Initial Teacher Training Complaints Policy

ITE Complaints Policy

1. Introduction

Unless otherwise stated, policies that refer to trainees also apply to trainee teachers on the following programmes:

• NIoT School Direct Primary and Secondary Initial Teacher Education – salaried and non-salaried (fee-paying)
• NIoT Postgraduate Teaching Apprenticeship (PGTA) apprentices.
• The policy also applies to the NIoT Assessment Only route for QTS.

2. Definition and Types of Complaints

A complaint may be defined as an expression of dissatisfaction however made, about actions taken or a lack of action, or about the standards of service provided by, or on behalf of, the NIoT.

In all instances, if an employee (salaried school direct or PGTA apprentice) wishes to raise a complaint they should speak to their Managing Mentor or NIoT Tutor in the first instance.

If a non-salaried (fee-paying) trainee teacher wishes to raise a complaint, they should speak to their NIoT tutor in the first instance.

Examples of complaints include:

• Misleading or incorrect information in prospectuses or promotional material and other information provided by the provider
• Failure by the provider to meet obligations including those outlined in course/student handbooks or the NIoT’s Student Charter
• Concerns about the delivery, teaching or administration of a programme including, where applicable, that provided by a partner provider
• Poor quality of facilities, learning resources or services provided directly by the provider or any partners
• Complaints involving other organisations or contractors providing a service on behalf of the provider.

If the complaint involves their Managing Mentor or NIoT Tutor, then they should speak to a suitable senior manager, ideally, the Head of ITE/AC ITE Lead, booking an appointment via their regional ITT email address – see Annex 1.

Complaints relating to allegations of bullying, harassment or victimisation by members of staff are associated with the NIoT’s policies and procedures on grievance and dignity and should be addressed in the first instance to the NIoT’s Head of People. If the complaint is deemed to be within the scope of the NIoT’s policies and procedures on grievance and dignity and informal resolution is not appropriate, then a formal investigation in accordance with the NIoT’s policy and procedures will be undertaken.

The NIoT’s Academic Registrar will be informed that a complaint has been made and against whom (no further details will be divulged). Once the NIoT’s dignity investigation procedures have been completed, if the trainee’s allegations are proven, then the trainee may bring a Level 2 complaint relating to the impact of the behaviour on their course of study within one month of the date of the outcome letter.

If a trainee’s complaint relates to allegations of bullying, harassment, or victimisation by members of staff and to matters which are eligible for consideration under the terms of the NIoT’s policy on trainee complaints, the NIoT reserves the right to appoint one individual to consider the issues within the parameters of the NIoT’s procedures for both dignity within the NIoT and the NIoT’s policy on trainee complaints.

3. Who can use the NIoT’s ITE Complaints Policy

The NIoT’s complaints procedure may only be used by an individual who is, or has been, registered as a trainee or apprentice teacher of the NIoT and who is not recorded as being a leaver.

Former trainees or apprentices can submit a complaint within three months of leaving. A leaver may have deferred, withdrawn or had their place on the course terminated.

This applies to trainees at all NIoT delivery sites.

In addition, please be aware that:

• A group of trainees may use this procedure to make a collective complaint provided that one trainee identifies themselves as the main contact for purposes of communication and has written consent from others that wish to be named as part of the complaint.
• Anyone wishing to make a complaint is encouraged to do so personally but is not required to do so.
• Anonymous complaints will not be considered unless there are exceptional and evidence-based reasons to do so. In many circumstances, raising a concern anonymously could impede the investigation and communication of the outcome.

4. Guiding principles

The aim of this Policy is to enable any trainee, or a former trainee on the NIoT’s ITE Training Programme to have their concerns heard and to seek redress as appropriate.

The intention is that complaints should be settled quickly and fairly and should be first dealt with as close to the source as possible, having already attempted to resolve this via either school-based or course-based support arrangements.

All complaints should be treated seriously, and trainees must not suffer any disadvantage or recrimination as a result of making a complaint in good faith. However, it is expected that trainees or people communicating on behalf of a trainee will conduct themselves responsibly and treat the process and those members of the NIoT involved in the process with respect at all times.

A complaint by a trainee relates to actions which their employer or other employees have taken or are contemplating taking in relation to them (for salaried trainees) or actions which their placement school employees have taken or are contemplating taking in relation to them (for nonsalaried trainees).

The complaint must be one that lies within the remit of the NIoT to resolve, e.g. it must not be a complaint about matters determined by legislation or collective agreements.

Any concerns arising from disciplinary action should be resolved by appeal within the NIoT’s Disciplinary Policy.

A trainee who is a member of a Trade Union may consult that Trade Union’s representative before invoking the complaint procedure but should raise the problem personally with their immediate line manager (Managing Mentor or NIoT Tutor dependent on whether the trainee is salaried or non-salaried).

Trainees should recognise that in some cases in order to fully investigate the concerns raised and provide adequate answers this process may take longer to resolve.

In addition, please be aware of the following:

• Mediation can be a useful means of resolving matters of complaint where the parties involved are willing to engage voluntarily in the process in an attempt to work things out. The NIoT may make an offer of mediation to students at any stage of the NIoT’s complaints procedure.
• Complaints must be substantiated with evidence, expressed in clear and succinct English and submitted within prescribed timescales.
• Complaints submitted outside of the timescales stipulated in the procedure will only be considered in the most exceptional circumstances and where there is good reason, supported by evidence, for the late submission.
• The NIoT is committed to ensuring that complaints are handled in accordance with its published procedure. Occasionally, it may be sensible for the NIoT to deviate from procedure if strict adherence to it could give rise to perceptions of prejudice or bias.

5. Intentions.

It is important that trainees raising concerns do so because they have a genuine issue about work or the training programme that has not been resolved via general school or programme support. Any trainee who is found to have made a malicious or vexatious claim, for example, for the purposes of damaging the career of a peer or colleague, may be subject to disciplinary action being taken.

This is an internal and confidential process within the programme and NIoT at both informal and formal stage following correct procedures as outlined in this Policy and must not be shared with external parties at complaint stage, even where related to them.

6. Attendance at the Meeting

The trainee raising the concern should make every effort to attend the investigation meeting. The trainee will, where possible, be given 5 working days’ notice of the meeting to ensure they are able to attend. They have the right to be accompanied by a trade union representative or a colleague at any investigation meeting.

The trainee may request to postpone the investigation meeting once, to a time suitable for the trainee, the representative and the manager. The NIoT will postpone the hearing to a time proposed by the trainee provided that the alternative time is both reasonable and not more than 5 working days after the date originally proposed.

If the trainee or their representative fails to attend the re-scheduled meeting, then the manager may continue with the investigation process in the trainee or representative’s absence and make a decision based on the information available to them at the relevant time.

If the trainee is unable to attend the meeting due to ill health, then they can choose to: submit additional written information; confirm that the details of the complaint are contained within the original complaint letter.

7. Confidentiality

All individuals involved in this process have a responsibility to act professionally at all times. Information shared or obtained during the handling of a complaint will be treated sensitively.

Confidentiality will be preserved as far as is appropriate.

If anyone involved in the process does not respect the confidentiality of the process and is sharing information inappropriately then disciplinary action may be taken.

8. Maintenance of Records

All relevant documentation will be kept securely and will only be made available to individuals whose duties require access to this information.

In certain circumstances, all papers obtained and created whilst dealing with a complaint may have to be fully disclosed for example, at an employment tribunal.

Once the complaint has been completed the documentation should be kept in the trainee’s personnel file for 12 months after the conclusion of the case. After this period of time the file must be removed from the individual’s personnel folder but will be archived by the NIoT.

9. Quality Assurance

Complaints form part of the NIoT’s process of quality review and improvement and are considered as providing valuable feedback rather than criticism. The NIoT will widely publicise information about procedures to trainees and staff.

Trainees will be notified early in the process if the remedy sought within the complaint is beyond the power of the NIoT to deliver. It is important for trainees to note that:

• The Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) cannot consider matters which are or which have been the subject of court proceedings.
• Similarly, the NIoT reserves the right to decline, suspend or to discontinue a complaint under the Trainee Complaints Procedure, in the event that legal proceedings are commenced and the claim concerns the same subject matter as the complaint.

10. Recording and monitoring of complaints

It is important that complaints are monitored in order to improve the trainee experience. NIoT processes personal data collected during the policy in accordance with our data protection policy. In particular, data collected as part of informal complaints is held securely and accessed by, and disclosed to, individuals only for the purposes of responding to the complaints or conducting the complaints policy. You should immediately report any inappropriate access or disclosure of employee data in accordance with our data protection policy as this constitutes a data protection breach

The NIoT’s Academic Registrar will record and provide reports to indicate the nature of complaints and complainants and resultant action. Such reports will:

• Feed into the monitoring and evaluation procedure at various levels of the NIoT.
• Feed directly into appropriate NIoT-wide committees.
• Assist in identifying problems and trends across the NIoT
• Form the basis of positive publicity, in demonstrating that identified issues have been resolved.
• Be made available to NIoT trainee representative

11. Roles and responsibilities

Individual: Trainee responsibilities:

• Speak to their Managing Mentor (for school issues) or NIoT Tutor (for concerns relating to the programme, or not yet addressed by the school) in the first instance to discuss the complaint and try to resolve informally.
• Following this discussion, if a satisfactory conclusion is not achieved then the trainee should book an appointment or send a letter to the Head of ITE/AC ITE Lead setting out the reasons for the formal complaint.
• Attend any investigation meeting and be prepared to engage openly in discussion.

Manager: Managing Mentor or NIoT Tutor responsibilities:

• Try to resolve the complaint informally with the trainee. • If attempts at informal resolution are not successful, consult with the Head of ITE/AC ITE Lead, and progress the complaint in line with formal procedures as necessary.
• Where appropriate, ensure the trainee is kept up to date with progress of the procedure until the outcome has been communicated.

12. Representative

At any stage of the formal procedure, the trainee concerned may be accompanied by:

• A workplace colleagues
• A Trade Union representative

The representative shall be allowed to address the hearing to put and sum up the trainee’s case, respond on behalf of the trainee to any views expressed at the meeting and confer with the trainee during the hearing. The representative does not, however, have the right to answer questions on the trainee’s behalf, address the hearing if the trainee does not wish it or prevent the employer/NIoT representative from explaining their case. There will be no reprisals for the representative because they have supported a trainee through this process. The representative must respect the confidentiality of the complaint and should not discuss this matter with anyone other than the trainee they are supporting

If the representative is unavailable at the time the meeting is scheduled and will not be available for more than 5 working days afterwards, the trainee may be required to seek alternative representation.

If the choice of workplace representative is unsuitable, for example, if the representative has a conflict of interest, a trainee may be asked to choose someone else.

Trainees do not have the right to be accompanied by relatives, friends or legal advisers unless they also meet the criteria above.

13. Complaint/Appeal Panel

The designated complaint/appeal hearer will be an independent senior manager to ensure fairness and consistency of approach. They are the decision maker in this process and will complete any investigations necessary.

14. Trainee Complaints Procedure

Stage 1: Informal Process

The trainee should speak to their Managing Mentor or NIoT Tutor to address the issue. If the issue involves the Managing Mentor or NIoT Tutor then they should speak to an appropriate senior manager, ideally the Head of ITE/AC ITE Lead. The trainee should receive a reply as soon as possible, within 5 working days, even if it is only an interim reply.

The Managing Mentor or NIoT Tutor will then review the concerns raised by the trainee to try to resolve informally. They should then confirm back to the trainee the outcome of their review and what actions, if any, have been taken. If the trainee is not satisfied with the outcome, they can then proceed to Stage 2. Only in exceptional circumstances should a complaint move straight to the formal Stage 2.

Figure 1: Informal Procedure

1. Initial concern

It’s important to create a work climate in which people are given an opportunity to resolve any problems without resorting to a formal procedure. Therefore, the first stage is to allow trainee to discuss any issues in an informal environment with their Managing Mentor (school complaints) or NIoT Tutor (programme complaints).

1. Facilitate conversations

A formal complaint would only be raised after all reasonable efforts have been made by both parties to resolve concerns informally. Therefore, once an issue has been raised the trainee and their Managing Mentor or NIoT Tutor should try to facilitate a resolution with any individuals concerned.

1. Support

Support for both managers and trainees is available by contacting your HR department. If you’re unable to resolve the issues informally then the trainee will need to raise a formal complaint.

Stage 2: Formal Complaint Process

If the trainee is not satisfied with the informal process, they will need to summarise their complaint in writing, including the remedy sought, to the Head of ITE/AC ITE Lead or if the complaint is in relation to the Head of ITE/AC ITE Lead, the Head of HR. The Head of ITE/AC ITE Lead or Head of HR will appoint a manager to hear the complaint who has had no prior involvement in the case. This can be any senior leader within the NIoT. Current trainees should raise the complaint within 15 working days of the event which has given rise to the complaint or, if a series of events have given rise to the complaint, within 15 days of the final event in the series

The complaint hearer (or investigator) will then write to the trainee and invite them to a hearing as soon as possible. The trainee may be accompanied by a representative to discuss the complaint. This meeting will be held within 10 working days of the complaint letter being received by the Head of ITE/AC ITE Lead.

The hearer may be accompanied by another senior member of staff, or a member of the NIoT HR team. The hearing should not involve the individual who is named in the complaint. If it is deemed appropriate the hearer may facilitate a session between trainees to resolve the issue, the trainees would be entitled to bring a representative to this session.

The complaint hearer will fully investigate the concerns raised by the trainee; this may include interviewing individuals involved in the complaint or as witnesses, as well as obtaining any relevant documentation. The timescale of this will vary depending on the complexity of the case but will usually be completed within 10 working days.

The complaint hearer will provide a written outcome of the complaint to the trainee within 5-10 working days of the investigation being completed, depending on the complexity of the case (securely shared letter via email and original letter posted via recorded delivery).

Figure 2: Formal complaints

1. Trainee raises complaint

The trainee set out their complaint in writing to the Head of ITE/AC ITE Lead or Head of HR, who will acknowledge receipt of the letter and advise the individual of the next steps, within 5 working days.

1. Complaint hearer

The complaint hearer will be designated by the Head of ITE/AC ITE Lead or Head of HR. This person will be independent from the complaint issue. The complaint hearer will work with their HR team who will provide support and guidance.

1. Preparations

The complaint hearer will provide 5 working days’ notice to the trainee and advise of their rights to be accompanied (see 3.3 above).

1. Meeting

This is a formal meeting conducted by the complaint hearer who may be supported by a HR representative. As this is a formal meeting, we will take summary notes of the meeting.

1. Investigation

Following the meeting there may be a requirement to investigate the issues. This will be completed by the complaint hearer. This investigation may include interviews with individuals involved in the complaint or witnesses, as well as obtaining any relevant documentation.

1. Outcome

The complaint hearer has a responsibility to decide an outcome following a review of all of the evidence. They must confirm the decision in writing to the trainee within 5-10 working days. The trainee is entitled to appeal the decision within 5 working days of receiving the outcome

Raising a complaint whilst involved in another procedure

If a complaint is raised during the informal or formal stages of another procedure for example:

• Disciplinary
• Formal assessment
• Sickness absence

The NIoT reserves the right to consider the issues raised within the context of that procedure rather than as a separate complaint.

15. Responsibilities of Trainees

Level 1: Local Level (informal resolution)

• You are expected to try to resolve a complaint directly, informally and quickly with the person/department concerned. In some circumstances, in the first instance, you may prefer to approach a different member of staff, for example your NIoT Tutor (if you are fee-paying) or your Managing Mentor (if you are salaried).
• You should raise the complaint within 15 working days of the unsatisfactory circumstances occurring, at the latest. The sooner the matter is raised, the better.
• You are expected to explain clearly what the problem is and what outcome you are seeking.
• If you are dissatisfied with the outcome and are seeking a different outcome, you can escalate your complaint to level 2.

Level 2: NIoT Head of ITE/AC ITE Lead, formal consideration

• You should complete the NIoT’s Level 2 Complaints Form within 15 working days of notification of the outcome of Level 1. Please use the Level 2 Form attached at the end of this Procedure for this purpose.
• Should you wish to request any adjustments on the basis of a disability which will enable you to access the procedure effectively, please contact the NIoT’s HR Team for further guidance.
• You must provide a clear explanation of how you attempted to resolve your complaint informally at Level 1. As a minimum, your explanation should include a specific date, a named member of staff to whom the complaint was reported and why the complaint was not resolved to your satisfaction at Level 1. You will be required to provide a copy of any written Level 1 resolution communication that you are in possession of, or evidence of completion of the informal resolution stage of this procedure.

Your complaint must be substantiated by evidence. This may comprise one, or a series of the following types of evidence: a timeline of events, reference to relevant policies, procedures and/or regulations, letters, emails, independent medical evidence, reports by professionals, witness statements, screenshots, the outcome of an investigation under the NIoT’s Dignity Policy, etc. Any evidence or appendices relevant to the complaint must be submitted at the same time as the complaint form and clearly referenced and labelled.

If you are making a Subject Access request as part of your complaint, you are expected to submit this as soon as practicably possible after the outcome of your level 1 complaint and to provide evidence of submission as part of your level 2 complaint.

It is your responsibility to make your case. Complaints will not be accepted for further investigation if:

• Your rationale for complaint is unclear
• You don’t provide evidence • You fail to include important dates, times and other details necessary for determining the eligibility of the complaint.

You are required to ensure that any evidence not written in English is translated and provided at the same time as the complaint paperwork. If your submission is unclear or unnecessarily long, you will be asked to resubmit the form in a manner that enables proper consideration of the complaint to take place. You should send the completed form to the NIoT’s ITE Faculty team via the following email address: itt@niot.org.uk

You will normally receive an outcome letter within 4 weeks of receipt of your level 2 complaint form by the NIoT’s ITE Faculty team. If the investigation will take longer than 6 weeks, you will be informed of the reason and an expected date of response.

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome, you can escalate your complaint to level 3 on the following grounds:

• You believe that a procedural irregularity has occurred in the handling and/or the investigation of the Level 2 complaint and/or
• You are in possession of additional evidence which may have affected the outcome at Level 2 but was unavailable at the time of the original Level 2 investigation and/or
• You have a compelling argument to demonstrate that the outcome at Level 2 was unreasonable. Claims of this nature must be supported by evidence and a clear rationale for the unreasonable nature of the decision. Claims that amount simply to an expression of dissatisfaction with the decision will not be considered.

Level 3: Senior NIoT Manager, Review

You should submit the NIoT’s Level 3 Complaints Form within 10 working days of notification of the outcome of the Level complaint. Please use the Level 3 Form attached at the end of this Procedure for this purpose.

You must set out the grounds of the complaint by making reference to the above standards, and must provide evidence to support your claim, including proof of why new evidence being presented was not available at the time of the submission of your level 2 complaint.

You should send the completed form to the NIoT’s ITE Faculty team via the following email address: itt@niot.org.uk

You will normally receive an outcome letter within 4 weeks of receipt of your level 3 complaint form by the Complaints and Conduct Team. If the review will take longer than 4 weeks, you will be informed of the reason and an expected date of response.

16. Responsibilities of those involved in the handling of the complaint on behalf of the NIoT

Level 1: Local Level (informal resolution)

Staff dealing with complaints are encouraged, whenever practical, to meet with the trainee to establish the precise cause of dissatisfaction, to explore the remedy sought by the trainee and to foster a mutual understanding of the issues involved.

The member of staff is expected to listen to the complaint and to try to resolve it in a straightforward, reasonable and prompt manner.

Although informal, the member of staff should make notes of any meetings and keep a record of the agreed outcome. Notes should be shared with the trainee. The trainee should be notified that the matter is deemed to be resolved and advised of the availability of Level 2 of the complaint’s procedure if the complaint is not upheld or the trainee is dissatisfied with the attempt at resolution.

Level 2: NIoT Head of ITE/AC ITE Lead, Formal Consideration

On receipt of a level 2 complaint, the NIoT’s ITE Faculty team will undertake an initial evaluation to check that the complaint is submitted under the right procedures, within the appropriate deadlines, and in the required format with supporting evidence.

The NIoT ITE Faculty will administer the complaint and will be accessible to complainants and staff at all stages of the process. The complaint will be referred to the appropriate person in the NIoT. If the subject of the complaint is a member of the NIoT’s senior management team, another member of NIoT’s senior management team or Board of Trustees will conduct the review.

The NIoT ITE Faculty will ensure that an investigation is carried out. It will not normally be appropriate to keep the name of the person investigating the complaint confidential. The investigation and its outcome must be fair and reasonable. If an investigator who has been allocated by the ITE Faculty has prior knowledge of the case and/or there is a conflict of interest, they should inform the ITE Faculty immediately.

It may be appropriate for the investigator to meet with the complainant and/or other parties named in the paperwork. Should the investigator wish to meet with the complainant, they will contact the trainee to propose this course of action and secure an appropriate date to meet. The complainant will be offered the opportunity to bring a supporter to this meeting. The supporter must be either: a trainee representative, or a Union representative. The supporter may take notes on the trainee’s behalf, make representations on the trainee’s behalf and ask questions, but may not answer questions on the trainee’s behalf.

If the ITE Faculty’s review finds in favour of the trainee, they may decide on whatever redress they think appropriate, bearing in mind the outcome sought by the trainee.

A report of the investigation will be prepared before a written response is provided to the complainant. The report will be provided to the trainee with the outcome letter.

If the complaint is not upheld, the trainee will be notified of the availability of Level 3 of the complaint’s procedure.

All outcome responses to level 2 complaints will be issued by the ITE Faculty.

Level 3: NIoT Senior Management Team Review

On receipt of a Level 3 complaint form, the NIoT Faculty team will undertake an initial evaluation to check that the complaint is submitted within the appropriate deadlines, meets the grounds for a Level 3 review and is in the required format with supporting evidence. A complaint without adequate grounds and evidence will be dismissed.

If the trainee provides evidence to support the stated grounds, the complaint will be referred to a member of the NIoT’s Senior Management Team for review.

The review stage will not usually consider the issues afresh or involve further investigation. However, in the case that new evidence has been submitted and accepted, additional investigation may be required. In reaching a decision, the reviewer is expected to be fair and reasonable.

If the complaint is upheld, the trainee will receive a written explanation of the decision.

If the NIoT senior manager does not uphold the complaint, the trainee will receive a written response giving reasons and a "Completion of Procedures" letter (see appendices) will be issued.

The NIoT senior manager may decide to uphold part, but not all, of the complaint and will respond to the trainee accordingly.

17. Right of Appeal

Appeal Process

The trainee has the right to appeal the outcome of a complaint, or a Cause for Concern outcome or a termination of their place on the course. All appeals will be heard by independent members of the Assessment Board (if an academic matter) or the Programme Board (if a non-academic matter), who have had no part in the process prior to the appeal.

Appeals against a complaint, Cause for Concern outcome or a termination should be made in writing to the NIoT HR department within 5 working days of receipt of the written decision (securely shared letter via email and original letter posted via recorded delivery). The trainee must state their full grounds for the appeal.

An appeal hearing against a complaint outcome is not a re-hearing of the case and as such, an appeal may only proceed on the following grounds:

The proper procedure was not followed, and this materially affected the decision.

The decision reached was incorrect in that the conclusion reached was not supported by the evidence presented.

Where new evidence which is pertinent to the case and was not reasonably available at the time, has become accessible.

An independent member of the Assessment Board will invite the trainee to an appeal hearing as soon as possible, providing 5 working days’ notice. The trainee will have the right to be accompanied to this meeting by a workplace colleague or trade union representative.

The Assessment Board will confirm the outcome of the appeal to the trainee in writing within 5-10 working days of the appeal hearing.

The appeal hearing is the final stage and there is no further internal right of appeal following an appeal hearing.

Right of Appeal for Written Warning

The trainee has a right of appeal against a written warning issued to them. The appeal will be heard by an independent member of the NIoT Assessment Board. The appeal chairperson will be advised by a member of the NIoT HR team.

Appeals against a written warning must be made in writing to the NIoT HR team within 5 working days of the receipt of the written decision (securely shared letter via email and original letter posted via recorded delivery). The employee must state the full grounds for the appeal.

An appeal hearing against any sanction is not a re-hearing of the disciplinary case and as such, an appeal may only proceed on the following grounds:

• The proper procedure was not followed, and this materially affected the decision.
• The decision reached was incorrect in that the conclusion reached was not supported by the evidence presented.
• The sanction awarded was too severe, taking into account the nature of the misconduct and the mitigating circumstances.
• Where new evidence has become available which is pertinent to the case and was not reasonably available at the time.

Appeal process – Right to Appeal Against a Decision to Terminate Placement

The trainee has a right of appeal to the Appeals Committee of the Assessment Board against a decision to terminate their placement on the Programme. The Appeals Committee shall consist of independent members of the Assessment Board, none of whom will have had any previous involvement in the case.

The trainee's notice of appeal should be sent to the NIoT HR department within 5 working days of receipt of the written decision to terminate (securely shared letter via email and original letter posted via recorded delivery), setting out the grounds of appeal.

Appeal hearings should be held as soon as possible after receipt of the appeal and will be conducted in the same way as Appeals referred to in paragraph 5.1 above.

In the event that the Appeal Committee of the Assessment Board does not uphold the decision to dismiss, the trainee shall be informed immediately, and the notice of dismissal shall be immediately withdrawn.

However, the trainee does have the right to refer their concerns for an Independent External review. Following the completion of the Appeal stage, the trainee is entitled to ask the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA) to review the outcome of the complaint. The complaint should be submitted to the OIA within three months of the date of the Appeal Outcome letter.

Any submission should be addressed to: Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education Second Floor Abbey Gate57-75 Kings Road Reading RG1 3AB

Figure 3: Appeal process

1. Trainee appeals the decision The trainee sets out grounds for appeal in writing to the person prescribed in the outcome letter who will acknowledge receipt of the grievance appeal.
2. Appeal hearer An appropriate independent appeal hearer for the NIoT’s Assessment Board will be allocated to the case.
3. Preparations The Assessment Board will arrange the appeal meeting with the trainee. The trainee will be, where possible, given 5 working days’ notice and advised of their rights to be accompanied (see 3.3 above)
4. Appeal meeting The appeal meeting is a formal meeting conducted by the Assessment Board who may be accompanied by NIoT HR personnel. As this is a formal meeting, summary notes of the meeting will be recorded.
5. Investigation Further investigation may sometimes be required following the appeal meeting. Any investigation will be completed by the Assessment Board.
6. Outcome The Assessment Board member/s has the responsibility to make a decision following a review of all the evidence. They must confirm the decision in writing to the employee. The decision of the Appeal is final.

18. Table summary

Timescales All reasonable steps will be taken to resolve the complaint as quickly as possible. The length of time taken to resolve a complaint will vary, depending on factors including:

• The complexity of the issue.
• the number of witnesses involved.
• Time off, for example, holiday or sickness absence.

If a complaint is raised by a trainee to deal with a current concern, we will endeavour to continue with the complaint process as soon as possible. This may require the trainee to attend a hearing whilst they are absent from work. If this is the case, the meeting can be held at an alternative location to their usual placement school or campus.

The NIoT will endeavour, given the above factors, to adhere to the following timescales which are applicable to both formal stages of the complaint process. If alternative timescales need to be applied these must be notified to all relevant parties:

Action

Acknowledgement of complaint or appeal letter to trainee

Timescale

Within 5 working days

1a.

Complaints from former trainees raised within three months of leaving the programme.

1b.

Current trainees should raise a complaint within 15 working days of the event which has given rise to the complaint or, if a series of events have given rise to the complaint, within 15 days of the final event in the series.

Action

Initial complaint meeting held

Timescale

Within 10 working days of complaint letter received by the Head of ITE/AC ITE Lead

Action

Investigation process (including interviews and gathering information)

Timescale

This will vary depending on the complexity of the case but will usually be completed within 10 working days

Action

Outcome letter following investigation

Timescale

Within 5-10 working days of investigation being complete depending on the complexity of the case.