We are a registered charity operating across England and Wales. We are Stronger Charity is made up of members, volunteers, trustees, comsupporters, contractors, and consultants.
Our work aims to prevent bullying by running targeted interventions, workshops and promoting mental health and wellbeing. We support those who are being bullied or targets of bullying by:
The purpose of this policy is to provide a clear statement of intent with regards to handling compliments, comments and complaints.
We are Stronger Charity strives to be excellent in all its activities towards anti-bullying, we recognise that despite our best efforts there may be times when we do not meet the high standards that we have set ourselves. In these instances, we want to hear about it, deal with the situation as quickly as possible and put measures in place to stop it happening again.
A complaint in this context is an expression of dissatisfaction about the programmes, services, policies, or procedures of We Are Stronger Charity or, of a Trustee, consultant, volunteer, or any person acting on behalf of We Are Stronger Charity.
We welcome and value all feedback. We know that every compliment, complaint, idea shared, or piece of feedback we receive will enable us to improve the quality of our work so that we can achieve more.
Our complaints procedure is fully accessible so that people know how to contact us to make a complaint and make sure everyone at We are Stronger Staff knows what to do if a complaint is received.
We will make every effort to respond positively and effectively to complaints and to put right any shortcomings that are within our control, so that any complaint is resolved to satisfaction and in a timely manner.
We will make sure that all complaints are taken seriously, treated fairly, properly documented and responded to as quickly as possible and investigated fairly and in a timely way.
We are committed to learning and actioning changes as a result of feedback and complaints. All our volunteers, staff and trustees are responsible for the reputation and continual improvement of We Are Stronger Charity’s operations and should use feedback and complaints when evaluating their work.
We expect We are Stronger Charity staff, trustees, and volunteers to provide open information about what we are doing and why, and to provide clear channels of communications for anyone interested in or affected by our work.
If you have a concern or you are dissatisfied with any aspect of the service, we also want to hear from you so that we can respond to your concern and learn from it. It is usually best to contact the person who is providing the service as they are best placed to respond to your feedback.
If you have a concern or problem you should similarly try, in the first instance, to resolve the problem with the person concerned. They will often be able to put things right very quickly and simply or point you in the right direction.
If you do not know who to contact or do not feel comfortable raising it in the way suggested, then please send an email to feedback@wearestrongercharity.org.
In relation to any complaint or compliment, whomever it is sent to, it would be helpful if you could state clearly and briefly:
We take the principles of data minimisation and removal seriously and have internal policies in place to ensure that we only ever ask for the minimum amount of data for the associated purpose and delete that data promptly once it is no longer required.
Where data is collected on the basis of consent, we will seek renewal of consent at least every three years.
We aim to respond to any comment, compliment or complaint in a polite and timely manner.
All complaints will be treated with an appropriate degree of confidentiality, and information will only be shared with staff and volunteers as necessary to assist in understanding what has happened and to respond.
We will acknowledge your complaint as soon as possible and aim to respond within 14 days of when we receive it. Where this is not possible, we will let you know when we hope to provide you with a full response.
If, after you have received this response, you still think that the matter has not been resolved, you should contact the Chair of the Charity on olga.venosa@wearestrongercharity.org. Your comments will then be passed to a trustee who will investigate the facts themselves or delegate it matter to a senior person in the Charity (who has had no previous dealing with the issue) and they will look at the issue further.
You will be informed in writing within 7 days of who that person is and when they will respond to you. You will receive a written response to your concerns within a further 21 days, giving you our findings and recommendations.
An annual report is submitted to the Board of Trustees, which summarises the comments, compliments and complaints received during the year.
In the event that you remain dissatisfied with the response you have received, you are entitled to take your concerns to any relevant statutory body, including but not limited to:
The Charity Commission (England & Wales): https://www.gov.uk/complain-about-charity
The Advertising Standards Authority: https://www.asa.org.uk/
The Information Commissioner’s Office: www.ico.org.uk