Complaints Procedure

1) South Cheshire College encourages complaints, comments and compliments by advertising our procedures and making them easy to use. This is an important part of our customer care for it shows that we value the views of our users and that we are continually trying to improve our service.

2) College staff will try to solve any problem informally. If at any time you are not satisfied with the way the problem is being dealt with, you should contact Liz O'Keeffe at the College on +44 (0)1270 654625 to make a formal complaint.

3) A complaint must be made within three months of the event that gave rise to it or, if the complainant is a student of the college, within three months of the end of the course, whichever is the later. The college may extend this time limit if it would have been unreasonable for the complaint to be made earlier or there were extenuating circumstances which prevented the complainant from making the complaint earlier, as long as it is still possible to investigate the facts of the case.

4) If you are making a complaint, we would like you to complete a complaint form giving us your name, address, appropriate telephone numbers and explaining exactly what you are dissatisfied with. If you would like help completing the complaint form, you can telephone Liz O'Keeffe at the College on +44 (0)1270 654625, who will arrange for appropriate assistance.

5) If you wish, you can ask someone to handle your complaint on your behalf. This can be a relative, friend or nominee. We place great importance on keeping your affairs confidential. Because of this, if you want someone to handle your complaint for you, please let us know this in writing.

6) We will acknowledge your complaint in writing within 5 working days of receiving it.

7) If your complaint is about a member of the Corporation or the Principal, it will be dealt with by the Chair of the Corporation. In other cases, your complaint will be investigated by a member of the college management and you will receive a response to the complaint from the Director of Quality. We expect to be able to respond to your complaint within 15 working days of our acknowledgement. If we cannot do this within this period, we will let you know the reasons why and our estimate timescale as to when we are able to respond.

8) If the complainant is not satisfied with the response from the Director of Quality, a review by the Deputy Principal can be requested. The result of the review will be communicated within 5 working days.

9) If the complainant is not satisfied with the response by the Deputy Principal a review by the Principal can be requested. The result of the review will be communicated within 5 working days.

10) If you are not satisfied with the review of your complaint by the Principal (or by the Chair of the Corporation, if your complaint is against the Corporation or the Principal), you should contact:

Chief Executive
Cheshire and Warrington Learning and Skills Council
Dalton House
Dalton Way
Middlewich
Cheshire
CW10 0HU

11) If your complaint is against a member of the Starting Point Nursery staff, it will be investigated by the Director of the Organisational Development functional area.

12) If the complainant is not satisfied with the response, by the Director of Organisational Development then a review by the Director of Quality can be requested. The result of the review will be communicated within 5 working days.

13) If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Director of Quality you should notify the Principal of the college, who will review the handling of your complaint and respond to you within 5 working days of you contacting him.

14) If the complainant is not satisfied with the review by the Principal (or by the Chair of the Corporation, if the complaint is against the Corporation or the Principal), the complainant can appeal to Ofsted's Complaints committee outlining the nature of their dissatisfaction.

Chief Executive
Ofsted Complaints
3rd Floor North
Royal Exchange Building
St Ann's Square
Manchester
M2 7LA
Telephone: 0845 6014772

15) When we respond we will let you know what action we can offer and notify you of any improvements made as a result of your complaint.

JULY 2008