Complaints Policy
We wish to ensure that we provide an excellent service at all times. However we understand that there may be times when you need to raise a concern about the Club and this policy deals with how you as a student or parent can make a complaint and the process that will be followed.
The Club takes complaints about conduct and behaviour very seriously and works in line with the Voracious Karate clubs procedures in the way we respond to concerns. This could be because you think that someone has acted or behaved in a way that is unsafe, unprofessional, discriminatory, offensive or intimidating.
It could also be because someone has broken important rules or policies, values and principles or laws.
We base our complaints policy on the following values and principles [which are in line with the club’s Code of Conduct and Diversity Policy].
. Equality: you should receive a proper response to your complaint, regardless of characteristics such as your age, gender, disability, race, religion, nationality or sexual orientation.
. Fairness: we believe that complaints should be dealt with fairly and openly. Unless it would put other people at risk, those affected by a complaint should have a chance to contribute and respond to any investigation.
. Safety and welfare take priority: we will always give priority to concerns that affect safety and welfare. Issues affecting children and at-risk adults training with us will be treated very seriously.
. Confidentiality: we treat complaints as confidentially as possible. Sometimes we have to discuss complaints with other organisations. If we are worried about a risk to a person or to the public, we might need to pass on our concerns to the right authorities. If necessary, we will get advice from other organisations such as the Police, Social Services.
How to make a complaint Informal complaint
Any concerns that you have as a member about the Club including the facilities, staff or other members should normally be raised in the first instance with the
Clubs Sensei’s who will endeavour to resolve the problem quickly and effectively.
Formal complaint if any matter cannot be resolved informally, or if it is of a serious nature, you may wish to make a formal written complaint.
You should put your complaint in writing and submit it to the safeguarding officer of the Club whose details are available from the Club Website.
The written complaint should set out the nature of the complaint, including any relevant facts, dates, and names of individuals involved so that we can investigate it fully.
What will we do to investigate?
. We will aim to give an initial response to your complaint within five working days. If the matter is urgent, we will respond more quickly.
. We will investigate your complaint fairly. This means that we will discuss the complaint with all of the relevant people involved. We will try to gather any information that may be relevant to handling your complaint.
. Sometimes we will ask to show copies of information from the investigation to other people to allow them to respond. This is because we believe in fairness and openness.
. We will not share information if we think that this will endanger someone’s safety or
welfare.
. We will take into consideration data protection and privacy in all dealings with any complaint.
The Club will take reasonable steps to conduct a thorough investigation and will always give priority to someone’s safety and well-being. It is important to recognise that whilst we aim to resolve all complaints, in some situations we may decide we cannot investigate or take further action (i.e. this might be due to lack of information or detail).
The Club reserves the right to end any investigation or refer it to the appropriate services. If this happens you will be given the reasons for the Club’s decision.
We will write to you, as soon as reasonably practicable to let you know how we intend to resolve the problem. If there are delays in handling your complaint for any reason, we will keep you informed. If your complaint leads to formal disciplinary action against someone, we will usually inform you about the outcome. We will not tell you the outcome if that person is a child, or if we believe that telling you would create a risk to other people. In this situation, we will still try to tell you about how you are affected by the action that we have taken.
What are the possible outcomes or results of my complaint?
. A change in the conductivity of certain activities
. A formal apology by letter or person, explanation
. An agreement to communicate or act differently in future
. Formal disciplinary action against a coach, instructor, Sensei’s, member of the team
. A decision to refer the case to another organisation such as the martial , Police, or Social Services.
. Closure of your complaint without action
Appeals
If you are not happy with the outcome you may raise a further complaint to the head of the Club, whose details are available from the website and social media platforms. This must be done in writing within 10 days of receiving the heads’ written response to your formal complaint.
The head of the club will review the matter and may undertake further investigation if required. The head of the club will write to you, as soon as reasonably practicable, to let you know of any further action that will be taken to resolve the matter.
Is there anyone else I can talk to?
Sometimes it can be useful to speak directly to someone outside the Club if:
. You need urgent advice about someone’s safety or welfare
. You don’t want to discuss the issue with someone at the Club
. Your complaint is very serious
. Your complaint involves other organisations
. You need specialist advice
Voracious Karate is able to advice on a range of different complaints, and in some cases will handle certain complaint directly. If you are worried about a child’s welfare, you can contact the following people: Voracious Karate Safeguarding Team, Child-line, the NSPCC advice line, local Social services.