COMPLAINTS POLICY

Effective date: 23 May 2026

Last reviewed: 23 May 2026

1. Purpose

We are committed to providing a high standard of tuition and service. If a parent, student, tutor, or other individual is unhappy with any part of our service, we want them to tell us so we can put things right as quickly as possible.

This policy explains how to raise a complaint, how we will handle it, and how you can complain about our use of personal data under data protection law.

2. Scope

This policy applies to complaints about:

  • Tuition quality or tutor conduct.

  • Booking, cancellations, billing, and communication.

  • Staff or tutor behaviour and service delivery.

  • Our use of personal data, privacy, or data protection rights.

This policy does not cover safeguarding concerns. If you have a concern about the safety or wellbeing of a child or adult at risk, this will be handled under our Safeguarding Policy, not this complaints process. If something raised as a complaint is, or becomes, a safeguarding concern, we will deal with it under our Safeguarding Policy and, where necessary, refer it to the appropriate external agency.

3. How to complain

You can make a complaint by:

  • Emailing us at info@veritysmathsplace.co.uk.

  • Writing to us at: Verity's Maths Place, 10 Pound Close, Ringstead, NN14 4BZ.

  • Telephoning us, followed by written confirmation where possible.

If your complaint relates to personal data, privacy, or a data protection issue, please tell us clearly so we can handle it under the data protection complaints procedure in Section 7.

4. What happens next

When we receive a complaint, we will:

  • Acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days of receiving it.

  • Investigate the complaint thoroughly and make reasonable enquiries.

  • Provide a clear written response, setting out our findings and any proposed resolution, within 14 working days of receiving your complaint.

  • Keep you updated if a complex complaint means we need longer, and explain why.

  • Where it would help to resolve the matter, offer a conversation by telephone or in person to discuss it further.

For straightforward matters, we will usually respond well before 14 working days.

5. Who will handle your complaint

Verity's Maths Place is a small business. Verity is the business owner and lead tutor, and complaints are normally handled by Verity.

  • Complaints about an associate tutor will be reviewed by Verity, who is independent of the tuition delivered by that tutor.

  • Complaints about Verity, or about a decision Verity has made, will be considered by Verity directly. We will review the complaint as fully and fairly as we can. Where appropriate, Verity may ask a suitable independent person to help review the complaint.

If you remain dissatisfied after we have responded, the next steps are set out in Section 6.

6. If you are still dissatisfied

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may:

  • Ask us to look at the complaint again, explaining what you feel was not addressed.

  • For a complaint about our use of personal data, raise the matter with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at www.ico.org.uk.

  • For any matter you believe relates to the safety or wellbeing of a child or adult at risk, contact the relevant safeguarding authority directly, as set out in our Safeguarding Policy.

7. Data protection complaints

Under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, you have the right to complain to us about how we handle your personal data, and we are committed to making this process clear and accessible.

Where a complaint concerns our use of personal data, we will:

  • Acknowledge the complaint within 30 days of receiving it.

  • Investigate whether our privacy notice, data handling, retention, sharing, or security practices need to change.

  • Respond in clear, accessible language.

  • Tell you whether any of your personal data rights are involved.

  • Explain any lawful reason for not taking the action you have requested.

The 30-day acknowledgement period reflects the requirements that apply specifically to data protection complaints. We will often acknowledge and respond more quickly than this.

If you remain dissatisfied after we have responded, you may complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at www.ico.org.uk. Further information about how we use personal data, and about your data protection rights, is set out in our Privacy Policy.

8. Record keeping

We keep a record of complaints, the actions taken, the outcome, and any lessons learned. This helps us improve our service and demonstrate compliance.

We may use complaint records to identify recurring issues, training needs, or changes we should make to our policies or practices. Complaint records are stored securely and retained in line with our Privacy Policy.

9. Confidentiality and fairness

We will handle all complaints fairly and, where appropriate, confidentially. To investigate and resolve a complaint properly, we may need to share information with relevant people, such as an associate tutor, a parent or carer, a safeguarding professional, our insurers, or a regulator.

Raising a complaint is something we encourage, and we will not treat doing so as a negative. Making a complaint will not affect your right to continue receiving our services, unless the matter involves serious conduct, a safeguarding issue, or non-payment, which may need to be dealt with separately and in line with our other policies and our Tutoring Terms and Conditions.

10. Policy review

We will review this policy at least annually, and sooner if there is a change in the law, in ICO guidance, or in how our business operates.