Complaints Policy 2024 - 2027

1.1 Coleg Sir Gar and Coleg Ceredigion (“the College”) are further education Colleges that are part of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David Group. 

1.2 The College aims to provide the best possible service to its learners, customers and community and is committed to listening and learning to concerns in order to continually improve the quality of our provision and services. 

1.3 All staff at the College share a responsibility to receive complaints, treat them seriously and deal with them promptly and courteously in accordance with the procedures set out below. 

1.4 Staff requiring advice regarding complaints handling should contact their Assistant Director, Director or Vice Principal. Students requiring advice should approach their Tutor or a member of the Wellbeing Team. 

1.5 In the event that a complaint relates specifically to the personal conduct of an individual member of staff, the matter shall be referred to the Human Resources Department for consideration.

1.6 VEXATIOUS COMPLAINTS

1.6.1 A vexatious complaint is one that is pursued, regardless of its merits, solely to harass, annoy or subdue somebody; something that is unreasonable, without foundation, frivolous, repetitive, burdensome or unwarranted. 

1.6.2 Vexatious complaints may be: 

• those where the evidence indicates a personal grudge, for whatever reason and the complainant is targeting their correspondence towards a particular staff member against whom they have a personal enmity. 
• where unreasonable persistence is applied in attempting to reopen an issue which has already been addressed and concluded. 
• those using abusive or aggressive language (going beyond the level of criticism that a provider or its staff should reasonably expect to receive). 

1.6.3 In these cases, we reserve the right to decide not to pursue complaints of this kind and will inform the complainant in writing of our decision. In the case of vexatious complaints made by learners, we reserve the right to pursue this through the Positive Behaviour Policy.

1.7 ANONYMOUS COMPLAINTS

1.7.1 The college values all their customers and feedback, and this means that all complaints including anonymous submissions will be treated appropriately and action taken to consider them further, wherever it is possible to do so. In principle the college will consider an anonymous complaint if it gives enough information so as to enable further enquiries. If sufficient information is not available, the complaint will be recorded and no further action taken. A judgement not to pursue an anonymous complaint may be made by the Complaints Team and should be clearly recorded, where possible, to be based on predefined criteria. If an anonymous complaint contains serious allegations it should be referred to the Vice Principal of Planning, Learners & Communication.

1.8 All records and information will be recorded and maintained in accordance with the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018.

2.1 To provide: 

• a) a fair and transparent process to complainants; 
• b) a procedure which resolves concerns as swiftly as possible; 
• c) a thorough investigation into complaints received; 
• d) improvements to our services; and 
• e) an accurate recording, monitoring and reporting of complaints.

3.1 WHEN DOES THIS POLICY APPLY? 

3.1.1 This policy can be used if you have already approached us about a concern but are unhappy with the response that we have provided. 

3.1.2 This policy applies if you have a serious concern involving: 

• safeguarding matters; 
• discrimination; 
• disclosure of matters of public interest; 
• inappropriate conduct of a College employee or College learner; 
• an allegation of fraud; 
• or a serious service failure. 

This list is not exhaustive but provides examples of serious matters. 

3.1.3 Following initial investigation, where there is evidence to suggest misconduct or gross misconduct of a College employee, the matter will be addressed in accordance with the College’s Human Resources procedures.

3.1.4 Complaints by learners studying a University of Wales Trinity Saint David programme at the College will in the first instance be dealt with through the College’s procedures. In the event that the complainant is not satisfied with the outcome, then the learner has a right to request that their complaint be reviewed by the University. In doing so, the University will follow its procedure for reviewing a complaint outcome. (Student Complaint Policy UWTSD).

3.2 WHEN DOES THIS POLICY NOT APPLY?

3.2.1 This policy does not apply to learner complaints about the behaviour or conduct of other learners. Complaints of this nature should be raised with the Director of Learner Services tom.snelgrove@colegsirgar.ac.uk in the first instance. 

3.2.2 The policy does not cover complaints against academic decisions made by awarding bodies or examining boards or disputes with persons not employed by or subject to the jurisdiction of the College. Advice on academic appeals procedures is available from the College’s Quality Unit by contacting sian.treharne@colegsirgar.ac.uk. The College’s Academic Appeals Policy and Procedure can be found here.

3.2.3 Sometimes concerns raised are outside of the College’s control, such as in relation to legislation and Welsh Government policy decisions. If this is the case, then we will advise you about how to make your concerns known to the most appropriate organisation. 

3.2.4 Complaints regarding fines issued on Cardigan Campus will need to be raised directly with Parking Eye. There is a complaint form available on the Parking Eye website.

3.3 WHAT CAN YOU COMPLAIN ABOUT?

3.3.1 For the purposes of this policy, a complaint is defined as the expression of a specific concern about: 

• a programme of study; 
• a related academic service; 
• the action, or lack of action, by the College or one of our employees; 
• or a related support service. 

3.3.2 Issues relating to the Welsh language, individuals’ rights to use the language and all standards as depicted in the Welsh Language Standards for the college, should be raised in the first instance with the Director of Bilingualism by contacting griffithh@ceredigion.ac.uk. 

3.3.3 Complaints about the College’s compliance with its Welsh Language Standards can also be made to the Welsh Language Commissioner. There is a complaint form available on the Welsh Language Commissioner’s website. The Head of Libraries & Welsh Language Standards ensures that the colleges’ complaints policy includes all the commitments in standards 164, 170 and 176 namely: 

• ensure you have a complaints procedure which deals with the following matters: o how you intend to deal with complaints regarding your compliance with the service delivery standards, policy standards and operational standards with which you have a duty to comply, and 
• how you will provide training for your staff regarding dealing with those complaints. 

3.3.4 We do not treat any of the following as a complaint: 

• A first request for service or the reporting of a concern. You must give the relevant Department/Faculty the chance to resolve your concern in the first instance, unless your complaint is of a serious nature. Please see section 3.2.1. 
• A request for information or an explanation of a policy or practice. 
• Where a final decision has been reached in accordance with another College policy, dissatisfaction with that outcome cannot be submitted as a complaint. 
• A claim for compensation from the College. 
• Issues that are in court or have already been heard by a court or a tribunal. 
• Issues that are over six months old and there is no reasonable reason submitted for the delay in raising the complaint. 
• An attempt to reopen or reconsider a complaint that has been concluded.

3.4 WHO CAN COMPLAIN?

3.4.1 The following individuals can complain: 

• a) learners; 
• b) commercial customers; 
• c) parent/guardian; or 
• d) an employer who has accessed our services

3.4.2 Groups of learners can make formal complaints. In this instance, we will require 2 nominated representatives for ease of communication. 

3.4.3 Issues with third party providers will not be dealt with under this policy. 3.4.4 You can complain on an individual’s behalf where they are: 

• under 18; and/or 
• unable to do so themselves (where it can be evidenced that they lack capacity to do so). It is the College’s process that any learner concerned will be spoken to unless there are circumstances where this is not possible.

3.5 HOW CAN YOU COMPLAIN?

3.5.1 Email: complaints@colegsirgar.ac.uk 

3.5.2 Write to: 

The Complaints Team 

Principal’s Office 

Coleg Sir Gar 

Graig Campus 

Sandy Road 

Llanelli 

SA15 4DN 

3.5.3 Telephone: Contact the Complaints Team on 01554 748004 / 8006

4.1 COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE 

4.1.1 The College will receive written or verbal complaints in Welsh or English and neither will be treated less favourably. 

4.1.2 The College will operate a Complaints Policy that has 3 stages: Informal, Formal and Review. All three stages will be available in Welsh or English. 

4.1.3 At the Formal and Review stages, the Principal’s office will log all formal complaints either in progress or resolved and maintain a record of all appeals and outcomes for a minimum of 2 years. The Clerk to the Board will maintain a record of all referrals following appeal in line with normal Board meeting records.

* Concerns and complaints received outside of College term-time may go over the working days outlined above due to staff availability

4.2 COMPLETION OF PROCEDURES AND INDEPENDENT REVIEW

4.2.1 The Completion of Procedure letter confirms that the internal procedures of the College in relation to the complaint have been completed. The letter will indicate whether or not a review of the complaint outcome was requested. The complainant will be advised via the Completion of Procedures letter, that: 

• a) he/she can take his/her complaint to the Board of Governors (applicable to Further Education learners or other stakeholders) 
• b) he/she can take his/her complaint to the B-WBL Consortium (applicable to Work Based Learning learners) 
• c) he/she can take his/her complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator, OIA, (applicable to Higher Education learners) 
• d) he/she can take his/her complaint to the Welsh Language Commissioner’s Office (applicable to complaints relating specifically to the Welsh Language Standards). 

4.2.2 The Clerk to the Board will maintain a record of all FE reviews for a minimum of 2 years. 

4.2.3 Complaints can only be referred to the Board of Governors if evidence can be supplied to show that the process has not been followed as outlined in this policy. Requests for a review by the Board of Governors should be sent to the Clerk to the Board, Coleg Sir Gar, Llanelli, SA15 4DN or by e-mail to damion.gee@colegsirgar.ac.uk. The Clerk to the Board will make a decision whether an appeal will be granted and heard by a panel of Governors. The panel will consist of the Clerk to the Board, The Chair/Vice Chair of the Board and 2 other members of the Governing Body. Independent review requests must be submitted within 10 working days of the date stated on the Completion of Procedures letter. The Clerk to the Board will normally acknowledge it in writing within 5 working days. The review panel will meet within 15 working days of the decision to undertake a review. If it is not possible to be completed within the timescale, you will be informed in writing of the reasons and the new deadline. 

4.2.4 Complaints to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) for Higher Education must be made within 12 months of the date of the Completion of Procedures letter. Full details of the procedure are available from the Academic Office or from the OIA website: www.oiahe.org.uk

4.3 LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

4.3.1 In the event of a learner commencing any legal proceedings or in the event of proceedings being commenced against the complainant in relation to a complaint, the above procedures may be suspended or abandoned at the College’s discretion

4.4 REPORTING ON COMPLAINTS

4.4.1 The Vice Principal of Planning, Learners & Communication shall report annually to the Board of Directors on the operation of these procedures in a form that maintains confidentiality and enables the College to reflect upon lessons learnt from learner complaints and disseminate advice accordingly. 

4.4.2 Any complaints which relate to bullying, harassment or discrimination of individuals who have one or more of the protected characteristics, as specified in the Equality Act 2010, will be reported on separately in the annual complaints report. 

4.4.3 The Vice Principal of Planning, Learners & Communication shall also report to the B-WBL Consortium on complaints relating to Work Based Learners.

4.4.4 The Director of Bilingualism and Head of Libraries & Welsh Language Standards shall also prepare an annual report for the Welsh Language Commissioner, in Welsh, which includes the number of complaints it has received in relation to the Welsh Language Standards.

4.5 COMPLAINTS AGAINST SENIOR POST HOLDERS

4.5.1 Senior post holders at the College include the Principal, Vice Principals and the Chief Operating Officer. Complaints against a senior post holder should be made to the Chair of the Board of Directors in the first instance and addressed to the Clerk to the Board, Coleg Sir Gar, Llanelli, SA15 4DN or by e-mail to damion.gee@colegsirgar.ac.uk. 

4.5.2 In such an event, the formal complaints procedures will apply and a member of the Board of Directors will be appointed to consider the complaint. 

4.5.3 Complaints against the Chair of the Board, a Director or the Board of Directors should be addressed to the Clerk to the Board or the Principal’s office. 

4.5.4 Complaints against the Clerk to the Board should be addressed to the Chair of the Board via the Principal’s office.

5.1 This policy has been developed at College Management level and approved by the Executive and Governors. 

5.2 It has been subject to an Equality Impact Assessment. 

5.3 It has been subject to a Welsh Language Impact Assessment. 

5.4 It has been subject to a Privacy Impact Assessment.