Britannia School of English

Complaints Procedure

This procedure aims to reassure students and members of staff with an interest in the School that
 Any complaint against the School will be dealt with in a fair, open responsive and as far as possible in a confidential way, with the aim of achieving a speedy and satisfactory resolution; and
 School recognises that a willingness to listen to questions and criticism and to respond positively can lead to improvements in School practices and provision for students.
A complaint is defined as a clear statement of dissatisfaction about any specified aspect of the School’s work.
This procedure deals with specified day-to-day complaints against the management and/or operation of the School which fall outside the scope of the following procedures:
 Complaints which must be dealt with by specific employment procedures e.g. allegations of professional abuse , criminal offences or those that are potentially staff disciplinary issues.
Complainants may be anyone e.g. students, guardians, members of staff,  neighbours or anyone with an interest in the work of the School. Complaints may be made by telephone, e-mail, in person or be written. Records of all conversations and meetings with students to resolve complaints will be kept. At a Complaints Panel (CP) meeting, minutes will be taken. To help prevent recurring complaints, copies of correspondence and notes will be kept on file in the School’s records, separately from individual learner records. If at any stage in the procedure it becomes apparent that the complaint falls outside of this general complaints  procedure, students or whoever have made a complaint will be informed.
Britannia School of English complaints procedure provides that all corespondence with students and records of complaints will, as far as posible, be kept confidential. Relevant staff will be informed of the complaint and its details on a ‘need to know basis’. Britannia School of English keeps written records of all complaints, indicating whether they are resolved at the informal or formal stages. School complaint procudure allows for students to attend the pannel hearing and, if they wish, to be accompanied. Anonymous complaints will not be entertained.

Stage 1: Informal Stage

 On occasions, a student may raise a concern directly with the School without any formality. At this stage, it may be unclear whether the student is making a complaint, seeking information or has misunderstood a situation. In any effect, the School aims to resolve the concern at this point in a speedy and effective way. The turn around time at this stage is 24-48  hours.
However, if the concern is  not resolved within the time frame set above, the opportunity to discuss the matter with an appropriate member of staff will be given e.g. tutor, admin staff, etc. The member of staff will discuss the issue with the student and those involved in the School, with the aim of resolving the complaint as soon as possible. The student will be informed of the outcome of the investigation and what action, if any, the School proposes to take. This may take about 3-5 School working days.
If the informal process has been exhausted and no satisfactory solution has been found, the student will be asked by the member of staff dealing with the complaint whether they wish the complaint to be considered formally at stage two of this procedure.
If wishing to proceed with the complaint, the student will be invited to put the complaint in writing to the school managment  using the complaints  form. The form should be received  by the Managing Director within ten school working days. Advice on how to complete the form may be requested from the reception.

Stage 2: Referral to the School Management for further investigation

Managing Director  will acknowlegde the written complaint within five working days of receipt and provide an opportunity to meet the student to discuss the complaint.
The Managing Director  will investigate the complaint and a written response will normally be made within ten working days of receipt of the complaint. If this is not possible, a letter will be sent explaining the reason for the delay and providing a revised target date.
The written response will include full reasons for the conclusions reached by the Managing Director and what action, if any, the School proposes to take to resolve the matter.