Potton Homes
Complaints & Representation
Relevant Legislation
 Children’s Act 1989 Volume 5
 Children’s Act 1989, Guidance & Regulations, Volume 4
 Children’s Homes Regulations 2015
 Quality standards for Children’s Homes
Related Procedures & Guidance
 Safeguarding Children
 Privacy and Confidentiality
 Children’s Rights
 Consultation with Children and Parents
 Preserving Children’s Religious, Racial, Cultural, and Linguistic Heritage
 Notifications of Significant Events
 Role of the Key Worker
 Local Authority Formal Complaints Procedure
 Potton Homes Complaints Form
Potton Homes is an organisation that is committed to providing a nurturing and
supportive environment in which children can thrive and grow.
Application of policy
This policy applies to all members of childcare practitioners and teaching staff, students
and volunteers working in children’s homes within the organization.
Policy Statement
Potton Homes accepts that it is accountable to all children, young people, their families,
parents and placing authorities for the quality of the services the organization provides.
Accordingly, it respects the right of children, young people and parents, as well as their
families to make representations and complaints.
The formal and informal procedures set out below have been put in place to help
children, young people, and others to complain should they need. Potton Homes
expects managers and childcare practitioners and teaching staff to deal professionally
with all complaints in line with the procedures which include information about how to
proceed if the complaint about the manager of the home. The company expressly
forbids any attempt to prevent children; young people and their parents as well as
Complaints policy and procedure
March 2015
families from making a complaint and ant such action will be dealt with under the
organizations disciplinary procedure.
The organization works closely with the organization ‘Voice For the Child in Care’ to
provide the children, young people, their families using its home with an independent
advocacy service to assist in the process of making complaints and representation
should they require help to do so. Children, young people, their families have access to
an independent advocacy service provided by the Children’s Society.
It is Potton Homes policy for there to be no restrictions on issues children, young
people, their families and parents may complain about.
Potton Homes believes that wherever possible, complaints should be dealt with swiftly
and informally (they must be always responded to within a maximum of 5 days in
writing). It is usually far better for all concerned if dissatisfaction can be resolved as
near to the point it arose as possible.
If a child, young person, parent or family member wishes to make a formal complaint
however, or if they are not satisfied with the outcome of an investigation into their
complaint using the Potton Homes informal procedure, then they have the right to
access the complaints procedure of their placing local authority. They also have the right
to complain directly to Potton Homes registered provider and the Regulating Body
Ofsted .
Potton Homes procedures, informing children, young people and their parents and
families about how to complain, formally and informally, has been set out in a simple,
user-friendly leaflet. Information about how to complain is also included in the
information for children and young people’s brochures produced by the organisation for
each one of the homes and each home’s Statement of Purpose and Function. Every
child, young person and if possible parents and families admitted to the homes must be
given a copy of the leaflet and brochure upon arrival and the complaints procedure
must be explained to them by their Keyworker. More generally copies of the complaints
leaflet should also be routinely accessible to children, young people, their parent and
families at all times.
In order to ensure that Potton Homes and the procedure is effectively translated into
practice, the organization undertakes to provide childcare practitioners and teaching
staff with regular training to enable them to deal appropriately with complaints in
accordance with the contents of the policy and procedure.
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March 2015
Potton Homes also undertakes to monitor complaints and the outcomes of
investigations into complaints in order to check the satisfactory operation of its
complaints procedure, to identify patterns of complaints and to ensure appropriate
investigative action and recording is taking place in connection with all complaints
received. The registered manager will check each home’s complaints record every
month with the independent visitor. An 6 monthly report listing all complaints, how
they were handled and their outcomes will also be produced.
1 Introduction
1.1 If a children’s homes day-to-day practice is consistent, open and fair, it is likely that
the majority of problems that arise will be resolved quickly to everyone’s
satisfaction without recourse to formal procedures.
1.2 Children, young people and their parents and families should always be consulted
about decisions effecting their involvement in general day to day running of the
home should be encouraged. For example, resident’s meetings children and young
people are accountable to their peers and the childcare practitioners and teaching
staff for their conduct in the home. Childcare practitioners and teaching staff
members are also accountable to the children, young people, their parents and
families for the quality of the care provided. This should be reflected in residents
meetings. Children and young people will use residents meetings positively if they
believe action was going to be taken to address their concerns or any issues that
they raise, or where this is not possible, reasoned explanations are given.
Residents meetings should always be recorded, with decisions made and action to
be taken clearly noted.
1.3 Regular key work sessions with children and young people should be held the key
worker, as co-coordinator of the child’s care in the home, is in a particularly good
position to talk through with the child any problems or difficulties s/he may be
experiencing. Decisions reached in these meetings must be clearly recorded any
necessary action to be taken promptly.
1.4 Childcare practitioners and teaching staff must be prepared to acknowledge that
they will occasionally make mistakes and that a reconsideration of decisions
previously taken may be necessary.
This should help create an environment in which problems can be quickly and
effectively solved. (Please note however that individual childcare practitioners and
teaching staff members should never act alone and reverse decisions without first
consulting with the manager and other members of childcare practitioners and teaching
staff team). This should preferably be done at the childcare practitioners and teaching
staff meeting.
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March 2015
1.5 Most children, young people and their parents and families who wish to make a
complaint will simply want it to be sorted out quickly and with a minimum of fuss.
Some will not have the confidence, however, to pursue a complaint without
support and they may want an independent advocate, social worker, parent or
anther familiar adult to support or represent them. This wish should always be
respected and facilitated. All complaints verbal and written are to be dealt with
using the procedure.
1.6 Childcare practitioners and teaching staff should always be perceptive to a child or
young person’s unhappiness caused by difficulties they are experiencing within the
home some children will act out their unhappiness, dissatisfaction and anger.
Whilst the acting out behaviour will need to be addressed, childcare practitioners
and teaching staff should also look beyond the presenting behaviour and try to
understand the root cause of the problem.
1.7 Children and young people must always have access to a private telephone, help
line should be prominently displayed incase they wish to make use of them. They
should also have the opportunity, should they wish to do so, to talk to their parents
or family, their social worker, Regulating Body Ofsted and the appointed
independent advocate.
2
Procedures
Formal or Informal Procedures/How to Decide?
2.1 In reaching these decisions the child, young person, their parents or family or any
other complainant’s wishes must always be respected. In most cases they will
want their complaints to be dealt with quickly and possibly with the advice and
support of the independent advocate or their social worker, they will be content
for the matter to be first dealt with using the informal procedure set out in 3
below. If they wish to make a formal complaint however either using their placing
local authority’s procedure or directly To Ofsted they should be helped to do so in
accordance with procedure in paragraph 4.
2.2 All complaints involving harm to children and young people must be dealt with
formally in accordance with the procedure in paragraph 4 below and Potton
Homes Safeguarding policy and procedure. Similarly, complaints concerning
childcare practitioners and teaching staff misconduct likely to require
investigation under the Potton Homes childcare practitioners and teaching staff
disciplinary procedure must be dealt with formally.
3
How to deal with informal procedures.
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3.1 If a child, young person and family have a complaint and they are agreeable, at
least in the first instance, for it to be dealt with informally, the following
procedures should be used.
(a) The member of childcare practitioners and teaching staff on duty should make
a written record of the complaint. It should be shown to and signed by the
child, parent or complainant if possible. A brief record of the complaint should
also made in the homes running log, the central complaints log and the child’s
personal file.
(b) At the first available opportunity it should be shown to the manager. The
manager should confirm based on the nature of the complaint to be handled
informally (see paragraph 2.1 and 22 above) and if so, how and by whom it is to
be investigated.
(c) If the homes manager is the subject of the complaint it should be referred
promptly and directly to the responsible individual who will decide how the
complaint is to be handled. The registered person will then co-ordinate the
handling of the complaint in accordance with the procedures below.
(d) The registered person/manager should meet with the child, and possible the
parent or other complainant as quickly as possible, that the complaint is
justified, and the member of childcare practitioners and teaching staff is
prepared to apologise, it may be possible for the registered provider/manager
simply to arrange a meeting between the member of childcare practitioners
and teaching staff and the child, parent or other complainant to resolve the
matter.
(e) If it is not that straightforward and an investigation is going to be necessary the
manager should explain how s/he intends to proceed with the investigation. If
the complainant is a child or young person, the registered person/manager
should identify the child’s support needs during the investigation process and
ensure they are put in place.
(f) The manager should inform, in writing, the child’s social worker about the
complaint and how it is being handled
(g) If a childcare practitioners and teaching staff member is the subject of the
complaint, only the manager or in the deputy manager if allocated
responsibility should investigate the matter. The manager or deputy should
meet with the childcare practitioners and teaching staff member concerned to
explain how the investigation is to proceed. The manager should also consider
the childcare practitioners and teaching staff members support needs during
the investigation and ensure they are put in place.
(h) The manager or deputy should identify all those involved in the complaint,
including witnesses of the incident, which gave rise to it and arrange interviews
with them as soon as possible. A written record should be kept of each
interview. The aim of the interviews should be to gather as much information
as possible, this will help the manager or deputy, in consultation with the
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March 2015
responsible person, to make an informed decision about whether or not to
uphold the complaint and to decide what, if any action needs to be taken.
(i) The child, young person, their parents or family making the complaint, the
subject of the complaint any others involved should be informed of the
outcome both verbally and in writing by the manager or deputy as quickly as
possible and within 14 days (acknowledgment in writing within 72 hours). A
record of the investigation and the outcome should be placed in the central
complaints book, on the child’s individual case records. The registered
manager, the child’s social worker, the parents and where necessary the
regulating body Ofsted, if the complaint falls into the Child Protection.
(j) If the complainant is not satisfied with the outcome s/he should be advised and
helped to use the relevant placing local authority formal complaints procedure
to purse the complaint further. Similarly, any child or young person who is the
subject of a complaint and is unhappy with the outcome should be advised of
his/her right to do the same. Childcare practitioners and teaching staff
members who are the subject of complains, who are discontent with the
outcome of the investigation, have the right to take the matter up through
Potton Homes childcare practitioners and teaching staff Grievance Procedure.
(k) The approach throughout the above procedure should be to resolve the
problem that gave rise to the complaint to every ones satisfaction as
thoroughly but as quickly as possible. Mangers should also remember that, for
those involved in a complaint, it might be a worrying and stressful time. Extra
support should be available to children and childcare practitioners and teaching
staff involved in the process.
4. How to Support Children, External Complaints their Parents and
Families who wish to make a Formal Complaint
4.1
Children, young people their parents or families who wish to make a formal
complaint to their local authority or direct to Ofsted should always are given the
necessary assistance to do so.
4.2
The relevant placing local authority’s formal procedure should be available at the
home for the child, young person, and parent or family and relevant professionals
to use should they wish to do so (ensuring the availability of the procedure
should be the responsibility of the manager). This will be readily accessible to all
the above.
4.3
Assistance to understand and use the procedure should be provided directly or
coordinated by the manager or the deputy manager (unless in the cases where
the manager or the deputy are the subject of the complaint in which case the
assistance should be provided directly or coordinated by the registered provider
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and in consultation with the responsible person with external line management
responsibility for the home.
4.4
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4.5
4.6
4.7
The assistance should always involve:
Helping them to access and understand the relevant local authority formal
procedures and giving them advice on how to use it and or details of how they
may contact the regulating body Ofsted direct if that is their wish.
Helping them to formulate their complaint and put it in writing
Contacting the placing authority social worker and designated complaints officer
within the placing authority as well as Ofsted, stressing that the complainant
wish’s for the complaint to be handled formally and contacting others in the
child’s care network e.g. the parents or family to inform them of the complaint
and how it is being handled.
Informing the registered person/manager for the home to pursue the complaint.
Providing support to the child, young person, their parents or family during the
process of any ensuring investigation carried out under the local authority
procedure.
Facilating the investigation process wherever possible including making
necessary records available or ensuring childcare practitioners and teaching staff
are available for interview as required.
Maintain regular liaisons with the placing authority social worker to ensure that
the investigation into the complaint is progressing within the time scales
specified in placing authority’s formal complaints procedure.
All formal complaints and their outcomes must be fully recorded in the homes
central complaints book, on the child’s personal file and the social worker,
responsible person, parents or family.
Where the complaint falls into Child Protection the regulating body Ofsted are
also to be informed in writing.
In the event of the child, young person, parent or family member wishing to
appeal against the outcome of the formal placing local authority investigation
into the complaint they should be assisted to understand and pursue the appeal
part of the placing authority procedure, including receiving information about the
timescales for appeal. The appeal and eventual outcome should be fully
recorded in the homes central complaint book and on the young person’s
personal file. All those specified above 4.4 should be notified of the appeal and
the eventual outcome of the appeal.
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