Feedback

We want everyone who interacts with the Cathedral to feel respected, valued and hear. We aim to offer a positive experience to all, but we recognise that sometimes things may not go as expected and when this happens, we genuinely want to know. Your feedback helps us to understand what went wrong, put things right, and improve the way we work in the future. 

This process sets out how you can raise a complaint, the steps we will take to respond and the standards you can expect throughout the process. 

• Provide a fair complaints procedure which is clear and easy to use for anyone wishing to make a complaint
• Maintain a record of all feedback and complaints, which will be reviewed on a regular basis to elicit any trends for areas of improvement
• Publicise the existence of our complaints procedure so that people know how to contact us to make a complaint
• Make sure everyone at our Cathedral knows what to do if a complaint is received
• Make sure all complaints are investigated fairly and in a timely way
• Make sure that complaints are, wherever possible, resolved and that relationships are repaired, and reconciliation explored

A complaint is when someone tells us they’re unhappy with something we’ve done (or not done) and wants us to respond. This could be about our services, events, staff, volunteers, or anything connected to Cathedral life.

What’s not covered here?

• Complaints from staff – handled through HR processes.
• Complaints from volunteers – handled through the volunteer coordinator.
• Safeguarding concerns – these follow a separate safeguarding complaints process. Details are on our website and displayed around the Cathedral.

This policy does not relate to:

Complaints from staff, who should refer to the relevant processes in the employee handbook;

Complaints from volunteers, who should refer to the relevant process in the volunteer handbook; and

Complaints relating to safeguarding, which should be referred directly to a member of the Cathedral’s Safeguarding Officer, or the Diocesan Safeguarding Officer. Details can be found on the cathedral’s website and various flyers around the Cathedral.

As a general rule, the cathedral will not respond:

To complaints that do not relate directly to something that the cathedral has done or been involved in;

When the complaint has already been responded to and has been reviewed;

When a complaint has clearly been sent to us and numerous other organisations as part of a bulk mailing or email. In this instance we can choose whether it is necessary for us to reply or not.

How to make a complaint

You can contact us in the way that suits you best:

• Email: complaints@chichestercathedral.org.uk
• Post: Complaints Administrator, Chichester Cathedral, The Royal Chantry Offices, Cathedral Cloisters, Chichester, PO19 1PX
• Phone: You can reach out directly to a member of our team by contacting 01243 782595

Please include your name and contact details so we can respond. We’ll consider anonymous complaints as feedback, but we may not be able to fully investigate without more information.

Stage 1 – Informal resolution
If possible, we’ll try to resolve your concern quickly and informally. This might mean a conversation with the person involved or a manager.

Stage 2 – Formal investigation
If informal resolution isn’t possible or you’re not satisfied, we’ll investigate formally.

• We’ll acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days.
• We aim to respond fully within 20 working days. If it takes longer, we’ll keep you updated.
• We’ll handle your complaint sensitively and fairly.

Review
If you’re unhappy with the outcome, you can ask for a review. This will be carried out by someone senior who wasn’t involved in the original investigation.

External escalation
If you’re still not satisfied, you can contact:

• Church Commissioners: cathedralregulation@churchofengland.org
• Charity Commission: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/charity-commission

Support for complainants

We know making a complaint can be stressful. You can have someone with you for support (a friend, family member, or support service). We’ll also signpost you to help if needed.

Learning and improvement

We review complaints regularly to see what we can learn. We’ll share anonymized summaries each year so you can see how we’re improving.

We will retain a record of your complaint for 6 years after the last contact with you about the complaint. We will then destroy all records of the complaint securely. You can read more about how we look after your records and your rights as a data subject in our Privacy Policy, which is available on our website or upon request.