Who can complain?
Any person or organisation can make a complaint about a person registered with the Education Workforce Council (EWC).
What can I complain about?
A complaint must be about the alleged unacceptable professional conduct or serious professional incompetence of a registered person.
For the EWC’s purposes, unacceptable professional conduct means ‘conduct which falls short of the standard expected of a registered person’. Serious professional incompetence means ‘conduct which demonstrates a level of competence which falls seriously below that expected of a registered person, taking into account all the relevant circumstances’.
What conduct will the EWC find ‘unacceptable’?
You should read the Code of Professional Conduct and Practice. This explains what the education profession might find ‘unacceptable’ in a practitioner’s behaviour, and therefore the kind of behaviour the EWC might have an interest in investigating. The Code does not, of course, cover all examples.
As a guide, you should note the threshold for a finding of unacceptable professional conduct or serious professional incompetence by the EWC is high. For example, if a registered person is dismissed because of their behaviour either inside or outside of an educational establishment, it is more likely the EWC will find this to be unacceptable.
Behaviour which is unlikely to lead to dismissal by an employer is less likely to be found to be unacceptable by the EWC.
Is there anything I need to do first before I complain?
Yes. The EWC will only accept a complaint if exactly the same complaint has already been reported to the registered person’s employer or agent, and a response to that complaint has been received. ‘Employer’ usually means the school (governing body) and/or local authority, further education institution, and any other relevant body which employs a youth worker, youth support worker, or work-based learning practitioner. If you have not done this, you will need to first.
The EWC will then need to see written evidence that you have made the same complaint, as well as the outcome of the employer or agent’s investigation when you send the complaint in.
Complaints the EWC will not accept
The EWC will not accept a complaint which is about:
- a person who is not registered with the EWC
- a registered person’s health
- any issues you have with an employer, agency, local Council, governing body, further education institution, or other relevant employer or organisation which have not been resolved to your satisfaction, unless they are about the behaviour of a registered person
The EWC also cannot accept anonymous complaints.
I still want to make a complaint. How do I do it?
You will need to make sure your complaint is clear and easy to understand, and:
- is exactly the same as the one you made to the employer or agent (if it is not, the EWC will not accept it)
- is specific, clear, and succinct - you will need to confine it to the box on page three of the complaint form
- includes important names, date, and times
- has attached to it:
- written evidence which shows you made the same complaint to the employer or agent (you must number this and make reference to it at page three of the complaint form)
- written evidence which shows the employer or agent investigated your complaint, and told you the outcome, in writing, of that investigation (you must number this and make reference to it at page three of the complaint form)
If you do not provide your complaint in the format prescribed above, it will be returned to you.
Other written evidence which shows what you say has a basis
This might include statements written by people who witnessed the events you mention, minutes of meetings, reports, memos, diary entries, and so on. If you decide to use information which needs permission, please get this first.
It is very important you send in as much information as you can to add ‘weight’ to your complaint. Without it, the EWC might not be able to take it any further.
Please remember the threshold for a finding of unacceptable professional conduct or serious professional incompetence by the EWC is high.
Send in your complaint and supporting information together
If you send information in at a later date, or in several different chunks , the EWC might not accept it. This is because for fairness, it is important the registered person involved can see and answer any complaint made about them, and be given enough time to do this.
It is also important the EWC deals with complaints as quickly as possible to minimise stress to all people involved, and to make sure it operates in a fair and transparent fashion as a regulatory body.
How will the EWC deal with my complaint?
Where the EWC accepts a complaint, it will forward it to an Investigating Committee for investigation.
Before this investigation, the EWC will send the complaint and supporting information to the:
- registered person - they will be given time to respond to the complaint
- registered person’s employer - they will be asked whether or not they have received the complaint, investigated it, and for the outcome of that investigation if concluded
All information gathered will be given to the Investigating Committee.
What action can an Investigating Committee take?
An Investigating Committee does not take any ‘action’ as such, but it can make one of the following decisions:
- decide a registered person has a ‘case to answer’, in which case, the complaint will be sent to a public hearing by a Fitness to Practise Committee
- decide the registered person has ‘no case to answer’, in which case the EWC will take no further action
If an Investigating Committee decides the registered person has ‘no case to answer’, the complaint will go no further.
I am not happy that the Investigating Committee decided the registered person has no case to answer. Can I appeal?
No. There is no appeal process, and the EWC is not able to look at the same complaint more than once. The Committee’s decision is final.
For this reason alone, it is important you follow carefully the guidance set out above.
Disciplinary Procedures and Rules 2024
Relevant sections of the Rules are Rule 5(2), Rule 6, Rule 7 and Rule 8.
The EWC will write to you when it has reached a decision about your complaint.