ABA Complaints Procedure

Below is the procedure for a complaint against Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA) service provision, including how to appeal a decision for awards for our United Against Bullying programme.

Preliminary note: Wherever possible disputes over ABA service provision will be dealt with on an informal basis initially between the person providing the service and the complainant and then, if unresolved, by discussion between the complainant and the Head of Unit or Section providing the service. Only after this avenue has been attempted and failed will a more formal procedure be used. 

Where an ABA service-user wishes to complain about the quality or standard of service they have received from ABA, the following procedure will be followed: 

 

Stage 1

  • The complaint should be made in writing to the relevant departmental director within ten working days of the event/occasion which the complainant considers cause for complaint. Complaints made after this time will be considered on their merit through the same procedure outlined below.
  • The ABA service provider will be under obligation to provide the name and contact details of the departmental director.
  • Wherever possible the complaint will be dealt with informally by means of a discussion of the issue between the complainant and the department director within 10 working days of receipt of the written appeal. 
  • If the complaint being made concerns the departmental director directly, then the complainant should start stage 2 of the procedure. 

Stage 2

  • Should the discussion be unacceptable to the complainant or the discussion not resolve the dispute, the complainant should complain in writing to the Chief Executive copied to the departmental director within 20 working days of the event/occasion which the complainant considers cause for complaint. 
  • Should the complaint be about the departmental director the complainant should complain in writing to the Chief Executive within 20 working days of the event/occasion which the complainant considers cause for complaint. 
  • The Cheif Executive will consider the matter, communicating with the complainant and/or the ABA staff responsible for the service about which the complaint is being made. 
  • The Chief Executive will communicate their decision in writing to all interested parties within 20 working days of their receipt of the Stage 2 Complaint 

Stage 3

  • The departmental director will be responsible for ensuring the agreed follow-up actions are carried out.
  • If the complaint was about the departmental director, the Chief Executive will be responsible for ensuring the agreed follow-up actions are carried out. 
  • The outcome of the complaint is final and marks the end of the complaint process.

If your complaint relates to United Against Bullying School Award decision: 

ABA is committed to ensuring that all award assessment outcomes are fair, consistent, and reliable based on the valid judgments of the evaluators who review all submissions against the award criteria. However, occasions may arise where the school/setting may wish to question a decision. 

Wherever possible, appeals to the award decision should be made informally in the first instance by contacting [email protected]. If unresolved, schools/settings that wish to appeal their decision should follow the three-stage complaint procedure above. 

ABA ensures:

  • Awards are reviewed by evaluators who have the appropriate qualifications, knowledge, understanding, and skills. 
  • Award submissions are reviewed independently to ensure impartiality. 
  • The consistency of submissions being evaluated against the award criteria. 
  • Appeals are heard by individuals that have the appropriate competence to make decisions in each individual case.

Please note: 

  • The complaint should be made by a member of the Senior Leadership Team and copying in the school/setting Headteacher. 
  • ABA may request for the independent evaluator to re-evaluate the submission. ABA will inform the school/setting if there is any change to the decision made. 

Monitoring and review

This policy and its procedures will be reviewed annually as part of our quality assurance of the programme to ensure it is fit for purpose and reflects the type of appeals that we may receive.

Contacts

The email address to which all queries and complaints should be sent is: a[email protected] 

If the matter relates to United Against Bullying, please contact: [email protected]