LoveScience Complaints Policy
1. Our commitment
At LoveScience, we are committed to providing high-quality, safe, inclusive and enjoyable science experiences for children and the organisations, families and communities we work with.
We recognise that occasionally things may not go as expected. We welcome complaints and feedback as an opportunity to understand what has happened, put things right where appropriate, and improve our services.
All complaints will be taken seriously, treated fairly and handled as promptly and professionally as possible.
2. Who can make a complaint?
Complaints may be made by:
Schools and nurseries
Parents and carers
Children and young people, with support from an appropriate adult where necessary
Community organisations
Suppliers and business partners
Members of the public
Complaints from LoveScience franchisees are dealt with separately through the franchise relationship and are not covered by this policy.
3. How to make a complaint
Complaints should be made by email.
Complaints about LoveScience HQ
Please email [email protected] with details of the complaint.
Complaints about a LoveScience franchisee
Complaints should initially be sent to the relevant franchisee using their business email address.
The franchisee will be responsible for investigating and responding to the complaint in the first instance, unless the nature of the complaint means that it must be referred to LoveScience HQ.
If someone raises a complaint verbally, they will normally be asked to put the complaint in writing by email so that there is a clear and accurate record of the concern.
4. What information should be included?
Where possible, complaints should include:
The name and contact details of the person making the complaint
The date and location of the relevant session, activity or interaction
A description of what happened
The people involved, where known
Any relevant supporting information
What the complainant believes would resolve the matter, where appropriate
We understand that not every complaint will contain all of this information. We will use the information available to us to investigate the matter appropriately.
5. Timescales
We will aim to:
Acknowledge the complaint within 3 working days
Provide a full response within 10 working days
Some complaints may require further investigation and may therefore take longer to resolve. If this is the case, we will explain the reason for the delay and provide an expected timescale for the full response.
We ask that complaints are made as soon as reasonably possible and normally within 3 months of the incident or concern. We may consider complaints made after this period where there is a reasonable explanation for the delay or where the nature of the complaint means that it is appropriate to do so.
6. Investigating complaints
Complaints will be investigated fairly and proportionately.
The person investigating the complaint will consider the information provided by the complainant and, where appropriate, speak to relevant people, review records and consider any relevant policies or procedures.
Where a complaint relates to a franchisee, the franchisee will normally investigate and respond themselves.
However, a franchisee must refer a complaint to LoveScience HQ where it:
Relates to a safeguarding concern or allegation
Involves an allegation of serious misconduct
May involve legal action or significant liability
Presents a significant health and safety concern
Could have a significant impact on the reputation of LoveScience
Involves circumstances that the franchisee believes they cannot investigate or resolve appropriately
Is otherwise considered sufficiently serious that HQ involvement is necessary
LoveScience HQ may also request that a franchisee refers a complaint to HQ or may take over the investigation where appropriate.
7. Safeguarding concerns
A complaint involving the safety or welfare of a child must be treated as a safeguarding matter.
Safeguarding concerns should not be delayed while waiting for the normal complaints process. They must be reported and managed in accordance with LoveScience's safeguarding procedures.
Where a complaint raises a safeguarding concern, the relevant franchisee must notify LoveScience HQ promptly and follow the appropriate safeguarding procedures.
8. Unreasonable or inappropriate complaints
We will always seek to listen to genuine concerns. However, we may take appropriate steps where a complaint is:
Abusive, threatening or discriminatory towards staff, franchisees or others
Repeatedly made after the matter has been fully investigated and responded to
Clearly intended to cause distress or disruption rather than seek a resolution
Vexatious or malicious
This does not prevent us from considering any genuine or new information that may arise.
Anonymous complaints will normally not be investigated where there is insufficient information to do so. However, we may investigate an anonymous complaint where the information provided indicates that there may be a significant safeguarding, health and safety or other serious concern.
9. Outcome of a complaint
Following an investigation, we will provide a response explaining, where appropriate:
The findings of the investigation
Whether the complaint is upheld, partially upheld or not upheld
Any action that has been or will be taken
Any improvements or changes to our procedures that may result
We will respect confidentiality and data protection requirements and may therefore be unable to provide certain information about actions taken involving other individuals.
10. Escalation and review
If a complainant is dissatisfied with the response provided by a franchisee, they may request that the complaint is reviewed by LoveScience HQ.
The request should be made by email to [email protected], explaining why the complainant remains dissatisfied and providing any relevant additional information.
LoveScience HQ will review the complaint and the way it has been handled and will provide a final response.
Where the original complaint relates to LoveScience HQ, the matter will be reviewed by an appropriate person within HQ who was not directly responsible for the original decision or response, where reasonably possible.
The decision of LoveScience HQ represents the final stage of LoveScience's internal complaints process.
11. Learning from complaints
Complaints are an important source of feedback and help us improve.
Where appropriate, LoveScience will use information from complaints to:
Identify recurring issues
Improve training and support for franchisees
Review policies and procedures
Improve the quality and consistency of our provision
Identify opportunities to improve the experience of children, families and partner organisations
Personal information will be handled in accordance with applicable data protection requirements.
12. Review of this policy
This policy will be reviewed regularly to ensure that it remains appropriate for LoveScience and reflects our commitment to safe, inclusive, high-quality provision.
Policy owner: LoveScience
Contact: [email protected]
Next review: September 2027