Appeals and Complaints Policy

What is a Concern?

Tutoring Barcelona defines a concern as “an expression of worry or doubt over an issue considered to be important and for which reassurances are needed”.

Where possible, our centre will aim to resolve concerns through day-to-day communication with the classroom teachers, department heads and the director. Parents and carers also have the opportunity to raise a concern with the director by organising an appointment via email.

What is a Complaint?

Tutoring Barcelona defines a complaint as “an expression of dissatisfaction about actions taken or a lack of action, whether expressed orally or in writing.” This policy addresses the steps involved with following up and addressing complaints without our centre.

Process of Making a Complaint or Raising a Concern

Our centre takes great pride in the quality of teaching and pastoral care provided to our students. If families or members of the community have a concern or complaint, the steps below should be followed to ensure a solution can be reached.

A concern or complaint can be made in person, in writing or by calling the centre. Third parties can also act on the behalf of a person wanting to make a complaint, so long as they have the consent of the parties involved.

There are three types of complaints that can be made within our centre, following a progression approach through each stage:

Informal complaints or concerns;
Formal complaints or concerns;
Resolving complaints or concerns with the help of outside

The steps involved for handling each type of complaint are outlined below.

Procedure for Raising an Informal Concern or Complaint

In the first instance, concerns or complaints should be raised with the student’s teacher in which the matter relates In many cases, opening a dialogue about the issue, coming up with an action plan and agreeing upon a date to follow up on the matter, will see a satisfactory resolution of the matter.

If the teacher needs support with solving the matter, the centre director will consult with the teacher involved. If necessary, the director will also attend meetings with the teacher and In this case, the teacher will be the one facilitating the meeting and initiating an action plan and the director will be there to support the teacher and the family and will intervene where necessary.
If the centre director is contacted in the first instance, the teacher in which the complaint relates to will be notified. This is because it may be more appropriate for the teacher involved to follow up on the If this is the case, the aim will be to solve the matter informally, with a meeting set up between the teacher and the family.
Informal complaints will be addressed within five working days of the complaint being initially received by a member of staff within our If the issues need longer to be addressed, our staff will notify the family and adjust the follow up timeframe.
Documentation of all complaints will be kept on file at the centre. This documentation will include the initial complaint, the members of staff who assisted with resolving the matter, how the matter was resolved and dates for follow up
If the matter remains unresolved after meeting with the teacher, and, when necessary, involving the director, the matter will be referred to the steps involved with undertaking a formal

Procedure for Raising a Formal Concern or Complaint

If the matter has not been possible to solve informally, the family are advised to put their complaint in writing to the centre
Upon receipt of the complaint, the centre director will respond to the family within five working days, detailing how the centre will respond and

At this point, one of two courses of action will be taken:

A meeting will be organised with the director and the family to discuss the matter, come up with a solution and determine appropriate steps to follow up on the issues. It is expected that this meeting will lead to a resolution being reached to a satisfactory

The director will need to investigate the issue further to establish all of the facts. This will involve meeting with the relevant persons and keeping detailed records in order to understand the situation. In this situation, the family will be notified of this course of action and the center director will respond within 7 working

Once the investigations have been carried out, the family will be notified, either via email or in a meeting. It is expected that this meeting will lead to a resolution being reached to a satisfactory level.

If at this point, a satisfactory resolution has not been reached, the matter will be resolved with the help of outside

Procedure for Raising a Formal Concern or Complaint, with the help of Outside Counsel

In the case that the complaint has been solved to the satisfaction of the family, the matter will be resolved with the assistance of outside legal counsel to facilitate a
In this instance, Tutoring Barcelona’s legal advisors will be contacted and will be asked to facilitate a meeting between the family and the centre director. In addition to Tutoring Barcelona’s legal advisors, an independent lawyer will also be asked to join the panel to ensure negotiations are unbiased to any one
In the meeting/s, a written record of discussions and proceedings will be documented, but recordings are not
Families are permitted to be accompanied to the formal meeting with one other Legal representation is not permitted.
Where possible, the independent lawyer will aim to resolve the family’s complaint immediately, without the need for further investigations or follow ups. If this is not possible, after the meeting, the independent lawyer will reach a decision and make recommendations, within ten working days of the meeting. Communication to parents and to the director will be in writing with explanations to support decisions
At this point, the findings are final and the complaint is considered

Anonymous Complaints

Anonymous complaints will not normally be investigated. However, where appropriate, the director may determine that an anonymous complaint does in fact warrant an investigation.

Time Frames for Raising a Concern or Complaint

Complaints must be raised within three months of the incident occurring. If the incident is in relation to a series of related incidents which have occurred, the complaint must be made within three months of the last of these incidents. Complaints made outside of these time frames will be investigated in exceptional circumstances.

Complaints Received Outside of Term Time

Complaints received outside of term time will be considered to have been received on the final day of the school term.

Involvement of Outside Bodies

If other bodies are investigating aspects related to the complaint, for example the police or local authority, this may impact upon Tutoring Barcelona’s ability to respond within the allocated time frames of each complaint stage.

If a complainant commences legal action against The Tutoring Barcelona Academy, a decision will be made as to whether to suspend the complaint procedure until the legal proceedings have been concluded.

Resolving complaints

At each stage in the complaints or concerns proceedings, resolving an issue may offer one or more of the following:

an written or verbal explanation
an admission that the situation could have been handled in a different manner
an assurance that we will try to ensure the event outlined in the complaint will not reoccur
an explanation of the steps that will be taken to ensure the event will not happen again
an indication of the time period within which any changes will be made
a commitment to review school policies
an apology

Withdrawal of a Complaint

If a complainant wants to withdraw their complaint, we will ask them to confirm this in writing. Completed by: Hannah Grech

Date Completed: September 2020

Date for Review: September 2021