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Listening when it counts
Avanti Academy / Serving the public / Complaints, Ombudsmen and Learning from Failure / Bitesize
Bitesize

Listening when it counts

Ombudsman and complaint handling codes.

Level
Bitesize
Learning time
1 hour 45 minutes
Where
Complaints, Ombudsmen and Learning from Failure
Price
£39

When you step up to a higher level, what you paid in the last 12 months for lower-level courses inside the bigger course comes off its price, in proportion to how much of each is inside it, whichever topic it's from. Courses at the same or a lower level don't give credit against each other. A Focus course or above always costs at least £15. Read the full terms

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Certificate of Completion

About this course

Overview and Outcomes.

Overview

Every complaint tells you the truth about your service as someone experienced it. This module uses Albert Hirschman's exit, voice and loyalty to show why voice matters most where people cannot leave, sets out a broad definition of a complaint from the Housing Ombudsman's code, and uses the complaints iceberg to show why silence is not satisfaction. It closes by contrasting complaints as risk with complaints as insight. The ombudsman is the backstop, not the system. This module traces the ombudsman from Sweden in 1809 to the single Public Services Ombudsman for Wales, explains maladministration through the Crossman catalogue alongside service failure and injustice, and maps who does what in Wales and England. It explores why recommendations rest on willingness, the journey of a complaint, and why every finding is a free review. Codes set a floor, not a ceiling. This module compares the Housing Ombudsman and Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman codes in England with the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales model procedure, including two stages then independent review, six features of sound codes, and Putting Things Right in Welsh health. It also explores board governance and uses maturity quadrants to show why a timely reply is not a heard person.

What you'll develop

In this Bitesize, you will develop the ability to:

  1. Explain, using Hirschman's exit, voice and loyalty, why ignored voice in a service people cannot leave leads to silent disengagement rather than exit.
  2. Apply the 'however made' definition of a complaint to distinguish complaints from service requests and to identify dissatisfaction your organisation may not be recording.
  3. Describe who does what in the ombudsman landscape in Wales and England, including the wider powers of the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales under the 2019 Act.
  4. Distinguish maladministration, service failure and injustice, and explain why an ombudsman will not usually overturn a properly made decision.
  5. Compare complaint stages and timescales under the English codes and the Welsh model procedure, and explain why both limit internal stages to two.
What it covers

The Modules.

1 hour 45 minutes of learning.

  1. 01Foundations: Why Complaints MatterEvery complaint tells you the truth about your service as someone experienced it. This module uses Albert Hirschman's exit, voice and loyalty to show why voice matters most where people cannot leave, sets out a broad definition of a complaint from the Housing Ombudsman's code, and uses the complaints iceberg to show why silence is not satisfaction. It closes by contrasting complaints as risk with complaints as insight.36 min
  2. 02The Ombudsman Landscape in Wales and EnglandThe ombudsman is the backstop, not the system. This module traces the ombudsman from Sweden in 1809 to the single Public Services Ombudsman for Wales, explains maladministration through the Crossman catalogue alongside service failure and injustice, and maps who does what in Wales and England. It explores why recommendations rest on willingness, the journey of a complaint, and why every finding is a free review.35 min
  3. 03Complaint Handling Codes and StandardsCodes set a floor, not a ceiling. This module compares the Housing Ombudsman and Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman codes in England with the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales model procedure, including two stages then independent review, six features of sound codes, and Putting Things Right in Welsh health. It also explores board governance and uses maturity quadrants to show why a timely reply is not a heard person.35 min
Where it fits

Keep going.

Part of the Complaints, Ombudsmen and Learning from Failure topic, also sold whole as When things go wrong.

How credit works

Go deeper, and pay only the difference

  1. You are hereBitesize, 1 hour 45 minutes, £39
  2. Next stepFocus, Every complaint is a gift, 3 hours, £69. Already own the Bitesize? You pay £30.
  3. The whole topicExplore, When things go wrong, 5 hours 30 minutes, £129. Already own the Bitesize? You pay £90.

When you step up to a higher level, what you paid in the last 12 months for lower-level courses inside the bigger course comes off its price, in proportion to how much of each is inside it, whichever topic it's from. Courses at the same or a lower level don't give credit against each other. A Focus course or above always costs at least £15. Prices per person. Read the full terms

Also part of: Leading homes and communities, Ready for inspection

Other Bitesize in the Complaints, Ombudsmen and Learning from Failure topic

See all in Complaints, Ombudsmen and Learning from Failure

Also Inside