All of us at Positive Expressions take great pride in the delivery of our services and aim to provide the best possible experience to our young people and all we interact with. However, we do recognise that sometimes people may feel dissatisfied for a number of reasons. To continue providing the highest quality service, we encourage you to tell us about any experiences you have – good or bad so that we can grow in line with your expectations.

This policy sets out how we will approach complaints and compliments and the process to follow.

Where you would like to recognise a positive experience, you have had, you can submit any compliments or other positive feedback to us via info@positive-expressions.co.uk It is important to be aware that all people providing mentoring and other services to young people via Positive Expressions have to consider professional boundaries, therefore they are unable to accept gifts of any significant nature. Generally, this means any cash, or anything with a monetary value of more than £10. As such, whilst we certainly appreciate any gestures of this kind, we would strongly urge against anything but a small token (e.g. a box of chocolates or flowers).

If you are unhappy about any aspect of your experience with Paul Lavery Support, wherever possible we’d like to ‘nip it in the bud’, and we encourage you to raise this with your mentor or other person directly to discuss the matter constructively.

In the unlikely event that you are unable to resolve a matter less formally, then you should raise your concerns formally in writing to info@positive-expressions.co.uk which will start the formal complaints process.

Stage one:

We will acknowledge your complaint quickly, usually within 48hrs of receipt, and confirm our understanding of what you are unhappy about, and what you are seeking to resolve it. It is important that you let us know if it appears we have missed or misunderstood anything within your complaint to avoid delays in resolving your query.

Once the complaint and requested resolution is agreed, the Managing Director (Paul Lavery) will investigate your complaint with a view to providing a detailed response within 10 working days. Where necessary (e.g. where a complaint is complex or unavailability of anybody involved in the matter) then we may need to extend the response deadline accordingly. Should this be the case we will write to you to explain this, including the reasons why, and the new response date.

Once the investigation is concluded you will receive our formal response.

Stage two:

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your complaint at Stage one, then it may be escalated to one of the following options, depending on the nature of your complaint:

• External adjudicator – depending on the nature of the complaint, you may propose an appropriate person to independently review the matter and provide an opinion on a fair and reasonable outcome. For this to work, both parties need to be engaged in the process, and open to the fact the adjudicator may not find in your favour. We will endeavour to approve your chosen adjudicator in a timely manner and meet any recommended outcome so long as we agree it is fair and reasonable. In the event we do not agree with their recommended outcome, we will set out the reasons why.
• Safeguarding/local authority – where the subject of your complaint relates to a young person and has a potential safeguarding implication, then your complaint may be made to the local authority safeguarding team. They will review the matter and communicate their findings, including any actions that they require to be taken. It is important to bear in mind that we have a legal duty to refer certain concerns to the local authority safeguarding team irrespective of any complaint.

What happens next?

Of course, our primary intention is that you don’t need to complain, and in the event, you feel it necessary, then to look for a mutually agreeable solution. However, if we can’t agree a solution, then you are of course welcome to seek a decision from the county court, which is the final step for any dispute. Should you wish to consider taking legal action then it is strongly recommended to seek specialist legal advice first.