* For the purpose of this publication the term ‘parents’ will be used to describe all types of primary caregivers, such as biological and adoptive parents, foster carers and guardians.

 

We strive to provide high quality care and education for our children and families and this includes treating families with care, courtesy, and respect.

 

We hope that parents are happy and satisfied with the quality and service provided and we encourage them to voice their appreciation or suggestions on improvements we can make to staff and/or management. We record all compliments and concerns and share these with staff.

 

Within any setting there will be times when parents feel the need to raise a concern or make a complaint.  All complaints will be dealt with promptly and in a professional manner to ensure that:

• Any concerns arising from them are handled effectively and to ensure
• The welfare of all children is of paramount importance,
• Ongoing cooperative partnership with parents is not compromised
• We are continually improving the quality of the provision.

 

We adhere to the following procedure when dealing with complaints where we are not able to resolve a concern.  Where any concern or complaint relates to child protection, we follow our Safeguarding Children and Child Protection Policy.

 

Complaints procedure

 

Stage 1 – Verbal discussion

Parents are encouraged to talk about any concerns about the care, learning or environment they may have with the child’s key person or a senior member of staff/room leader in the first instance. If this is not resolved, we ask them to discuss this verbally with the manager.

 

Stage 2 – Written Complaint

If the issue still remains unresolved or parents feel they have received an unsatisfactory outcome, then they must present their concerns in writing as a formal complaint to the setting manager using this form: ELIM(Childcare) Complaints record template.docx  The manager will then investigate the complaint in relation to the fulfilment of the EYFS requirements and report back to the parent within 5 working days. The manager will document the complaint fully, the actions taken and the outcome in relation to it in the complaints log book.

(Most complaints are usually resolved informally at stage 1 or 2.)

 

Stage 3 – Formal meeting

If the matter is still not resolved, we will hold a formal meeting between the manager, parent and a senior staff member to ensure that it is dealt with fully and fairly. We will minute the meeting and document any actions. All parties present at the meeting will review the accuracy of the record and will sign to verify the accuracy. All parties will receive a copy. This will signify the conclusion of the procedure.

 

Stage 4

If the matter cannot be resolved to their satisfaction, then parents have the right to raise the matter with Ofsted. Parents are made aware that they can contact Ofsted any time they have a concern, including at all

 

stages of the complaints procedure and are given information on how to do that. Ofsted is the registering authority for Early Years settings in England and investigates all complaints that suggest a provider may not be meeting the requirements of the setting’s registration. It risk assesses all complaints made and may visit the setting to carry out a full inspection where it believes requirements are not met.

 

A record of complaints will be kept in the setting. The record will include the name of the complainant, the nature of the complaint, date and time complaint received, action(s) taken, outcomes of any investigations and any information given to the complainant including a dated response.

 

Parents will be able to access this record if they wish; however, all personal details relating to any complaint will be stored confidentially and will be only accessible by the parties involved. Ofsted inspectors will have access to this record at any time during visits to ensure actions have been met appropriately.

 

We will follow this procedure for any other compliments and complaints received from visitors to the provider, where applicable.

 

Contact details for Ofsted:

 

Email: [email protected]

 

Telephone: 0300 123 1231   

 

By post:

Ofsted
Piccadilly Gate
Store Street
Manchester
M1 2WD

 

All Parents will be informed if the setting becomes aware that they are going to be inspected and after inspection we will provide a copy of the report to parents of children attending on a regular basis.

 

This policy was adopted on	Signed on behalf of the nursery	Date for review
28/02/2025	I Cernychiene	08/2025
10.08.2025	Irma Cameron	08.2026