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Complaints

How to tell us something went wrong, and what happens next. You can complain to us without it affecting your child’s place, your school’s relationship with us, or how your child is treated.

How to complain

Email [email protected] or phone 07873 621402. Ask for Mirko Viviano, the Director. Or write to Louno Space Education CIC, 215 Francis Avenue, Southsea, PO4 0AJ.

Tell us what happened, when, where, who was involved, and what you would like us to do. You can complain on someone else’s behalf. You can bring someone with you to any conversation about it. If writing is difficult, phone and we will write it down for you and read it back.

A child can complain. A child can tell any Louno tutor, who writes it down and passes it to the Director the same day. A child’s complaint is answered to the child, in words they understand, as well as to their parent.

If you would rather not come to us, or your complaint is about the Director, see further down this page.

Three things that go straight to someone else

Some matters are too serious for a complaints process and go somewhere else immediately. We say so here rather than letting them sit in a complaints queue.

  • A child being harmed, at risk, or something a child has disclosed — goes to the Designated Safeguarding Lead the same day, and Portsmouth MASH on 023 9268 8793 where a referral is needed.
  • The behaviour of an adult who works with children, including the Director — goes to the Portsmouth Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO), 023 9288 2500, [email protected], within one working day.
  • How Louno handles your personal data — goes to the Director, and you may complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk or 0303 123 1113.

A complaint that turns out to involve any of the above is dealt with under that route first, and the complaints process runs behind it. We will tell you that is what is happening.

What happens to a formal complaint

Put it in writing to [email protected], marked “Complaint”, or phone and ask us to write it down.

  • We acknowledge it in writing and tell you who is dealing with it — within 2 working days.
  • We look into it: we read the session records, speak to the tutor, speak to the school where relevant, and speak to you if you want to — within 10 working days.
  • We give you a written answer: what we found, what we got wrong, what we are doing about it, and what we are not doing and why — within 10 working days, or we tell you the new date before day 10.

Where a complaint involves a school’s premises, staff or pupils, we tell the school and agree who answers which part. Where it concerns Portsmouth City Council funded provision, we tell the council too.

If you’re still not happy, or your complaint is about the Director

This is the part a one-director company has to get right. If our written answer was given by Mirko and you are unhappy with it, there is nobody more senior inside Louno to ask. So the escalation is external, and these routes are open to you at any time, including straight away, without going through the steps above first.

  • The safety or welfare of a child — Portsmouth MASH, 023 9268 8793, out of hours 0300 555 1373, [email protected]. Or 999 if a child is at immediate risk.
  • The conduct of the Director, or any adult, towards children — Portsmouth LADO, 023 9288 2500, [email protected].
  • How Louno is handling a child protection matter — NSPCC Whistleblowing Advice Line, 0800 028 0285, [email protected].
  • Provision funded by Portsmouth City Council, including HAF — Portsmouth City Council, through the commissioning officer named in the funding agreement, and [email protected] for safeguarding assurance matters.
  • A Louno session delivered in a school — the school’s headteacher, and the school’s own complaints procedure.
  • Personal data — Information Commissioner’s Office, ico.org.uk, 0303 123 1113.
  • How Louno Space Education CIC is run as a community interest company — the Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Companies, [email protected].
  • A consumer matter, for example a refund you believe you are owed — Citizens Advice consumer service, 0808 223 1133.

Louno will not ask you to exhaust an internal process before using any of these, and will not treat you worse for using them. Writing them into our own policy is the point: an internal-only escalation route in a company with one director is not a real route.

We are also actively seeking to appoint a second director or non-executive adviser, in part so that this stage can one day be internal as well as external.

Questions about any of this? Email [email protected] and a human will reply. See also our privacy policy.