Complaints Policy and Process

Policy

Reed Learning is committed to maintaining high standards in all aspects of the delivery and administration of apprenticeship and CIPD qualification programmes, assured by a rigorous quality assurance process that ensures learners make good process, achieve well and have a positive experience.

We aim to ensure a consistent standard of high quality for learners and to provide them with the best support to achieve their learning goals. We undertake this as outlined in our Quality Assurance & Evaluation process.

Gathering and analysing employer and learner feedback is a key feature of the process.

Whilst our explicit aim is to ensure that delivery and support are of a high standard, we do recognise that on occasion circumstances may arise which lead to a complaint. In respect of this our policy is to encourage free communication to ensure any problems arising during the course of our programmes can be discussed and resolved to the satisfaction of all concerned.

Our aim is that all problems/complaints should be resolved as close as possible to their point of origin and with the minimum of formality.

Where an issue cannot be resolved informally it should be dealt with under the formal procedure set out below. The specific circumstances of each case will be considered to determine the correct course of action to be taken. Appeals against assessment decisions should be made by following the Appeals Procedure.

Procedure

The complainant should inform us of any complaint within ten working days of the incident. Current students with access to the Reed Learning VLE should complete the complaints form on the learning platform. Those without access to the VLE should make their complaint by emailing hello@reedlearning.com. The complaint should be in writing as a formal letter/email of complaint.

The complaint will be assigned to a member of the leadership team (for sales complaints) or a member of the Support team (for current students) who will investigate; this will often involve a conversation directly with the complainant in order to fully understand the issue.

The respondent will reply in writing within 10 working days of receiving the formal notification of complaint. The response will include the details of the complaint, the findings from the investigation, the final decision (Upheld, Partially Upheld, Not Upheld) and any actions to be taken.

If the customer is not satisfied with the outcome of the investigation, they may submit an appeal within 10 working days of receiving the decision. The appeal will be reviewed by a senior representative not involved in the original decision. The appeal process involves a reassessment of all evidence and additional discussions if necessary. A final decision will be communicated within 10 working days.

If a customer is dissatisfied with Reed Learning’s response, they are entitled to escalate the matter to the relevant awarding body or to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) if appropriate. Information about this right, along with the relevant FOS contact details, is provided on the company’s website and on Reed Learning’s final written response to the complaint.

CIPD students can contact CIPD on 020 8612 6200.

Apprentices and Employers can contact the apprenticeship helpline regarding Apprenticeship concerns, complaints and enquiries:
National Apprenticeship Helpline
email: nationalhelpdesk@apprenticeships.gov.uk
telephone: 0800 015 0400

The Financial Ombudsman Service can be contacted via their website:
www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk

Records

A copy of the final response letter and related documents will be stored in accordance with the Data Protection Act for a minimum of three years. Records will be used to monitor trends and improve processes.

Quality improvement

Reed Learning reviews and updates the Quality Assurance strategy at least annually in line with our ethos of continuous improvement; our quality assurance & evaluation process ensures that we are constantly looking for ways to improve and, in this respect, we consider that complaints provide us with important insight. They are considered as part of the ongoing analysis of employer and learner feedback as outlined below.

We record the complaints on a database which helps us track and categorise them. The complaints are shared and discussed with the wider team. Depending on the incident this can be at the monthly delivery team meetings or at the Quarterly all-employee training days which help identify important areas for improvement across programmes, services, policies and procedures. Our priority is to expedite any change or improvement which helps us respond positively to learner’s needs.