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Complaints and Appeals Procedure

Last updated: November 2026

We want every learner to have a good experience. If something goes wrong, please tell us so we can put it right. This page explains how to make a complaint about our service and how to appeal an assessment decision.

Who to contact

Head of Centre: Simon Owen, simonowen@esotrainingnw.co.uk, 0800 144 8458. Training venue: ESO Education and Training (NW) Ltd, St Mary’s Complex, Waverley Street, Bootle L20 4AP.

Registered office: 23 Farnworth Street, Widnes, England, WA8 9LH.

Part A: Complaints

A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction with our service, our staff, our venues or how a course was run.

Stage 1: Informal

Speak to your trainer or the member of staff involved. Most problems can be sorted out quickly this way. We will acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days and give you a written response within 10 working days.

Stage 2: Formal

If you are not satisfied, email the Head of Centre setting out what happened, the outcome you want and any evidence. We will acknowledge it within 2 working days. Someone not involved in the original issue will investigate, and you will receive a written outcome within 20 working days. If we need longer, we will tell you why and when to expect a reply.

Stage 3: Review

If you are still not satisfied, you can ask a Director to review how your complaint was handled. The Director will check that we followed this procedure fairly.

Stage 4: Awarding organisation

If you have completed our procedure and are still not satisfied, you can escalate the matter to our awarding organisation, Laser Learning Awards (Trident Awards). Please contact them within 10 working days of receiving ESO’s final response.

  • Complaints about our service (for example how your course was run) are handled under Laser’s complaints procedure.
  • Appeals against an assessment decision made by ESO are handled under Laser’s appeals procedure once you have completed our appeals process (see Part B).
  • If you want an exam marked by Laser to be re-marked, ESO will apply to Laser for a review of marking on your behalf.

Laser Learning Awards (Trident Awards), Cobb House, 2-4 Oyster Lane, Byfleet, Surrey KT14 7DU. Telephone 01932 569894. Email enquiries@laser-awards.org.uk.

If you have completed Laser’s procedure and remain unhappy with how Laser handled your complaint, you can contact Ofqual, the qualifications regulator. Ofqual looks at how the complaint was handled; it cannot change results.

Part B: Assessment appeals

You can appeal an assessment decision if you believe:

  • the assessment was not carried out according to the awarding body’s rules,
  • the assessment criteria were not applied, or were applied inconsistently,
  • reasonable adjustments or special considerations that were approved were not put in place, or
  • you were treated unfairly.

How to appeal

  1. Informal: raise it with your trainer or assessor within 2 weeks of receiving your result.
  2. Formal: put your appeal in writing to the Head of Centre within 4 weeks of the assessment.
  3. Independent review: if you are not satisfied, a qualified person who was not involved in your assessment will review the decision.
  4. Awarding organisation: if you have completed our process, you can appeal to Laser Learning Awards (Trident Awards) within 10 working days of our final response (contact details in Stage 4 above).

We will respond in writing within one week at stages 1 to 3, and within one month at stage 4.

Fairness

You will not be treated less favourably for making a complaint or appeal. We keep a record of all complaints and appeals, share them with the awarding organisation when asked, and use them to improve our courses.