COLLEGE POLICIES

DISCIPLINARY & COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

Complaints Policy

Fine Arts College is committed to ensuring that all complaints are acted upon fairly. The complaints process should:

• be simple to understand.
• be impartial.
• deal with issues promptly.
• respect confidentiality.
• provide an effective response and redress, where appropriate.
• influence how the College operates in future if there are opportunities for improvement.

Complaints Procedure for Students
(this can be found in the student contract).

Should a problem not be resolved with the Personal Tutor then the complaints procedure is as follows:

• Discussion with one of the Principals with or without parent/guardian.
• Present problem(s) in writing to Principals to be discussed by senior management.
• Discussion with Principals, senior management, parent/guardian and student.

All stages of the above will be recorded and kept both in the student file and in the complaints folder. All complaints from students will be dealt with immediately and ideally resolved within 10 days.

Complaints Procedure for Parents

• Initial complaint to be made by email to the main Fine Arts address; mail@hampsteadfinearts.com
• Every effort is made to resolve the complaint by the administrator before it goes to the personal tutor.
• In the event that this does not resolve the complaint then the issue will be addressed by the personal tutor, not the subject tutor. Any complaint or concern should be resolved informally whenever possible. Staff should always try to resolve a complaint, not make the situation worse.
• If none of these measures resolve the complaint and parents are not satisfied with the response from the College they will be asked to provide a formal complaint in writing to the Principals and/or senior management. The Principals may then invite the parents to college for a meeting to discuss the matter further.
• A formal response will be written and given to the parents. This will also be kept in the student file and the complaints folder.
• If parents are not satisfied with the response to the written complaint the Principals may also appoint a panel of at least three people, who have not been directly involved in the matters detailed in the complaint, one of whom will be entirely independent of the management and running of the college. Parents are invited to attend the panel hearing and to be accompanied by third party if they wish.
• The panel may make recommendations or may report findings; copies of which will be sent to the complainant and, where relevant, the person complained about. Findings and recommendations will be stored securely in the students file and in the complaints folder.
• The recommended maximum timescale for resolution of the issue is 20 working days from receipt of complaint.
• Any correspondence, statements, meeting minutes or panel hearing minutes and any other written record at any stage of the complaint will be stored confidentially and securely in the students file and in the complaints folder.
• Records will detail whether they are resolved at the preliminary stage or whether they are proceeded to a panel hearing.
• All staff must follow the procedures outlined in the ‘Tutors Notes’.

There will be occasions when, despite all stages of the procedures having been followed, the complainant remains dissatisfied. If the complainant tries to reopen the same issue, the Principal is able to inform them in writing that the procedure has been exhausted and that the matter is now closed at College level.

This does not preclude a complaint being escalated to the Local Government Ombudsman service, which will make an independent judgment about each case.

Complaint Procedure for Staff

• Discussion with one of the Principals with another member of staff present.
• If this meeting does not resolve the problem, it is asked that the complaint is presented in writing to be discussed by senior management. They will deliberate and propose a plan of action. This can consist of a procedure of continual monitoring and assessment.
• Discussion with Principals, senior management and the member of staff will continue until the problem is rectified. All meetings will be minuted and kept in the staff file and the complaints file.

There will be occasions when, despite all stages of the procedures having been followed, the complainant remains dissatisfied. If the complainant tries to reopen the same issue, the Principal is able to inform them in writing that the procedure has been exhausted and that the matter is now closed at College level.

At any stage a staff member can request to have a third party person with them in the meeting to discuss the situation.

This does not preclude a complaint being escalated to the Local Government Ombudsman service, which will make an independent judgment about each case.

Any response from the Principal to the complainant may include any of the following:

• an apology.
• a clear acknowledgement that the College has been at fault.
• an explanation of the steps that are being taken to avoid such a problem in the future.
• an explanation of any misunderstanding on the part of the complainant about what may have happened.
• a clarification of College policy, if necessary.
• any actions that may help in providing the complainant with redress.

If this response is given verbally, it should be followed up with a written reply.

A meeting will follow the procedure:

• the complainant is invited to outline their complaint.
• witnesses may be called in to support the complainant.
• the Principal has the opportunity to question the complainant and/or witnesses.
• witnesses may be called to support the Principal.
• the complainant may question the Principal and/or witnesses.
• the panel may ask questions at any point.
• both parties leave while the panel deliberates in confidence.

Discipline with Students

The follow is a disciplinary procedure, which applies for persistent breaking of College rules by students.

Normally, the procedure will be followed in the order of the stages set out below, but for offences of a serious nature the procedure may begin at one of the later stages.

Stage 1 – Oral warning
Stage 2 – Written warning
Stage 3 – Final written warning
Stage 4 – Permanent exclusion

At each stage the student’s parent or guardian will be notified and will receive written summary of the warning and layout of the procedure.

Discipline with Staff

The follow is a disciplinary procedure, which applies for staff members in Fine Arts College, used to address either persistent problems or serious misconduct.

Normally, the procedure will be followed in the order of the stages set out below, but for offences of a serious nature the procedure may begin at one of the later stages.

Stage 1 – Oral warning
Stage 2 – Written warning
Stage 3 – Final written warning
Stage 4 – Permanent exclusion

At each stage the member of staff will receive written summary of the warning and layout of the procedure.

This policy is reviewed annually and is available for inspection by staff or parents at any time on application to the Principal