their relationships legally recognised as ‘civil partnerships’. Civil partners must not be treated less favourably than married couples (except where permitted by the Equality Act).
Pregnancy and Maternity: Pregnancy is the condition of being pregnant or expecting a baby. Maternity refers to the period after the birth and is linked to maternity leave in the employment context. In the non-work context, protection against maternity discrimination is for 26 weeks after giving birth, and this includes treating a woman unfavourably because she is breastfeeding.
Race: Refers to the protected characteristic of race. It refers to a group of people defined by their race, colour, and nationality (including citizenship) ethnic or national origins.
Religion or Belief: Religion refers to any religion, including a lack of religion. Belief refers to any religious or philosophical belief and includes a lack of belief. Generally, a belief should affect your life choices or the way you live for it to be included in the definition.
Sex: A man or a woman.
Sexual Orientation: Whether a person’s sexual attraction is towards their own sex, the opposite sex or to both sexes. LGBT+ is an “inclusive” way to represent all the different identities in the longer acronym.