Newcastle City Learning
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Complaints and compliments policy

Policy statement

Newcastle City Learning aims to provide a high-quality service for all members of the public.  

Complaints and compliments are an invaluable source of feedback which are viewed positively to inform service improvement.

Complaints

What is a complaint?

A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction made about the standard of service, actions or lack of action by us, which affects someone using our services.

Who can complain?  

The complainant must be our customer – the person who directly engaged with Newcastle City Learning. If they need help to make their complaint, they must give signed authority/written permission for another person to act on their behalf.

What can a complaint be about?

The complaint must be about something which Newcastle City Learning have responsibility for. The complaint can be about one or more of the following:

  • Poor quality of service  
  • Refusal to provide a service  
  • Delay in providing a service  
  • A member of staff  
  • Someone feels that, compared to others, they were unfairly treated, or they do not have equal access to our service.

How can a complaint be made?

  • In person at one our centres
  • By phone on 0191 2773520 or 0191 2782818
  • By email to gatewaysupervisors@newcastle.gov.uk  
  • Online at www.newcastle.gov.uk/complaints
  • By letter sent to:
  • Learner Services, Newcastle City Learning, Westgate College, West Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 9LU

What happens after we receive your complaint?

We will:

  • Log the complaint on the Council’s Customer Relationship Management system (CRM)  
  • The vast majority of complaints will be handled in an informal way and settled with within 3 working days.
  • Investigate the complaint in a systematic, non-confrontational manner via Newcastle City Council’s complaints procedure which will be regularly monitored, evaluated and reviewed.
  • Use information gathered about complaints to report to our Advisory Board and contribute to the quality improvement of our service.
  • If the informal complaint cannot be settled within 3 days, the complaint will be escalated to a Step 2 Formal Complaint and where possible resolved within 15 working days as per Newcastle City Council policy. Due to the nature and complexity of some complaints they may take longer than 15 working days to resolve.  We will endeavor to keep you reasonably informed on the progress of the complaint.
  • If the learner is still not happy with the outcome of their formal complaint at Step 2, they can request a Complaint Review by the Corporate Complaints Officer.
  • The Corporate Complaints Officer will write to the customer within 3 working days to inform them that their complaint is being reviewed, approximately how long it will take to investigate and when they will receive a written reply. This is usually within 25 working days, or five weeks.
  • The response letter will advise the learner that if they are not happy with the response, they should pass their complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman* for an independent review.

There are occasions where the complaint may need to be dealt with in a different way, this includes:  

Offensive complaints

A complaint is considered offensive if it includes comments (including swearing) which are derogatory, discriminatory or offensive in nature (if the recipient of the complaint deems it to be so). The complaint should be referred to the Corporate Complaints Team who will determine the appropriate response.  

A distinction must be drawn between the above and a statement made in good faith. For example, a customer might allege a member of staff swore at them and when the customer repeats back what was said to them, or what they heard a member of staff say, they must give this detail as part of making their complaint.  

Malicious complaints  

A malicious complaint is one that is investigated and found to be unsubstantiated, and where it has been established during the investigation that its submission was motivated exclusively by malice. This malice can be directed towards a member of staff or other people. If the complaint is seen as malicious then a reply from a senior manager or specialist to the complainant may be more appropriate, outlining the way in which the matter was handled, that the matter was not proven and that no further action will be taken.  

Persistent complainants

There will be occasions where a complainant will persist in their cause, often following multiple routes (Corporate Complaint, Chief Executive or Director, Councillor or MP, Advocate, Freedom of Information, GDPR, Subject Access requests, and social media). Whenever a complaint is received which has been investigated previously, and replied to, the matter needs to be referred to the Corporate Complaints’ Team. All potentially persistent complaints need to be considered, but if the substance of the complaint is the same as the previously determined one, and there are no new issues presented, then the Service Manager and/or Corporate Complaints’ Team will consider applying the Managing Unreasonable Customer Behaviour policy Managing Unreasonable Customer Behaviour Policy.

Anonymous complaints  

In the case of anonymous complaints, a senior manager or specialist will need to decide whether an investigation is required. This will depend on the nature of the complaint and the information provided by the complainant. It may be necessary to seek HR advice depending upon the content of the anonymous complaint

Collective complaints/petitions

Collective complaints and petitions should generally be treated as one formal complaint. The response should be directed to the person acting as the co-ordinator. However, in some cases it may seem appropriate to send the reply to more than one person. The discretion to send out more than one reply lies with the Service Manager for the area being complained about.

2.Compliments

What is a compliment?

A compliment is an appreciative statement about a service or employee.

Who can make a compliment?  

Any of our learners, partners, or organisations we work with.

What can a compliment be about?

The compliment can be about one or more of the following:

  • Quality of service
  • Quality of teaching, resulting in excellent learning opportunities  
  • A member of staff  
  • Your learning experience with us

How can a compliment be made?

  • In person at one our centres
  • By phone on 0191 2773520 or 0191 2782818
  • By email to gatewaysupervisors@newcastle.gov.uk  
  • By email to the Senior Lead-Learner Services – michelle.ashley@newcastle.gov.uk
  • By letter sent to: Learner Services, Newcastle City Learning, Westgate College, West Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 9LU

What happens after we receive your compliment?

We will:

  • Record and collate all compliments internally  
  • Provide feedback to individuals and teams
  • Use information to further develop our products, services and our practice
  • We will provide a report to Newcastle City Learning Advisory Board regularly on all compliments received, to help improve and inform our service. 

Updated September 2024.