1.4.1 Complaints Procedure

SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER

This chapter covers complaints received in respect of services to children and dealt with in accordance with the Children Act 1989.

It should be read in conjunction with “Getting the Best out of Complaints - Social Care Complaints and Representations for Children, Young People and Others” which sets out in full the steps to be taken when a complaint is made. This was published by the Department for Children, Schools and Families in 2006, and can be found at the Every Child Matters website.

This chapter provides a summary of the procedure as it relates to children, advice on how to assist children, their carers and representatives in making complaints and advice for staff who are subject to complaints.

The complaints procedure does not apply to complaints of Significant Harm, which must be dealt with under Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Board’s Safeguarding Children Procedures.

NB Those wishing to make complaints in relation to a Looked After Child can, at any time, refer their complaints directly to OFSTED.

Contents

Introduction
Who may Make a Complaint?
When is it a Complaint?
Recording Complaints
Stage One - Local Resolution
Stage Two - Investigation
Stage Three – Review Panels
Complaints that Cannot be Dealt with Under this Procedure
Staff Members Involved in Complaints

1. Introduction

The underlying principle of this procedure is resolution, not conflict.

It is essential that those who receive and rely on services provided by Oxfordshire Children, Young People & Families Directorate feel able to make comments and complaints about them. Having an open and accessible complaints system contributes to the Directorate’s objective of listening to what the people of Oxfordshire say about our services. By taking concerns and complaints seriously, the Directorate can receive useful feedback so that we can improve performance and raise standards.

The Complaints Procedure is needed therefore for the following reasons:

For effective communications and good public relations. A complaints procedure gives people the opportunity to voice their grievances and the confidence that they will be fairly considered.
Because the users of our services need to be clear about how, and to whom, they are able to make a complaint, and by what procedure it will be dealt with. Each service area within the Directorate needs to act in a consistent way to ensure that all complaints are dealt with systematically.
As a means of discovering where we are not doing as well as we may think we are. We can all learn from complaints and it is therefore crucial that complaints are monitored.
Because serious complaints and Ombudsman investigations are costly in officer time. If complaints are dealt with properly and efficiently at an early stage, the latter stages of the Complaints procedure will only need to be invoked in extreme cases.

The aims of the procedure are:

To ensure people are listened to, taken seriously and responded to speedily and fairly
To identify where the Directorate can improve its performance
To contribute to the continual improvement of our services and the raising of standards

The Complaints Procedure should:

Be accessible to children, their families and their representatives
Allow children to make complaints and comments on the availability, delivery and nature of services
Be understood by staff
Guarantee complainants and their representatives a prompt and considered response
Provide a strong problem-solving element

2. Who may Make a Complaint?

A complaint under the Children Act 1989 may be made by:

Any child who is Looked After or who, although not Looked After, is a Child in Need
A parent or person with Parental Responsibility
A local authority foster carer (in relation to services to a child)
Such other person as the authority consider has sufficient interest in a child’s welfare to warrant a complaint or representation being considered by them
Eligible Young People, Relevant Young People or Former Relevant Young People
Qualifying Young People who may receive advice and assistance under the Leaving Care Procedures
A person aged up to 24 who is or was a Former Relevant Young Person or Qualifying Young Person under the Leaving Care Procedures and whom the local authority may still assist in connection with education and training
Special Guardians
A child in respect of whom a Special Guardianship Order is in force
Any person who has applied for an assessment for special guardianship support
Any child who may be adopted, their parents and guardians
Any person wishing to adopt a child
Any person to whom arrangements for the provision of adoption support services extend
Adopted persons, their adoptive parents, birth parents and former guardians

Where a complaint is made by a third party on behalf of one of the above categories, where the service user is of sufficient understanding, the service user will need to be consulted, to ensure they agree to the contents of the complaint, agree to it proceeding and agree at what stage it should proceed.

3. When is it a Complaint?

Dealing with problems and concerns of children and their families is an integral part of the Directorate’s work; members of staff resolve issues about services on a day to day basis and these should not be categorised as complaints. It can be very difficult to differentiate between an issue and a complaint. What is an issue for one person may be a complaint for another. Sometimes however, the issues raised cannot be immediately or successfully resolved, they may need to be referred to a manager, they may raise concerns of a serious nature or the child may simply state that they are dissatisfied and wish to make a complaint.

At this point, members of staff should provide information and access to the Complaints Procedure.

If the complaint relates to a child in foster care or residential care, the child should be advised that the complaint may also be directed to OFSTED.

If the complaint relates to a historical matter that is more than 12 months old, the Complaints Service can decide not to accept the complaint. Any such decision must be made in consultation with the relevant Service Manager and the decision must be communicated and explained to the person concerned. This response should also advice the complainant of their right to approach the Local Government Ombudsman.

4. Recording Complaints

The Complaints Service will analyse all complaints and provide the Senior Management Team and elected members with regular reports about the number and type of complaints received.

Service Managers should ensure that any complaints correspondence that they or any member of staff are responsible for will be kept on the relevant child’s file.

Where the complaint relates to the child’s placement in residential care, the fact that the complaint was made and resolved should be noted in the home’s Daily Log, and a summary of the complaint and the manner in which it was resolved should be recorded in the Complaints Log and in the child’s Daily Record. The manager should consult the complainant to ensure that the matter was dealt with appropriately before countersigning the Complaints Log.

Where the complaint relates to the child’s foster home, the foster carer should record brief details in the child’s Daily Record. The foster carer should inform the family placement social worker as soon as practicable as well as, where appropriate, the child’s social worker. The complaint should be recorded in the Complaints Log held by the Family Placement Service and where appropriate in the child’s file.

Where OFSTED is involved, the Service Manager should keep his or her own record of the complaint.

5. Stage One – Local Resolution

The Directorate aims to resolve most issues and concerns before they enter the complaints system. Hence, it is particularly important that all staff respond positively and helpfully to issues at this stage.

Every time a complaint or concern is raised to a member of staff, the way he or she responds and the attitude displayed represents the Directorate. How the member of staff deal with the initial complaint will affect both the Directorate and his or her colleagues. Good customer care skills can help to resolve the child’s concerns, diffuse negative emotions and reassure children and their families that their complaints will be listened to and acted upon in a fair and timely manner.

In dealing with concerns and complaints – on the telephone and in person, members of staff should:

Let the complainant know that you accept that they are dissatisfied and make it clear that you want to understand their problem and find out what they would like to happen
Listen to what the complainant has to say, make sure you give them time to explain their concerns and that you give them your full attention while they do so. Do not interrupt unless you need to clarify something.
Take details of the points of the complaint and background information, and keep notes of them
Tell the person you are taking notes and explain why
Be calm, polite and professional
Remain open-minded and neutral, don’t automatically defend and don’t encourage or discourage
Respect the complainant’s view of what has happened
Do not take things personally; often the complainant is upset by the Directorate’s procedure or position on their service. If the person you are dealing with is angry and rude, remember their manner may be due to anxiety, confusion, disappointment or frustration
Make sure that you are clear what the complaint or concern is about so that you can deal with the matter properly
Take responsibility for passing the complaint or concern to the correct person
If you can, tell the child or young person or the person raising the complaint on his or her behalf what action you will take following the complaint. If it is not your area of responsibility, tell the complainant who you will pass the complaint to and when they should hear from that person
If a mistake or misunderstanding has occurred, don’t be afraid to apologise. If an apology is needed, a sincere apology may assist in resolving the complaint and prevent it progressing to investigation and review.
It is the prospective complainant’s decision whether to proceed with a complaint; if someone is clearly dissatisfied, don’t hinder the progression of their complaint. Preventing access to the procedure may make the matter much more difficult to resolve and the complainant more angry and set against the Directorate
The complaints procedure should not be seen as a final means of dealing with a dissatisfied person who “won’t go away”. It is in addition to, not instead of, continued efforts to solve problems by the staff involved
Remember that the complaints procedure is there both to help children, young people and their families express their concerns and to provide the Directorate with information which may help to improve service provision
Offer accurate advice about whether the complaint can be dealt with under this procedure and advise where to refer if not
Provide the relevant complaints leaflet

The person concerned may be distressed or angry so try to remember how you may feel when you think things have gone wrong and may want to complain.

Do not be defensive
Do not make unrealistic promises
Do not criticise the Directorate or colleagues

Complainants who wish to make a complaint through their own language rather than in English or who have communication difficulties should be assisted to make a complaint and understand the procedure. Assistance with interpreting or translating can be accessed via your line manager or through the Complaints Service.

If it is not possible to resolve the concern or complaint by informal discussion, children and young people or their representatives who wish to make a complaint should be advised to complete the Complaints Form within the leaflet “Help! Something’s Gone Wrong” and send it to the Complaints Service. They may also email, telephone, or text the Complaints Service.

Members of staff should also be prepared to record a child or young person’s complaint and take responsibility for passing it to the Complaints Service.

All representations and complaints about services to children received within a team should be recorded by the manager of the team that receives the complaint and the Complaints Service should be notified immediately by fax, telephone or email.

The Complaints Service will send a fax to the relevant Service Manager (or more senior manager if the complaint relates to the Service manager) within 2 working days and will ask the Service Manager to make arrangements for the complaint to be looked into and a response made to the complainant within 10 working days.

The Complaints Service will simultaneously write to the complainant to acknowledge receipt of the complaint, give further advice about the availability of advocacy services and give the complainant the name and telephone number of the relevant Service Manager. If a full response cannot be made within 10 working days, the authority can implement a further 10 days’ extension.

A copy of the Directorate’s response to the complainant must be sent to the Complaints Service in order that a central record of Stage One complaints and the responses given can be maintained.

Complainants should be informed that if they remain dissatisfied with the Stage One response, they may wish to proceed to Stage Two of the procedure.

If the local authority or the complainant believes that it would not be appropriate to consider the complaint at Stage One, they should discuss this together. Where both parties agree, the complaint can move directly to Stage Two.

6. Stage Two - Investigation

Anyone may choose to bypass Stage One and make a direct formal complaint without reference to front-line service providers.

In addition, complainants who are not satisfied with the Stage One response to their complaint can progress to Stage Two (an investigation)

To register a complaint at Stage Two, the complainant should be advised to contact the Complaints Service and state why they remain dissatisfied with the response and what outcome they are seeking. They should be given help to do this, if required, although they should always be asked to sign the complaint to say they agree with what has been written on their behalf. Children and young people should also be given information about the availability of advocacy services, if they have not already appointed an advocate to assist them.

Once a complaint is received and registered at Stage Two, the Complaints Service will arrange for an Investigating Officer and Independent Person to be appointed.

The Service Manager will be informed of the appointment of the Investigating Officer and Independent Person and the Service Manager will brief the relevant staff involved in the complaint within 5 working days.

The Investigating Officer will normally be a member of the Directorate’s Panel of Independent Investigators. Sometimes, however, a senior manager from within the Directorate with the relevant experience, but with no previous involvement with or line management responsibility for the matters complained of, will be appointed.

The Independent Person is appointed to work alongside the Investigating Officer. The Independent Person’s role is to monitor the investigation by participating fully in the consideration of the complaint. The Independent Person is not the child’s advocate but provides an independent element and comments on the fairness, appropriateness and thoroughness of the investigation. He or she will attend interviews and review files and procedures with the Investigating Officer. He or she provides a report which is attached to that of the Investigating Officer.

When the investigation is complete, the Investigating Officer’s and the Independent Person’s reports are sent to the complainant (unless the complainant is a young child and/or not of sufficient understanding, in which case the Senior Complaints Manager may ask the Investigating Officer to send a suitable ‘outcome’ letter) and the Adjudicating Officer, usually the Assistant Head of Service for the relevant Service, will give the Directorate’s response to the complaint.

The investigation of a Stage Two complaint should be completed within 25 working days of the receipt of the request for a Stage Two investigation. However, where it is not possible to complete the investigation within 25 working days, Stage Two may be extended to a maximum of 65 days.

7. Stage Three – Review Panels

If, following a Stage Two investigation, the complainant remains dissatisfied with the Directorate’s response to the complaint, s/he has 20 working days from the receipt of the Adjudicating Officer’s letter to request the final stage of the procedure. This is a Complaints Review Panel. It is the complainant’s decision whether to request a Review Panel.

To request a Review Panel, the complainant must contact the Complaints Service within 20 working days of receiving the response to the Stage Two investigation report.

Once a written request for a Panel hearing is received, the Complaints Service will appoint a Review Panel and arrange a Panel hearing to take place within 30 working days of receipt of the request.

In exceptional circumstances, the Complaints Manager can (in consultation with the Ombudsman and the complainant) decide not to proceed with the appointment of a Panel if it is considered that it will be of little or no use. Such a decision can only be made with the consent of the Ombudsman and the complainant.

A new Panel is appointed for each complaint. The Panel will comprise three members at least two of whom must be independent of the County Council. Wherever possible, all three Panel members will be independent and the Chair will always be an independent member.

The complainant will be invited to attend the Panel hearing. He or she may bring a friend or advocate to speak on his/her behalf.

Those persons involved with the investigation at Stage Two (e.g. the Investigating Officer and Independent Person) should be invited to attend and contribute as relevant to their roles. The Adjudicating Officer should also attend as the authority’s representative if s/he has rejected any of the Investigating Officer’s findings at Stage Two. The Complaints Manager and anyone providing administrative support should also attend the Panel.

Following the hearing, the Panel Chair will produce a report and recommendations which will be sent within 5 working days to the complainant and to the local authority, the Independent Person from Stage Two and any other person with sufficient interest.

The local authority must send its response to the Panel’s recommendations to the complainant and other participants as necessary within 15 working days of receiving the Panel’s report. The response should be developed by the relevant Assistant Head of Service.

In terms of the Complaints Procedure, there is no further action that the complainant can take to progress a complaint.

Complainants should be advised of their right to make representations to the Local Government Ombudsman if they are still not satisfied.

8. Complaints that Cannot be Dealt with Under this Procedure

This procedure cannot deal with:

Investigation of criminal offences (complainant alleging a criminal offence should be advised to refer the matter to the Police)
Investigation of child protection allegations (if these are received they must be referred immediately – within one hour – to the appropriate Assessment Team and this becomes the response to the complaint)
Complaints against other organisations, for example the Police or a health trust, unless they are providers of services commissioned by the local authority to carry out part of its statutory responsibilities towards children and families
Complaints about Children’s Guardians or any CAFCASS officer – these should be referred to CAFCASS which has its own complaints procedure
Staff disciplinary or grievance matters
Initial appeals against decisions made at Child Protection Conferences that a child should be subject to a Child Protection Plan – these should be dealt with under the Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Board’s own procedure
Decisions made by a Court – although the conduct of the County Council within those proceedings may be the subject of a complaint

9. Staff Members Involved in Complaints

9.1 What to Expect

When a member of staff is mentioned in a Stage One complaint, the Service Manager dealing with the complaint must ensure that:

The line manager of the member of staff concerned is informed of the complaint within 5 working days
The member of staff concerned is informed of the complaint within 5 working days
Consideration is given in light of the complaint as to whether action under other procedures should be initiated (for example disciplinary or child protection procedures) and that any member of staff subject to a complaint is fully informed of that decision
Consideration is given as to whether, if a complaint is made against a member of staff by a child or family with whom they are currently working, it is appropriate for the member of staff to continue to be the allocated worker
A line manager discusses the complaint with the member of staff and their views are considered and they are informed in writing whether the Directorate supports their actions
The member of staff is given a copy of the Directorate’s response to the complaint
The member of staff is given information about the Oxfordshire Staff Support Service.

When a member of staff is involved with a Stage Two complaint, the Complaints Service will inform the relevant Service Manager who must ensure that:

The member of staff concerned is informed of the progression of the complaint within 5 working days
The member of staff is given information about the Oxfordshire Staff Support Service.
The member of staff receives information on the procedure and any advice and support as appropriate
Consideration is given in light of the complaint as to whether action under other procedures should be initiated (for example disciplinary or child protection procedures) and that any member of staff subject to a complaint is fully informed of that decision
Consideration is given as to whether, if a complaint is made against a member of staff by a child or family with whom they are currently working, it is appropriate for the member of staff to continue to be the allocated worker
The complaint is discussed with the member of staff and their views are considered and they are informed in writing whether the Directorate supports their actions
The member of staff is given a copy of the Investigating Officer’s and Independent person’s reports and the Directorate’s response to it

9.2 What Happens

Members of staff involved in Stage Two complaints will be interviewed by the Investigating Officer and Independent Person, who will also wish to see the written records of the case.

The Investigating Officer is likely to be either from outside the Directorate or working elsewhere in the Directorate and will be knowledgeable about the type of service involved in the complaint. If he or she works within the Directorate, he/she will not be managing or working with any staff mentioned in the complaint. The Investigating Officer should take a neutral stance towards the rightness or wrongness of the complaint and must interview staff in a professional ‘information gathering’ manner taking notes of the interview.

Staff interviewed by Investigating Officers may be accompanied at interview by a friend who could be a work colleague, line manager or union representative subject to client confidentiality being maintained.

Because looking into complaints is a statutory duty of the Directorate, members of staff currently working for the Directorate are required to assist in any reasonable way in providing information to an Investigating Officer or Review Panel.

If the complaint progresses to the Review Panel stage, staff involved in the complaint should be told of this by the senior manager representing the Directorate at the Panel hearing. Members of staff who are subject to complaints are not usually required to attend the Panel hearing. There may, however, be points or issues they wish to make known to the senior manager representing the Directorate before s/he attends the Panel for that officer to take into account in his or her verbal or written submissions.

On rare occasions, either the complainant or the senior manager representing the Directorate may wish to take witnesses to the Panel hearing. Members of staff might be asked to attend a Panel in this capacity (in which case their attendance will only be to make a witness statement and answer any questions).

A complaint against a member of staff may be upheld by the complaints procedure, and this will therefore be known to the complainant and the Directorate. It is important to stress that no action whatsoever can be taken against a member of staff through the Complaints Procedure. Any action against a member of staff, or disciplinary investigation, arising from upholding a complaint would therefore only happen through the line management or disciplinary procedure, which carries important protection for staff members’ rights.

An extremely important and reassuring point for members of staff involved in complaints is that their senior line mangers will have known about the complaint from its earliest stage. The member of staff involved will therefore already know whether or not their line manager is supporting any actions they have taken, and whether or not he or she is considering a disciplinary investigation.

Members of staff may also be reassured that disciplinary action has rarely been initiated in the past following a complaint under the complaints procedure, and that other responses (such as an apology) may be recommended. Any disciplinary measures remain firmly under the control of the senior line management, not the Complaints Service.

9.3 Key Points to Note

Because a complaint progresses from one stage to the next entirely at the request of the complainant, a complaint reaching a Review Panel does not necessarily mean that the Directorate regards it as a particularly serious complaint. What it means is that the Directorate has not yet reached an outcome that satisfies the complainant.

If a complaint is made against a member of staff by a person they are working with, it may or may not be appropriate that the member of staff continues working with the person – this should be discussed with the line manager. It may be decided to change the worker because the existence of the complaint makes the working relationship difficult, without this implying that a complaint against a member of staff has already been judged.

A complainant can withdraw his or her complaint at any time.

Members of staff involved in complaints should be aware that if their actions are criticised and investigated, the problem is just as likely to be faulty Directorate procedures as well as a failure on their part.

Any member of staff who is the subject of a complaint can seek help and advice from a number of sources. They can discuss the matter with their own line manager as appropriate. Alternatively, they may talk matters through confidentially and outside staff management lines by contacting the Staff Support Service. The Staff Support Service is a confidential service available free of charge to all staff – full-time, part-time, casual or voluntary workers. The service complements the support that is available from colleagues, managers, trades unions, other specialist officers, and voluntary and independent organisations.

Members of staff can also always contact the Complaints Service for information about the procedures, what happens next or where the complaint has got to.

End