Raise a concern about a course
We can investigate concerns about a course if there is evidence that the course is not meeting our standards.
Raise a concern about an approved course
Last updated: 12 May 2026
This page is for people who need to raise a concern about an approved course.
You may be a student or a graduate, a parent, a person involved in delivering a course, an employer, a placement provider, a practice educator, a social worker or a person with lived experience of social work.
What we investigate
We can investigate concerns about a course if there is evidence that the course is not meeting our education and training standards, such as concerns about:
- admissions
- learning environments
- course governance, management and quality
- curriculum and assessment
- support for students
- level of qualification
Please have a look at our education and training standards for more information:
- Education and training standards
- Education and training standards for AMHP courses
- Education and training standards for BIA courses
If your concern does not relate to how a course meets our standards, or if it’s not about an approved course, we will not be able to investigate.
Before you raise a concern with us
Some concerns cannot be investigated by us and are best dealt with by the education provider, for example:
- academic appeals
- disagreements with your employer
- concerns relating a social work student
We are not able make decisions about individual outcomes for the person raising the concern such as academic outcomes.
If you are a student, we recommend that you raise your concern with the education provider in the first instance. You should be able to find information about the education provider’s complaints policy and process on their website.
We cannot change the decision of local complaints or appeals processes. Our powers are limited to investigating whether or not a course meets our standards.
We also cannot investigate concerns about social work courses outside England.
If you need help deciding whether to raise a concern with us, you can contact us on [email protected].
Raise a concern about a course
To raise a concern about an approved course, please email the education quality assurance team [email protected] to outline the concern and providing any supporting evidence.
After you’ve raised a concern
Once we have received your concern, we will usually contact you within five working days.
All concerns will be considered on a case-by-case basis and we may ask you for additional information.
If we are not able to investigate your concern
We may be able to refer you to other organisations that can help.
If we are able to investigate your concern
A case lead will be assigned and will be your main point of contact throughout the process.
The education provider will be notified of the concern and they will then have 28 calendar days to respond.
Once we receive a response from the education provider, the response will be reviewed.
The case lead will then recommend that:
- no further action is taken or,
- we need to appoint inspectors to review the concern and the evidence provided
Where we appoint inspectors to review the concern and evidence submitted, they will discuss their findings and conclusions and then make a recommendation about your concern.
Normally, this will be done within 28 calendar days.
After an investigation, the regulator will make a decision based on the recommendation.
The recommendations will be to either take no further action, that further monitoring of the course is required or to carry out an extraordinary inspection.
We will contact you and let you know what decision we have made and if we are going to take any further action.