Complaints policy

If you use services delivered by Prisoners’ Education Trust (PET) and wish to make a complaint this policy and process explains your next steps.

If you wish to make a complaint regarding our fundraising process then please view our Fundraising complaints policy.

If you wish to make a complaint that does not relate to our service delivery or fundraising, then please fill in our contact us form – choose “Complaints and feedback” in the “Type of enquiry” box.

General statement

We try to ensure that the support we offer at PET is always of a high standard.

Support includes our Access to Learning grants process and any advice, information or guidance regarding distance learning you receive from members of staff or PET volunteers.

We welcome and value comments on how being supported by PET can be improved. However occasionally we might fall short; if something is not right or appropriate you have the right to make a complaint.

Your complaint will be:

• Dealt with as quickly as possible
• Handled fairly and politely
• Investigated fully

Your personal data will only be used and stored for the purpose of resolving your complaint and for no other reason.

How can you complain?

• By letter
• By phone
• In person
• By email
• On behalf of someone else (if they give you permission to do so in writing)

What you should do

The PET complaints procedure has four stages:

Stage 1

You should, in the first instance make your concerns known to the Grants Manager at PET. You can do this by either writing to us, telephoning us or in person. You can use our Freepost address.

Post: FREEPOST, Prisoners’ Education Trust
Email: accesstolearning@prisonerseducation.org.uk
Phone: 020 3752 5680

Please provide as much information as possible about the issue you would like to raise, and, if contacting PET via email or letter, please provide your name, contact details, and details of the person at PET with whom you have had contact with regarding the subject of your complaint.

This will enable PET to respond promptly and appropriately.

Stage 2

The Grants Manager will try to resolve the matter immediately and feedback to you within 10 working days of receiving your complaint.

However if your complaint requires us to take some further action, which might involve us contacting suppliers or staff members this may take us a little longer. We will try to take no longer than 28 working days to resolve a more complex complaint and feedback our findings to you.

Stage 3

If your complaint has been investigated and you have received feedback from PET, but you are not satisfied you can contact PET again to explain your situation.

At this stage your complaint will be investigated by the Head of Service Delivery or a member of the Senior Management Team at PET who will carry out an investigation and provide a response to you.

Stage 4

If you are not satisfied with the response from a member of the Senior Management Team then you are able to, as the last stage, write to the chair of the PET Board of Trustees.

The Chair will consider if the process followed in the previous stages were conducted properly and that the complaint was appropriately addressed.

The Chair will respond to you within two weeks of receiving your final appeal and the decision made by the Chair is final.

You can write to the Chair of the Board of Trustees using the PET Freepost address: FREEPOST, Prisoners’ Education Trust

If you have any questions about this policy, please contact PET’s Head of Service Delivery.

Policy lead: Head of Service Delivery

Date of last review: July 2024

Date due for review: July 2027