For compliments, please email info@bolton-sfc.ac.uk, for complaints, please follow the procedure below:
Applies to: Students, former students where appropriate, parents/carers and authorised representatives
The Sixth Form Bolton is committed to providing high-quality education, support and services to its students and to maintaining positive and constructive relationships with students and their parents/carers.
The primary aim of this policy is to ensure that queries, concerns and problems are identified and resolved promptly at the appropriate level, wherever possible, without the need for a formal complaint.
The College recognises that, during a student's time at College, there will be occasions when a student or parent/carer:
has a question or requires clarification;
disagrees with a decision;
is dissatisfied with an aspect of the student's experience;
believes that something has gone wrong;
wishes to request additional support or a change to existing arrangements; or
raises a concern about teaching, support, communication or another aspect of College provision.
These matters do not automatically constitute a formal complaint.
The College encourages students and parents/carers to raise issues at the earliest opportunity with the member of staff or manager best placed to address them.
The College will seek to listen, explain, clarify and, where appropriate, take reasonable action to resolve the matter.
A formal complaint should generally be used where a significant concern cannot reasonably be resolved through normal College communication and management arrangements, where reasonable attempts at resolution have been unsuccessful, or where the seriousness of the matter means that formal investigation is appropriate.
Nothing in this policy prevents a serious matter from proceeding directly to formal investigation where informal resolution would be inappropriate.
The College will apply the following principles when dealing with concerns and complaints:
Early resolution: issues should be resolved as close as reasonably possible to where they arise.
Proportionality: the College's response should be proportionate to the nature and seriousness of the issue raised.
Fairness: concerns and complaints will be considered objectively.
Clarification: the College will seek to establish what has happened, what remains unresolved and what outcome is being sought.
No automatic formalisation: an expression of dissatisfaction does not automatically require a formal investigation.
Substance over terminology: the College will consider the substance of correspondence rather than simply how it has been labelled.
Support: where a student requires support, this will be considered separately from whether a complaint is upheld.
Confidentiality: information will only be shared with those who reasonably need it for the matter to be addressed.
No disadvantage: a student will not be disadvantaged because they or someone acting appropriately on their behalf has raised a genuine concern or complaint.
Learning: legitimate learning arising from concerns and complaints will be used to improve College practice.
For the purposes of this policy, a complaint is:
An expression of dissatisfaction about an action, omission, decision, standard of service or provision by the College which the complainant believes has adversely affected a student and which requires the College to investigate and provide a formal response.
A complaint may include an allegation that:
the College has failed to provide an appropriate educational service or support which it should reasonably have provided;
a student has been treated unfairly or inconsistently;
the College has failed to follow an applicable policy or procedure;
reasonable and repeated attempts to resolve a significant concern have been unsuccessful;
there has been an unreasonable failure to communicate or respond to a significant matter;
a significant decision affecting a student's education or support was made without proper consideration of relevant information;
the conduct of a member of staff towards a student was inappropriate;
agreed support or reasonable adjustments have not been implemented; or
the College has failed to take reasonable action after being made aware of a significant problem.
Whether something constitutes a complaint will be determined by its substance and circumstances, rather than simply by the terminology used by the person raising it.
The use of words such as complaint, formal complaint, unacceptable, distress, embarrassment, anxiety, mental health or emotional harm does not, by itself, determine how the matter will be classified or establish that inappropriate conduct has occurred.
Equally, correspondence may constitute a complaint even where the person raising the matter has not specifically described it as one.
The following will not normally require consideration under the formal complaints procedure:
a routine enquiry;
a request for information;
a request for action or support;
an initial concern which has not yet been raised with the appropriate College team;
disagreement with a reasonable professional judgement or operational decision;
dissatisfaction with a reasonable College rule or expectation;
disappointment that a requested outcome cannot be provided;
feedback or suggestions for improvement;
a reasonable challenge by a member of staff concerning attendance, punctuality, behaviour, engagement or academic performance; or
a matter for which a separate review, appeal or statutory procedure exists.
The College will nevertheless consider whether there are underlying matters which require action or support.
The College has a responsibility to maintain appropriate standards of attendance, punctuality, behaviour, engagement and conduct and to provide an orderly and effective learning environment.
As part of their normal professional responsibilities, members of staff may reasonably:
challenge lateness or poor attendance;
remind students about behaviour or College expectations;
ask a student to stop inappropriate behaviour;
address lack of engagement or incomplete work;
question a student about their conduct;
provide constructive or corrective feedback;
enforce classroom or College rules;
issue reasonable instructions;
discuss concerns about progress or performance; or
apply an appropriate consequence in accordance with College procedures.
Students may sometimes feel upset, embarrassed, disappointed, anxious or distressed as a result of being challenged, corrected or held accountable.
The fact that a student experiences such feelings does not, in itself, mean that the member of staff acted improperly or that the College has failed in its responsibilities.
Similarly, describing the impact of an interaction using terms such as distress, embarrassment, anxiety, adverse mental health, emotional harm or similar language does not, by itself, establish that inappropriate conduct occurred.
The College will distinguish between the impact reported by a student and evidence that the action causing that impact was inappropriate. Both may be considered, but they are not the same issue.
All correspondence which appears to raise a significant concern or complaint may be subject to an initial triage assessment before being entered into the formal complaints procedure. The purpose of triage is to ensure that the matter is dealt with through the most appropriate, proportionate and effective route.
The Governance Professional, or another person authorised by the College, will consider the substance of the correspondence and may classify it as:
Classification | Appropriate Response |
Enquiry / request for information | Refer to the appropriate member of staff for information or explanation |
Request for action or support | Refer to the appropriate curriculum, pastoral, learning support or operational team |
Concern suitable for early resolution | Refer to the appropriate manager for discussion and resolution |
Disagreement with a decision | Provide an explanation or direct to any applicable review/appeal process |
Matter subject to another procedure | Refer to the appropriate safeguarding, examination, disciplinary, data protection or other procedure |
Formal complaint | Progress under the formal complaints procedure |
Serious matter requiring immediate escalation | Refer directly to the appropriate senior manager, DSL, Principal, Chair or other responsible person |
The College may contact the person raising the matter to clarify:
what has happened;
the specific action or decision with which they are dissatisfied;
what they believe the College has done incorrectly;
what action has already been taken to resolve the matter;
what remains unresolved; and
what outcome they are seeking.
The complainant's description or heading will be taken into account but will not determine the classification.
Correspondence headed "Formal Complaint" will not automatically be treated as requiring a formal investigation where, on reasonable assessment, the matter is more appropriately classified as an enquiry, request, concern, disagreement or matter subject to another procedure.
Where a matter is not classified as a formal complaint, the College will ensure that it is referred to an appropriate person for consideration rather than simply disregarded.
Where appropriate, the person raising the matter will be advised of the route through which it will be addressed.
The College believes that most issues are best resolved as close as possible to where they arise. Students and parents/carers are therefore encouraged to raise issues promptly with the member of staff best placed to address them.
Where appropriate, a telephone conversation or meeting may be more effective than an extended exchange of emails.
An apology, explanation or attempt to resolve a concern does not, by itself, constitute an admission of legal liability or wrongdoing.
Some matters are governed by separate College, statutory or regulatory procedures and will not normally be considered under this policy where another procedure provides the appropriate route.
These may include:
examination and assessment decisions;
enquiries about results and awarding body or JCQ appeals;
student disciplinary appeals;
safeguarding and child protection matters;
allegations against staff requiring consideration under safeguarding or employment procedures;
data protection matters;
Freedom of Information requests;
whistleblowing;
allegations of fraud or financial irregularity;
staff employment matters; and
matters subject to legal proceedings.
Where appropriate, the College will explain which procedure will apply.
Where a matter has been classified as a formal complaint, the complainant should provide sufficient information for the College to understand:
what has happened;
the significant issues being complained about;
relevant dates and individuals;
what action has already been taken;
why the complainant remains dissatisfied; and
the outcome sought.
Complainant Name:
Student name:
Student ID:
Relationship to student:
Complainant Contact details:
Formal complaints should be submitted to:
Governance Professional,
The Sixth Form Bolton
Deane Road
Bolton
BL3 5BU
Email: Compliance@bolton-sfc.ac.uk
The College will provide reasonable assistance where a person is unable to submit a written complaint because of disability, communication difficulty or another reasonable reason.
Acknowledgement
The College will normally acknowledge a formal complaint within 5 working days.
The acknowledgement will normally confirm:
that the matter has been accepted as a formal complaint;
the issues which will be investigated;
the person responsible for considering or investigating the complaint;
whether further information is required; and
the anticipated timescale for response.
The College may clarify the scope of the complaint before investigation begins.
The complaint will be allocated to an appropriate manager or other person with sufficient authority who, wherever practicable, has not previously been directly involved in the matter.
The investigator may:
communicate or meet with the complainant;
speak with relevant students or members of staff;
review correspondence, records, policies and documents;
obtain statements or other information;
seek professional or specialist advice; and
consider other relevant evidence.
The investigation will consider, on the balance of probabilities, what is more likely than not to have occurred and whether the College acted reasonably and in accordance with its policies and responsibilities.
The investigation will focus upon the substantive allegations rather than assumptions arising from the terminology used to describe them.
The College will normally provide its written response within 15 working days of receiving the formal complaint or, where clarification was reasonably required, of agreeing the matters to be investigated.
Complex complaints may require additional time. Where this occurs, the complainant will be informed and provided with a revised anticipated response date.
The response will normally:
summarise the matters investigated;
explain the investigation undertaken;
provide the relevant findings;
state whether the significant elements of the complaint are upheld, partially upheld or not upheld;
provide reasons;
identify any appropriate action arising from the investigation; and
explain how a Stage 2 review may be requested.
A complaint may be:
Upheld – the available evidence supports the complaint.
Partially upheld – some, but not all, significant elements are supported.
Not upheld – the available evidence does not support the complaint.
Where a complaint concerns a member of staff, the complaints procedure will determine whether the complaint is substantiated. It will not normally determine what employment action should be taken.
Any employment investigation, management action or disciplinary process is a confidential matter between the College and the employee concerned. The complainant does not have a right to be informed of confidential employment or disciplinary action taken in relation to a member of staff.
A complainant who remains dissatisfied with the Stage 1 formal response may request a review within 10 working days of the decision.
A review is not normally a complete reinvestigation of the original complaint. The request should explain the grounds for review. A review will normally be considered where it is alleged that:
the complaints procedure was not followed correctly;
relevant evidence was not properly considered;
significant new evidence has become available which could not reasonably have been provided previously;
the conclusions were not reasonably supported by the evidence; or
the proposed resolution was clearly disproportionate or inappropriate.
Dissatisfaction with the outcome alone will not normally constitute sufficient grounds for review.
The review will be undertaken by an appropriate senior person who has not previously determined the complaint.
The reviewer may:
uphold the original decision;
vary the decision;
overturn all or part of the decision;
require further investigation; or
recommend additional action.
The College will normally issue the review decision within 15 working days.
The Stage 2 review represents the final stage of the College's internal complaints procedure.
A complaint concerning the Principal should be submitted to the Governance Professional, who will arrange for it to be considered by the Chair of the Corporation or another appropriate governor.
A complaint concerning the Chair should be referred to the Governance Professional and considered by the Vice-Chair or another appropriate independent governor.
A complaint concerning the Governance Professional will be referred to the Principal or Chair, depending upon the nature of the complaint.
Appropriate arrangements will be made to preserve independence where more than one governor or senior post holder is involved.
A concern or complaint may be raised by:
a current student;
a former student where the matter relates to their time at the College;
a parent/carer whose details correspond with those recorded by the College as the student's Next of Kin;
a person authorised by the student to act on their behalf, where the College is satisfied that appropriate authority has been provided; or
another person where the College determines that there is a legitimate reason to receive information from them, subject to the confidentiality and verification requirements below.
Where a person seeks to raise or pursue a concern or complaint relating to an individual student as their parent or carer, the College will check that the person's details correspond with the Next of Kin details recorded on the student's College record.
The College will use the information held on the student's record as its primary means of establishing whether it is appropriate to correspond with that person about the student.
Where the person cannot be identified from the student's recorded Next of Kin information, the College will not confirm or disclose information about the student, the student's circumstances, any complaint involving the student, or any communication received from or involving another person.
The College may advise the correspondent that it is unable to discuss matters relating to an individual student because their details cannot be verified against the College's records. The College will not confirm whether another named individual is recorded as the student's Next of Kin.
The fact that a person states that they are a student's parent, step-parent, carer, relative or other family member does not, by itself, provide authority for the College to disclose information or correspond with them about the student's education.
Where appropriate, the College may explain what steps are required for the person's identity or authority to be established.
The College may receive information about a student from a person whose identity or relationship with the student cannot be verified.
The College may consider information provided where there is a legitimate reason to do so, particularly where it raises a safeguarding, welfare or other serious concern.
Receiving or considering information does not mean that the College is able to correspond with the person about the student or provide them with information about any action taken.
Where appropriate, the College may acknowledge receipt without confirming any information relating to the student.
A student aged 18 or over is an adult and the College must respect their confidentiality and data protection rights.
The fact that a parent/carer is recorded as Next of Kin does not automatically give that person authority to access the adult student's personal information or to receive information about a complaint concerning them.
Where appropriate, the College may require the student's explicit consent before:
discussing their personal circumstances with a parent/carer;
providing information from their College record;
investigating a complaint made on their behalf; or
disclosing the outcome of a complaint to another person.
The College may nevertheless receive and consider information provided by a parent/carer without the student's consent where it is appropriate to do so. This does not create an entitlement for the parent/carer to receive information in return.
Where a student is under 18, the College may normally correspond with a parent/carer recorded as Next of Kin, subject to the circumstances of the case, the student's rights and interests, safeguarding considerations and applicable data protection requirements.
The College may involve the student in the consideration of a concern or complaint where appropriate, taking account of their age, understanding and the nature of the matter.
A student may authorise another person to assist them or act on their behalf.
Where a person is not recorded as Next of Kin, or where the student is aged 18 or over, the College may require appropriate written consent or other satisfactory evidence of authority before discussing the student's circumstances or complaint with that person.
The College reserves the right to verify the identity of the representative and the authenticity and scope of the authority provided before disclosing personal information.
Nothing in this policy will prevent or delay appropriate safeguarding action.
Where correspondence raises a safeguarding or child protection concern, the matter will be referred immediately to the Designated Safeguarding Lead and dealt with under the appropriate safeguarding arrangements.
The complaints procedure may be suspended or modified while safeguarding enquiries, police investigations or other statutory processes are undertaken.
Concerns should be raised as soon as reasonably possible so that they can be effectively addressed.
A formal complaint should normally be raised within 28 Working Days of the event concerned or, where there is a series of related events, within 28 Working Days of the most recent event.
The College may consider matters outside this period where there is a reasonable explanation for the delay or the seriousness or circumstances make this appropriate.
The College may consider an anonymous complaint where sufficient information is available and the seriousness of the matter makes investigation appropriate.
The College's ability to investigate may be limited where the identity of the person raising the matter is unknown.
Anonymous safeguarding concerns will be referred to the Designated Safeguarding Lead.
Where a number of students or parents/carers raise substantially the same issue, the College may manage the matter collectively and may ask the group to nominate a representative.
Appropriate consent will be required before personal information relating to an individual student is shared with a representative.
The College is committed to dealing fairly with concerns and complaints, including those which are critical of the College.
A complaint will not be regarded as unreasonable merely because it is persistent, strongly expressed or unsuccessful.
The College may, however, take proportionate action where behaviour becomes unreasonable, including:
repeatedly pursuing matters which have completed the complaints procedure without significant new information;
excessive or unreasonably frequent contact;
refusal to identify the substance of a complaint despite reasonable attempts at clarification;
abusive, threatening, discriminatory or intimidating behaviour;
unreasonable demands concerning how an investigation must be conducted;
deliberate provision of materially false or misleading information; or
behaviour which places unreasonable demands upon College resources.
Any restrictions imposed will be proportionate and will not prevent genuinely new concerns, safeguarding matters or legal rights from being appropriately considered.
Once the College's internal complaints procedure has been exhausted, an eligible complainant may be able to refer a complaint concerning Department for Education-funded post-16 education and training to the Department for Education (DfE).
The DfE's process is not an additional internal College appeal.
The College's final response will confirm when its internal procedure has been exhausted and, where appropriate, signpost the complainant to the relevant external route.
Information obtained through the concerns and complaints process will be handled in accordance with UK data protection legislation and College policies.
Information will only be disclosed where there is a legitimate reason to do so.
Where a complaint involves another student or member of staff, the complainant's entitlement to an explanation about their own complaint does not create an entitlement to confidential personal information about another individual.
Where a complaint concerns a member of staff, the complainant may be informed whether the substantive complaint has been upheld, partially upheld or not upheld, where it is appropriate and lawful to do so.
However, the complainant does not have the right to know what employment, management or disciplinary action has been taken against an individual member of staff as a consequence of the complaint, as this is confidential personal information relating to that employee.
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