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Greenflied Children’s Centre aims to provide services, support and childcare of the highest quality to all our families and children. We offer a welcome to each individual child and family and aim to provide a warm and caring environment in which each child and family’s needs are met effectively.
We believe that children and parents are entitled to expect courtesy and prompt, careful attention to their needs and wishes. We work in partnership with parents/carers and the community generally and are open to suggestions about how to improve our policies and procedures at any time.
We believe that most complaints are made constructively and can be sorted out at an early stage without the need to follow a formal process. However, every complaint made to the Centre will be treated seriously and dealt with fairly and in a way that respects confidentiality.
Formal complaints process:
- If any parent/carer has a concern or complaint about any aspect of the Centre’s work or service, they should discuss their concern at the earliest opportunity with an appropriate member of staff if at all possible, as it could be just a case of a simple misunderstanding or there could be a clear explanation that can allay the parent/carer/user’s concerns.
- If there is no satisfactory outcome following this discussion, or they don’t feel able to discuss their concern with a member of staff, the parent/carer should put their complaint in writing to the Centre using the Centre Complaints form (please see attached).
- On receipt of the written complaint, the appropriate person within the Centre will arrange a meeting with the parent/carer to discuss the concerns. The parent/carer should have a friend/partner present if required.
- If appropriate, the complaint will be shared with the Children’s Centre Management team.
- If the complaint involves an allegation of child abuse against a member of staff, the management of the Centre will follow the procedure laid down in our Safeguarding Children Policy before taking any further action.
- An agreed written record of the discussion will be made and agreement will hopefully be reached about hot the complaint will be investigated and the action required to resolve the situation.
- Following the meeting, the manager will provide the parent/carer with an account of the findings of their investigation within 28 days. If requested, they will provide the parent/carer with a written response to the complaint.
- If, following this procedure, the parent/carer and the Centre cannot reach agreement on how to resolve the problem, an external mediator, who is acceptable to both parties, will be contacted to listen to both sides and offer advice.
- This mediator has no legal powers but can help to clarify the situation, defining the problem, reviewing the action so far and suggesting further ways in which it might be resolved.
- All discussions will be kept confidential.
- In some circumstances, it may be necessary to involve OFSTED, who have a duty to ensure that laid down registration requirements are adhered to. OFSTED must be involved if a child appears to be at risk or where there appears to be a possible breach of registration requirements.
- In either of the above cases, both the parent/carer and the Centre must be informed by OFSTED and a full investigation of the complaint will be followed by appropriate action.
Making a complaint to OFSTED
A parent/carer can make a complaint to OFSTED at any time about any concern about a childcare provider. Details of how to contact OFSTED are displayed around the Centre on posters:
Address: OFSTED National Business Unit
Royal Exchange Building
St. Anne’s Square
Manchester
M2 7LA
Email: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk
Telephone: 08456 404040
More information about the role that OFSTED plays in investigating complaints and concerns can be found at www.ofsted.gov.uk/parents or in the factsheet accompanying this policy.
The Centre will keep a written record of all complaints. We will provide OFSTED, on request, with a written record of all complaints made during any specified period, and the action taken as a result of each complaint. |
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