Feedback and complaints
You’ll find details here of how to give us your feedback or make a complaint.
We welcome your feedback, which helps us to improve the products and services we provide. We know that sometimes things go wrong, but if they do, we want to try to stop them from happening again.
Use the tabs below to find the right information for you.
How to make a complaint
We want to help you as much as possible but some questions or complaints may need to be raised with your school, college or learning provider. We think it’s better for you to know this now, so your complaint can be resolved as quickly as possible.
You can read more about our customer service commitment to students and parents in charter.
When to contact your school, college or learning provider first
If you’re unhappy with the way your teacher is delivering a Pearson qualification, or with a decision that’s been made by your school, college or learning provider, you need to give them the opportunity to investigate and respond to your concerns before getting in touch with us*. The only exception to this rule is where you have evidence that someone has committed malpractice.
*Please note that once a learner has exhausted a centre’s complaints procedure, there will only be certain matters Pearson can then assist with. We cannot assist with matters which are between the centre and learner, for example, fee disputes.
What is malpractice and how do I report it?
What is my school, college or learning provider's internal complaints process?
We've provided an example of a school's internal complaints process below, but policies will vary from centre to centre. Your school, college or learning provider will be able to give you more information on which steps are relevant to you.
At any point during the investigation of a complaint, your school, college or learning provider can get in touch with us for more information, support or advice. However, we would not usually become directly involved until the internal process has been completed.
If you are concerned about an aspect of one of our assessments your teacher is in the best position to guide you. If they feel they need to formally raise your concerns with us, they can do so on behalf of all students at your school, college or learning provider.
Why do I need to talk to my teacher about concerns with a Pearson assessment?
We take the integrity of our qualifications very seriously and review all feedback we receive about our assessments.
Where an issue is identified with an exam or other assessment that we've set, we work with our examiners to ensure that no students are unfairly advantaged or disadvantaged. We do this by carefully monitoring students' responses during the marking and by setting grade boundaries that make sure you're fairly rewarded for your performance.
This makes it very difficult to respond to you within a reasonable timeframe as we can't comment on concerns until all of the work has been marked and results have been released. Therefore we publish information on our student updates page and share the details of any actions we've taken to our centres who can share the information with you.
When students or parents contact us we can’t share specific information about results because we don’t hold enough information to verify your identity. This means that if you are unhappy with your results or feel that they are incorrect, your teacher is in the best position to help you. They will be able to clearly explain the options available and can contact us on your behalf if necessary.
I'm a private candidate - are the rules different?
Yes. Although private candidates often find it easier to speak to their school, college or learning provider about their results, they can contact Pearson directly to request post-results services like a ‘review of marking’ or to request a marked copy of their exam paper. If a private candidate is unhappy with the outcome of a review of marking, they can also appeal our decision without going through their exam centre.
Contact our Student Services team
Why can’t I have my coursework or controlled assessment remoderated?
Coursework and controlled assessments are internally marked by your teacher and then the work is externally moderated by Pearson. If your teacher marked the work incorrectly, this is picked up during the moderation process and marks are adjusted accordingly.
If your teacher's marks were adjusted, only your school, college or learning provider can request work to be remoderated. This is because if a remoderation is requested, all work must be resubmitted and any changes will affect all students registered at your centre for that particular subject.
Who determines the rules around marking and re-marking assessments?
Pearson works with the other major UK awarding organisations to set common rules for processes such as the marking and re-marking of assessments. This is to ensure that all students are treated in the same way, regardless of the awarding organisation your school, college or learner provider has chosen.
The major UK awarding organisations are members of the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) and all rules set by this body comply with the Ofqual Handbook: General Conditions of Recognition.
Contacting Pearson with feedback and complaints
If you’d like to give us your feedback or you’re unhappy with the service you can complete our complaint form.
You can also use our online form to get in touch if you feel your school, college or learning provider has failed to follow its own procedure or you've exhausted their internal complaints process and you're still unhappy with the outcome.
Yes. Please post your complaint to the address below:
Customer Services Contact Team (Feedback and complaints)
Pearson Qualification Services
14 The Quays
Salford Quays
Manchester
M50 3BF
Your complaint will be passed to the team that’s best placed to investigate and resolve it. You may receive a response in writing or by phone – whichever is most appropriate. We aim to respond to complaints in 10 working days.
Sometimes, to investigate your concerns fully and provide a detailed response, we’ll need longer than 10 days. If this is the case, we’ll contact you after 10 working days to update you on our progress.
If you don't feel we've responded to your complaint satisfactorily, please submit any further comments via the online form above. They will be escalated to the relevant manager who will review all of the information to ensure that we've followed the correct procedures and assisted you as much as we possibly can.
In England and Wales - If you’re a learner taking Higher National Certificates (HNC) and Higher National Diplomas (HND) you can contact:
- Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) - enquiries@oiahe.org.uk
- Check if your centre is a provider that is covered by the OIA scheme
Following the OIA process does not prevent you from pursuing a complaint or appeal with Pearson and you may choose whichever route(s) that you feel is the most appropriate.
If you’ve followed the Pearson complaints procedure and would still like to take your complaint further, the following options are available:
Regulatory bodies
In England |
Ofqual |
In Wales |
Qualifications Wales |
In Northern Ireland |
CCEA (general qualifications) |
In Scotland If you have a complaint about an SQA-accredited qualification (such as SVQs or BTEC (Scotland) |
SQA Accreditation |
If you're from an international centre and are delivering or taking a qualification regulated by any of the bodies listed, you can also contact the appropriate qualifications regulator if you would like to take your complaint further.
Other bodies
In England and Wales - If you’re a learner taking Higher National Certificates (HNC) and Higher National Diplomas (HND)
- Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) - enquiries@oiahe.org.uk
- Check if your centre is a provider that is covered by the OIA scheme
Following the OIA process does not prevent you from pursuing a complaint or appeal with Pearson and you may choose whichever route(s) that you feel is the most appropriate.
In Scotland - If you're a learner at a Scottish college, who has exhausted the complaints procedure at your college and awarding body.
How to give feedback
If you don’t want to make a complaint but you’d like to give us your feedback, you can contact us using our online form.
Your comments will be passed to the appropriate team for their review and consideration. Where a response is required, the team will be in touch with you directly.
If you're not able to complete the online form, please post your feedback to the address below:
Customer Services Contact Team (Feedback and complaints)
Pearson Qualification Services
14 The Quays
Salford Quays
Manchester
M50 3BF
How to make a complaint
If you have a problem, our customer services team may be able to help you before you make a complaint. You'll find their details on our contact us pages. Otherwise, you can complete our complaint form or post your complaint to the address below:
Customer Services Contact Team (Feedback and complaints)
Pearson Qualification Services
14 The Quays
Salford Quays
Manchester
M50 3BF
If you post your complaint to us, please include an email address and telephone number where possible in case we need to contact you for more information.
When making a complaint, please provide us with as much relevant information as possible, including:
- Your centre name and NCN or National Centre Number (where applicable)
- Qualification, subject and learner details (where applicable)
- Any previous reference numbers you’ve been given
- Copies of any relevant correspondence with us.
Your complaint will be passed to the team that’s best placed to investigate and resolve it. You may receive a response in writing or by phone – whichever is most appropriate. We aim to respond to complaints in 10 working days.
Sometimes, to investigate your concerns fully and provide a detailed response, we’ll need longer than 10 days. If this is the case, we’ll contact you after 10 working days to update you on our progress.
If you don't feel we've responded to your complaint satisfactorily, please submit any further comments via the online form above. They will be escalated to the relevant manager who will review all of the information to ensure that we've followed the correct procedures and assisted you as much as we possibly can.
If you’ve followed the Pearson complaints procedure and would still like to take your complaint further, the following options are available:
Regulatory bodies
In England |
Ofqual |
In Wales |
Qualifications Wales |
In Northern Ireland |
CCEA (general qualifications) |
In Scotland If you have a complaint about an SQA-accredited qualification (such as SVQs or BTEC (Scotland) |
SQA Accreditation |
If you're from an international centre and are delivering or taking a qualification regulated by any of the bodies listed, you can also contact the appropriate qualifications regulator if you would like to take your complaint further.
Other bodies
In England and Wales - If you’re a learner taking Higher National Certificates (HNC) and Higher National Diplomas (HND)
- Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) - enquiries@oiahe.org.uk
- Check if your centre is a provider that is covered by the OIA scheme
Following the OIA process does not prevent you from pursuing a complaint or appeal with Pearson and you may choose whichever route(s) that you feel is the most appropriate.
In Scotland - If you're a learner at a Scottish college, who has exhausted the complaints procedure at your college and awarding body.
Complaints with different procedures
Some types of complaints have their own specific process. Below, you’ll find more details on how we can help you, depending on the nature of your complaint. We want to make sure that, wherever possible, your complaint is received directly by the correct team to prevent delays and make sure you receive a timely response.
If you work in a centre and witness malpractice or become aware of something that causes you concern, you can email pqsmalpractice@pearson.com and one of our malpractice experts will respond. Any information you provide will be treated sensitively and in strictest confidence.
We investigate allegations of malpractice in our exams and assessments in accordance with the JCQ Policies and Procedures.
If you have any questions about the data we hold about you, or if you wish to make a complaint about data protection, please contact the Data Protection Officer directly:
| By email |
UKDataProtection@pearson.com |
| By post | Pearson Data Protection Dept Data Privacy Office 80 Strand London WC2R 0RL United Kingdom |
Pearson is not subject to Freedom of Information (FoI) legislation. The Act applies to ‘public authorities, or companies who are wholly owned by public authorities’. You can read more about the authorities that are subject to the FoI Act here.
How to give feedback
If you don’t want to make a complaint but you’d like to give us your feedback, you can complete our online form.
Your comments will be passed to the appropriate team for their review and consideration. Where a response is required, the team will be in touch with you directly.
If you're not able to complete the online form, please post your feedback to the address below:
Customer Services Contact Team (Feedback and complaints)
Pearson Qualification Services
14 The Quays
Salford Quays
Manchester
M50 3BF
How to make a complaint
This information is relevant if you’re an Assessment Associate or applying to be an examiner, moderator or verifier.
If you have a problem, our specialist teams may be able to help you before you make a complaint. You'll find their details on our contact us pages. Otherwise, you can complete our complaint form or post your complaint to the address below:
Customer Services Contact Team (Feedback and complaints)
Pearson Qualification Services
14 The Quays
Salford Quays
Manchester
M50 3BF
If you post your complaint to us, please include an email address and telephone number where possible in case we need to contact you for more information.
When making a complaint, please provide us with as much relevant information as possible, including:
- Your Assessment Associate (AA) number (where applicable)
- Any previous reference numbers you’ve been given
- Copies of any relevant correspondence with us.
Your complaint will be passed to the team that's best placed to investigate and resolve it.
We aim to respond to Assessment Associate complaints in 10 working days.
Sometimes, to investigate your concerns fully and provide a detailed response, we’ll need longer than 10 days. If this is the case, we'll contact you after 10 working days to update you on our progress.
If you don't feel we've responded to your complaint satisfactorily, please submit any further comments via the online form above. They will be escalated to the relevant manager who will review all of the information to ensure that we’ve followed the correct procedures and assisted you as much as we possibly can.
If you’ve followed the Pearson complaints procedure and would still like to take your complaint further, the following options are available:
Regulatory bodies
In England |
Ofqual |
In Wales |
Qualifications Wales |
In Northern Ireland |
CCEA (general qualifications) |
In Scotland If you have a complaint about an SQA-accredited qualification (such as SVQs or BTEC (Scotland) |
SQA Accreditation |
If you're from an international centre and are delivering or taking a qualification regulated by any of the bodies listed, you can also contact the appropriate qualifications regulator if you would like to take your complaint further.
Other bodies
In England and Wales - If you’re a learner taking Higher National Certificates (HNC) and Higher National Diplomas (HND)
- Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) - enquiries@oiahe.org.uk
- Check if your centre is a provider that is covered by the OIA scheme
Following the OIA process does not prevent you from pursuing a complaint or appeal with Pearson and you may choose whichever route(s) that you feel is the most appropriate.
In Scotland - If you're a learner at a Scottish college, who has exhausted the complaints procedure at your college and awarding body.
Complaints with different procedures
Some types of complaints have their own specific process. Below, you’ll find more details on how we can help you, depending on the nature of your complaint. We want to make sure that, wherever possible, your complaint is received directly by the correct team to prevent delays and make sure you receive a timely response.
Malpractice
Malpractice refers to a breach of regulation or specification requirements in the delivery of a qualification. Malpractice can be committed by learners, centre staff, centres and others involved in the assessment process.
If you witness malpractice, you can email pqsmalpractice@pearson.com and one of our malpractice and investigation experts will respond. Any information you provide will be treated sensitively and in strictest confidence. We investigate allegations of malpractice in our exams and assessments in accordance with the JCQ Policies and Procedures.
Other forms of wrongdoing except for malpractice
When carrying out your work as an Assessment Associate, you might have concerns about other forms of wrongdoing by our centres or Pearson staff. These might include:
- A criminal offence
- A failure to meet a legal obligation
- A miscarriage of justice
- A breach of health and safety regulations
- Environmental damage
All such concerns should be communicated to our Investigations team at pqsmalpractice.com. One of our malpractice and investigation experts will respond. Any information you provide will be treated sensitively and in strictest confidence.
If you have any questions about the data we hold about you, or if you wish to make a complaint about data protection, please contact the Data Protection Officer directly:
| By email |
UKDataProtection@pearson.com |
| By post | Pearson Data Protection Dept Data Privacy Office 80 Strand London WC2R 0RL United Kingdom |
Pearson is not subject to Freedom of Information (FoI) legislation. The Act applies to ‘public authorities, or companies who are wholly owned by public authorities’. You can read more about the authorities that are subject to the FoI Act here.
