Parents using Chard NNI may sometimes feel unhappy about an aspect of the service being provided. We always hope to deal with issues as they arise in an informal way, but parents may wish to exercise their right to make a formal complaint. They are informed of the procedure to do this and all complaints are responded to in a timely way.

Agencies working with the setting may also have a grievance or complaint to make. They are informed of the procedures and complaints are responded to in a timely way.

Clare house Nursery is committed to providing its customers with the highest levels of service. However, we are aware that from time to time you may be unhappy with the service provided. To deal with this, we have a Complaints Procedure. We believe that complaints can help us see where our services or procedures might be improved. If you feel that your concern does not amount to a ‘complaint’, we still want to know about it, as it may help us to develop our service for the benefit of everyone.

Here we set out how you can make a complaint.

The aim of our complaints procedure

• To provide an effective means to receive complaints about the quality or nature of services.
• To ensure those complaints are acted upon and recorded.
• To seek to resolve complaints quickly and as close to the point of service as is acceptable and appropriate.
• To ensure that responses to complaints are informative and comprehensive.
• To give management an additional tool to monitor the overall performance of the organisation and the extent to which its service objectives are being met.

 

Our standards for handling complaints

• Our intention is to deal with all complaints fairly and with integrity. We will treat those making a complaint with courtesy, respect and fairness at all times. We expect that you will also treat our staff dealing with your complaint with the same courtesy, respect and fairness.
• Complaints will be dealt with in confidence and data kept in line with data protection legislation.

 

• Complainants will be treated in accordance with the Equal Opportunities Policy of Early Years.

Informal complaints

You should attempt to make your complaint to a member of early years staff closest to the issue that you want to complain about, but if you are not sure you can speak to any member of staff within the setting. The staff member will try to resolve your complaint immediately or will pass on the matter to a more appropriate colleague who will contact you to deal with the issue as soon as possible. If the matter is resolved at this stage, then no further action will be taken. However, we may keep a record of your complaint to assist in improvement of the service.

If your complaint is not resolved informally you may decide to make a formal complaint following the process below.

Formal Complaints

All formal complaints must be done in writing so that we can hold a record of this and act upon the complaint appropriately:

Please email admin@clarehouse.org.uk

The formal complaints process has the following stages:

Stage 1

The Manager of nursery –Jayne Windsor will log your complaint including the date, personal contact details of the complainant and the nature of the complaint.

Where the complaint may be about the settings manager please see: The deputy Manager- Karen Robotham, and she will be named lead professional during this process.

Where the complaint may be regarding both the setting manager and the deputy manager: Please send complaint in via an email addressed as: Complaint FAO Marie Baker (Committee Chair) and this will be forwarded on to her. Marie Baker will then be your named lead professional during the process.

If your complaint is received verbally or by telephone you will be advised to put your compliant in writing to ensure that we have all the information that you wish for us to investigate. When information is passed verbally, some of the smaller details can get lost in translation therefore inhibiting a good investigation process.  We take complaints very seriously and will want to make sure that we understand fully of your concerns and act on these immediately.

If the complaint is received in writing, for example, by email you will receive an acknowledgement of the receipt of the complaint within 24hrs notice.

Your complaint will be investigated by Jayne (or the lead named) who may contact you to gather further information. At the completion of the investigation the member of staff deemed to be most able to help resolve the issue(s) raised, will contact you with the intention of reaching a resolution. Contact will be by phone although you can request written contact if you would prefer that.

The timescale from receipt of the complaint to making contact to attempt resolution will be carried out as quickly as possible. 

Stage 2

It is hoped that the complaint will be dealt with at Stage 1. However, if you are not satisfied you can move to Stage 2. At this stage early years will involve the Chairperson of the Management Committee.

The Chairperson will consider the original complaint, any investigation that took place and the attempt to resolve the complaint at Stage 1 and any other relevant information. They may contact you to gather further information. They will then contact you with the intention of reaching a resolution to the complaint.

The timescale from receipt of the complaint to making contact to attempt resolution will be carried out as quickly as possible and should normally be within 28 days. If the complaint is particularly complex and/or requires lengthy investigation it may take longer to review. In this case you will be kept informed of progress.

PROCEDURE FOR ALLEGATION AGAINST A MEMBER OF STAFF

1. Notify a member of the management team
2. Allegation will be discussed with the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) and or Human Resources at County Hall to discuss the nature content and context of the allegation and agree a course of action.  Information such as previous history, whether the child or their family have made similar allegations and the individuals current contact with children.
3. If the person is deemed to be an immediate risk to children or there is evidence of a criminal offence, the police will be involved immediately.
4. The initial sharing of information may lead to a decision that no further action is to be taken in regard to the individual facing the allegation or concern; in which case this decision and a justification for it should be recorded by both the case manager and the LADO, and agreement reached on what information should be put in writing to the individual concerned and by whom.  The case manager should then consider with the LADO what action should follow both in respect of the individual and those who made the initial allegation.
5. The case manager should inform the accused person about the allegation as soon as possible after consulting the LADO. It is extremely important that the case manager provides them with as much information as possible at that time. However, where a strategy discussion is needed, or police or children’s social care services need to be involved, the case manager should not do that until those agencies have been consulted, and have agreed what information can be disclosed to the accused. Employers must consider carefully whether the circumstances of a case warrant a person being suspended from contact with children at the school or whether alternative arrangements can be put in place until the allegation or concern is resolved. All options to avoid suspension should be considered prior to taking that step. (Please see further information on suspension below).
6. If the allegation is not demonstrably false or unfounded, and there is cause to suspect a child is suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm, a strategy discussion should be convened in accordance with working Together to Safeguard Children.   If the allegation is about physical contact, the strategy discussion or initial evaluation with the police should take into account that teachers and other school and early years staff are entitled to use reasonable force to control or restrain pupils in certain circumstances.
7. Where an investigation by the police or children’s social care services is unnecessary, or the strategy discussion or initial valuation decides that is the case, the LADO should discuss the next steps with the case manager. In those circumstances, the options open to the setting depend on the nature and circumstances of the allegation and the evidence and information available. This will range from taking no further action to dismissal or a decision not to use the person’s services in future. Suspension should not be the default position: an individual should be suspended only if there is no reasonable alternative.
8.  In some cases, further enquiries will be needed to enable a decision about how to proceed. If so, the LADO should discuss with the case manager how and by whom the investigation will be undertaken

 

 

Duties an Employer and Employee

 

Employers have a duty of care to their employees.  Tahey should ensure they provide effective support for anyone facing an allegation and provide the employee with a named contact if they are suspended.

It is essential that any allegation of abuse made against any staff or volunteer in the nursery is dealt with very quickly, in a fair and consistent way that provides effective protection for the child and at the same time supports the person who is the subject of the allegation

 

If the parent is still not satisfied

 

He/ she is entitled to make a complaint to OFSTED. The manager will assist in any complaint investigation as well as in producing documentation that records the steps that were taken in response to the original complaint.

 

The manager will ensure that parents know they can complain to Ofsted by telephone or by email:

 

Piccadily Gate

Store street

Manchester

M1 2WD

Telephone: 0300 123 4666

enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk