1. The Education Workforce Council (EWC) is committed to providing the highest standards of service for its registrants, stakeholders, and the public. This document sets out the standards of service that service users can expect of us.
2. We aim to carry out our work in an open and transparent way and respond to requests for information, while having due regard to the relevant data protection legislation.
3. The type and format of information available to service users about us is set out in our privacy information webpage under the freedom of information and publication scheme
4. Any requests for information from the public will be dealt with in line with statutory requirements and guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office. Most requests for information will be dealt with through the normal course of business, which is set out in this document. Requests from data subjects for their own personal data will be dealt with as outlined in the subject access request section of our privacy information webpage.
5. We aim to:
   • communicate openly, clearly, and effectively in plain language
   • provide full information about our services
   • treat all people fairly and equally, respecting privacy, dignity, and confidentiality
   • be helpful and courteous, paying attention to those with additional needs
   • put things right quickly and effectively, learning from any complaints we receive
   • continually seek to improve the services we offer
   • monitor and review our performance
   • review this policy regularly

Service user provision and response

6. We provide a fully bilingual service, which includes staff who can respond to individuals efficiently in Welsh or English as required.
7. You may call us during opening hours on 029 2046 0099. Our opening hours are 09:00 until 17:00 Monday to Thursday, and from 09:00 until 16:00 on Friday.
8. You may email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or write to us at our office address (below). Meetings at our offices are strictly by appointment only – please call or email for further information.

9^th Floor, Eastgate House
35-43 Newport Road
Cardiff
CF24 0AB

9. We recognise that each enquiry is unique and our responses will reflect this. We aim to:
   • respond to telephone calls bilingually within eight rings or 20 seconds, and then continue in Welsh or English as required
   • acknowledge receipt of all written enquiries within five working days of receipt of correspondence, in Welsh or English as required
   • respond to requests for information in line with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000. More information can be found in our online privacy notice and publication scheme

10. We hold personal information about registrants as part of our functions. We will do identity checks with callers to safeguard information and confidentiality.

Welsh language

11. We aim to offer a fully bilingual service and comply with our service delivery duties under the Welsh language standards.
12. The service user provision and response, outlined in this policy, applies to both Welsh language and English language enquiries.
13. No person who requires a Welsh language service will be treated less favourably than a person who requires an English language service.

Complaints regarding standards of service:

14. We endeavour to provide service users with a consistently high standard of service and take complaints very seriously. We strive to provide an accessible and transparent process for looking into complaints about the service we give and aim to respond to complaints as soon as possible.
15. The following process will apply:
    1. in the first instance the complaint should be taken up with the person responsible for that service. In most cases the complaint should be resolved at this stage. Our employees will report any complaint they receive about the standard of service whether or not it is resolved at this stage (see paragraph 18).
    2. if the complainant is not happy with the response, then the complaint will be referred to the manager of the team concerned who will then consider the complaint and respond accordingly
    3. if the matter is still not resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant, then the complaint will be referred to the relevant director for consideration
    4. if, after following the three previous stages, the matter is still not resolved, then the complaint will be referred to the Chief Executive for final consideration

16. In regard to receiving a written complaint, we aim to:
    • acknowledge receipt of the initial complaint within five working days
    • make a full response within 20 working days, unless it is anticipated that the matter will take longer to resolve in which case an interim reply will be sent
    • make a final response within 40 working days of receipt of the initial complaint

17. If your complaint relates to our Welsh language service, we encourage you to contact the Corporate Services Manager with your concern in the first instance using the contact details at paragraph 22. If you are not happy with the way we have dealt with your concern or feel that we have not taken appropriate steps to resolve the situation, you should contact the Welsh Language Commissionerto make a complaint.

Fitness to practise

18. If you would like to make a complaint about fitness to practise, please first refer to the timescales and actions set out in Fitness to practise: a guide to making a complaint about our service. It sets out when and how you can make a complaint with regards to our fitness to practise processes. Our fitness to practise procedures are subject to Disciplinary Procedures and Rules or the Registration Rules, which take precedence over the complaints procedure set out above in paragraphs 14-16.

Monitoring and recording

19. Employees will report any complaints they receive regarding standards of service, including in relation to compliance with the Welsh language standards, to the Corporate Services Manager. All complaints will be logged for monitoring and reporting purposes. A summary of any complaints received will be produced and reported to the senior management team on a monthly basis.

Training

20. We ensure appropriate training is provided to our employees to support them to handle complaints effectively. Additional training will be provided in the event that a training need is identified in the course of handling a complaint or through the systematic monitoring and recording of complaints.

How to contact us

21. We are committed to maintaining a high standard of service. Feedback and suggestions from service users are welcomed as it enables us to improve our standards of service.
22. We can be contacted via the following methods (please refer to paragraph 7 for office opening hours):

Telephone: 029 2046 0099

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.