Compliments and Comments  |  Complaints  |  Concerns Regarding Abuse

 
If you have information about a situation where a child or adult is in immediate danger or requires immediate medical attention, call your local emergency services. Do not delay. 

Compliments and Comments

If you would like to share a compliment or comment about any aspect of the services provided by FPMT Inc., you are welcome to write to FPMT International Office; or email us.

Complaints

A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction about any aspect of the services provided by FPMT Inc.

To express a concern regarding abuse, please use our Concern Regarding Abuse procedure.

The complaints procedure may be accessed by any person who has directly received a service from us. It may not be accessed by third parties with whom there has been no legitimate connection for the provision of services (i.e. complaints can only be brought by the person directly receiving a service about which they are dissatisfied).

We will not process anonymous complaints. 

All information related to a complaint will be handled sensitively – we understand the importance of discretion.  Information will be stored securely, sharing information on a ‘need to know’ basis and in accordance with our Confidentiality policy.

Complaints Resolution Process:

Informal Resolution
In most cases, issues are best resolved by the person responsible for the matter that is causing concern. If such a concern has been received by that person, we expect that all reasonable efforts will have been made to resolve it swiftly if possible and appropriately, using reflection and compassionate communication (informal resolution).

We appreciate that this isn’t always possible or appropriate, and we therefore have the following three stage process in order to deal with all formal complaints raised:

Stage One
Initially, the complaint should be made to the line manager of the person who is subject to the complaint: please refer to the International Office staff list.

If the complaint is regarding general service provision rather than the actions of an individual, then the complaint should be made to the Head of Department for the service provided.

Any complaint will be acknowledged and responded to within two working weeks (i.e. 10 working days).

If the complaint is about a Head of Department then it should be addressed to the Chief Operating Officer (COO). 

If the complaint is about the Chief Operating Officer, it should be addressed to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

If the complaint is about the Chief Executive Officer, or an FPMT Inc. board member, then the complaint should be addressed to the Chair of the Board, who will appoint someone to undertake an investigation. In both these instances, appeals would progress to Stage Three of this process.

Within this 10 day timescale, the line manager/Head of Department/COO/CEO/Chair of the Board (or the chair’s nominee) will investigate the matter as follows:

• make all necessary and appropriate inquiries to establish the substance of the complaint and any attempts already made to resolve the matter informally, ensuring that all attempts at informal resolution have already been made;
• form a view and decide who the best person to respond to the complaint would be;
• where necessary, initiate discussions or meetings with the complainant to fully understand their issue, seek clarity and be clear on what would constitute a resolution for them;
• arrange any necessary mediation between the parties and any necessary, subsequent action(s).

It is hoped that an acceptable resolution can be found and the complaint can be concluded to the complainant’s satisfaction at this level. However if this is not the case, the complainant must inform the investigator within 2 working weeks (i.e. 10 working days) of their desire to initiate stage two, which will be progressed as follows:

Stage Two
At stage two, the details of the complaint and actions taken at stage one will be passed to the Chief Operating Officer, who will:

• acknowledge receipt of the stage two complaint and that they are reviewing details within two working weeks (i.e. 10 working days)
• make it clear when a response can be expected. The aim will be for complainants to receive a definitive reply within four working weeks (i.e. 20 working days). If this is not possible because, for example, an investigation has not been fully completed, a further communication will be sent with an indication of when a full reply will be given.
• review all documentation and the actions taken so far and discuss with the complainant the situation from their perspective and why resolution could not be reached. All conversations will be confirmed in writing and shared with the complainant
• discuss the same with the Head of Department and consider what, within the framework of our policy and if necessary, the law, could be a way forward to resolve the issue at hand
• where necessary, take advice from the FPMT Inc. Board in order to formulate a response for the complainant and any necessary action

The reply (within 20 working days where possible) to the complainant will inform them of the action(s) taken to investigate the complaint, the conclusions from the investigation, and any action taken as a result of the complaint.

Again, hopefully the complaint can be resolved at this level, but if not then the complainant must notify the Chief Operating Officer within 2 working weeks (i.e. 10 working days) of their desire to move to stage three, which will be progressed as follows:

Stage Three – Appeal
If the complainant remains unsatisfied after the stage two process has been completed (or stage one in the case of complaints against the Chief Executive Officer or board member), they have the right to request an appeal to the FPMT Inc. Board, who will convene an appeals panel (who will not have been involved in any previous stage) to hear the complaint at stage three. 

Once the request to progress to stage three has been received, we will acknowledge the request for appeal within two working weeks (i.e. 10 working days). The process undertaken at stages one and two will be reviewed and the appeal panel chair may choose to talk to the parties concerned to gain clarification on the issues.

A final decision and any action deemed necessary will be communicated to the complainant within six working weeks (i.e. 30 working days). If for any reason this timescale cannot be met, the complaint will be advised of the need for a revised timescale needed as soon as practicably possible.

Monitoring and Learning from Complaints

The number and outcome of any complaints will be reported to the FPMT Inc. Board periodically to help identify any trends which may indicate a need to take further action.

Making a Complaint

To help us deal effectively and quickly with your complaint, please include the following details:

• The specific area, service or resource to which your complaint applies
• Your name and contact details: these are essential as we will not investigate anonymous complaints
• Outline the nature of your complaint as clearly and precisely as possible, including details such as place and time if appropriate
• Let us know if you have already reported the complaint, and if any action was taken.

Concerns Regarding Abuse

A concern regarding abuse should be disclosed when you believe you have experienced, or witnessed, an individual at FPMT Inc. (FPMT International Office and the board of FPMT Inc.), acting in breach of the FPMT Ethical Policy, and thereby committing abuse.  It would include a concern that FPMT Inc. is neglecting its duty of care. You are welcome to read our Ethical Policy, and also our Protecting from Abuse policy, if you would like more guidance on what constitutes a breach of the policy, and abuse.

Our objective is always to conduct a thoughtful and thorough investigation into any alleged wrongdoing, with remedial action where appropriate; as described in our Protecting from Abuse and Ethical policies.

We will aim to use the timeline described in our Complaints procedure above; however we recognize that a case-specific timeline may need to be established for the process of testimony and discovery related to a concern regarding abuse, especially if other agencies are involved. FPMT Inc. and an FPMT affiliate may need to pass an allegation on to statutory authorities both locally and in the home country of the alleged perpetrator.  

If you have a concern regarding abuse relating to a staff member of FPMT International Office, please contact our designated protection person: Franςois Lecointre.

If you have a concern regarding abuse relating to a member of the FPMT Inc. board, please contact the designated protection person for the board, the Chair of the Board.

FPMT Inc. will follow our Confidentiality policy in connection with any expression of a concern regarding abuse.

Concern Regarding Abuse at an Affiliate

If you have a concern regarding abusive behavior of a staff member or teacher at an FPMT affiliate, please use that affiliate’s reporting channels.

If your concern regarding abuse is related to more than one FPMT affiliate, or you have raised your concern via an affiliate’s reporting channel and are dissatisfied with their handling of your concern, please contact the FPMT International Office designated protection people (see above).