Complaints Policy
We strive to provide a DofE programme that provides a good experience for all participants & their parent/carers. Where a participant (over 18) or parent/carer has reason to complain we have the following process in place to resolve the complaint.
Initially, the complaint will be referred to the respective Centre Coordinator based at the location where the complaint has been received. Where the complaint is about the Centre Coordinator, it will be passed to the Chair of Trustees to resolve.
- If the matter remains unresolved it will be referred to the Chair of Trustees to resolve.
- If resolution cannot be reached this way the matter will be brought to the attention of all the trustees at the next planned meeting or if more urgent, by the calling of an extraordinary meeting.
- If the complainant is still not satisfied, they will be advised that they should contact the Charity Commission who is also the regulator for complaints about the way that the Charity is run.
Where the complaint is about the Chair of Trustees, it will be passed to the trustees to resolve. Where the issue can not be resolved it would be referred to the Charity Commission.
The nature of the complaint will often determine how quickly a response can be provided. Our timescales will be:
- Initial contact to be made within 7 days of the complaint being received. Where possible, this should be a full reply, else it should be an acknowledgement with an indication of when the next/final response will be sent.
- The next contact, when required should be made within 14 days, then every 14 days thereafter until the complaint is resolved or a resolution cannot be found, at which point the complainant should be advised to contact the Charity Commission.
Where a complaint is received about the DofE Award itself, it should be directed to the DofE Licence holder, email address is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Contact details for the Centre Coordinators and Chair of Trustees can be found on the web site, https://www.opendofe.org
11.11.2019
