The following procedure covers complaints which are about the services that Croydon QDI provides directly to the public (not complaints about related organisations, issues and decisions). These services generally involve providing continuing professional development, advice, guidance, support and relevant information.

Contents

• How do you make a complaint?
• What happens next?
• Additional procedures for specialised services within DfES
• Complaints about related organisations and issues

Croydon QDI is committed to providing a quality service and achieving the highest standards of conduct. One of the ways in which we can continue to improve our service is by listening and responding to the views of our customers. Therefore we aim to ensure that:

• making a complaint is as easy as possible;
• we treat as a complaint any clear expression of dissatisfaction with our service which calls for a response;
• we treat it seriously whether it is made in person, by telephone, by letter, by fax, or by e-mail;
• we deal with it promptly, politely and, where appropriate, informally (for example, by telephone);
• we respond in the right way - for example, with an explanation, or an apology where we have got things wrong, or information on any action taken etc;
• we learn from complaints, use them to improve our service, and publish information on complaints

How do you make a complaint?

• You can make a complaint in writing, by fax, by e-mail, by telephone or in person (by appointment please). If you are writing, faxing or e-mailing your complaint, please provide your telephone number if a response by telephone would be convenient. If you are e-mailing, please state if a reply by e-mail is required and, if not, please provide a full postal address.
• If you know the part of Croydon QDI which is relevant to your complaint, or the name or title of an appropriate member of staff eg the Tutor, please make your complaint direct to them (referring to this complaints procedure would be helpful).
• If you do not have this information, please get in touch with Janice Green, QDI, Email: janice.green@croydon.gov.uk, or telephone 020 8726 7440, who will give you the contact details for the most appropriate person.
• We will reply within 15 working days from when we receive your complaint. If it is not possible to give you a full reply within this time - for instance, because a detailed investigation is required - we will give you an interim response, telling you what is being done to deal with your complaint, when you can expect the full reply and from whom.
• That full reply will include details of who to contact next if you believe that your complaint has not been dealt with properly. This will normally be the appropriate senior member of staff.
• If, following that second response, you are still not satisfied, you can ask for your complaint to be referred to the Director of Education.
• You can, of course, ask your MP to request the independent Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (the Ombudsmen) to review your complaint and how it has been handled. (If the Ombudsmen is satisfied that your complaint has been dealt with fairly, he will close your case and, normally, we will not respond to further approaches about the matter.)

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