Complaints

at Roots and Shoots Learning

Everyone has the right to expect that their voice will be heard within our setting, regardless of whether it be a concern, complaint or compliment. We aim to have an effective system in place, in line with any legal requirements, regulations, guidelines and to maintain best practice at the highest standard possible.

This policy sets out our explicit intended process so that any complaint and/or compliment is handled fairly, transparently and does not discriminate directly or indirectly because of;

• Gender, including those who are transsexual/transgender or gender questioning
• Age
• Being married or in a civil partnership
• Being pregnant or on maternity/paternity leave
• Disability
• Race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin
• Religion, belief or lack of religion/belief
• Sex
• Sexual orientation (we are proud to be LGBTQIA+ allies and advocates)

We hold firm beliefs that any person has the right to feel free to voice concerns and to make complaints without fear of reprisals; It is important to us that all team members and those involved with Roots and Shoots Learning more widely, are treated with courtesy, respect and compassion.

This policy not only adheres to our internal ethos and commitments but also meets the requirements set out in part 7 of the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014, as required by the Department for Education, which states that we must have and make available a written procedure to deal with complaints from parents/carers of pupils, and others in connection with our provision.

It is a pre-condition of the operation of this policy that the complainant shall have made reasonable attempts, as set out below (see section below, entitled Procedure), to seek a resolution and shall have acted in relation to the matter in a reasonable, measured and proportionate way.  Louise Sullivan and/or other Directors with delegated responsibility shall have final discretion in all circumstances. This includes the right to not progress with any formal complaint where other avenues may be more appropriate. 

Objectives

After reading this policy, we aim for:

• All of our team members, children & young people (CYP) and parents to have an understanding of how to ensure their voice is heard with regards to their experience within our setting
• All team members know what our policy is on complaints and compliments, and have an understanding of the difference between a concern and a complaint.
• All stakeholders, including CYP and their parents/carers should be able to easily access our policy on complaints, compliments and suggestions, while also being supported to understand the difference between a concern and a complaint.
• Improvement of the quality of all stakeholders’ experience.
• Reassurance that all complaints and suggestions are promptly addressed, resolved and shared within the agreed timescales to ensure that awareness is gained, take-away lessons are learnt and such learning improves our service quality and delivery moving forwards.
• Team members at all levels within Roots and Shoots Learning to understand their roles and responsibilities with regard to handling complaints, suggestions and compliments.

Definitions

In any community, misunderstandings may arise or actions may be taken which might be felt to run contrary to the core values. This can lead to negative feelings - it is important to express such feelings. At Roots and Shoots Learning, we appreciate all feedback and always aim to resolve concerns before they become complaints.

What is a concern?

A concern is an expression of dissatisfaction or a matter that causes worry or anxiety. Concerns can relate to policies or procedures, the conduct, actions or omissions of any team member, or directors of the provision, and the standards of educational activities and learning. 

What is a complaint?  

A complaint is a formal expression of serious dissatisfaction if concerns remain unresolved.

Seeking Views and Engaging with Stakeholders

We will seek out opportunities to obtain feedback from children & young people, parents/carers and, where necessary, other stakeholders. Roots and Shoots Learning team members will act with sensitivity, integrity and professionalism by treating individual complainants or those raising suggestions with compassion, courtesy and respect. 

We will protect the complainant’s right to confidentiality. Upon request, we will ensure that alternative methods of communication are available so that the complaint and suggestion procedures are accessible for stakeholders who experience difficulties with communication or whose first language is not English.

Team members at Roots and Shoots Learning understand that it can be difficult to separate a complaint from a concern, therefore, Roots and Shoots Learning will follow this policy when any dissatisfaction arises with the service.

A full record will be held of all complaints received regardless of the level of seriousness and means of communication. This approach allows an open and transparent culture around raising concerns in the earliest stage to allow resolution. A record of the complaint will also be held in the student electronic file, in line with contractual or regulatory requirements.

Safeguarding

Where a complaint or concern is raised that relates to Children and Young People (CYP) being harmed or likely to be harmed, team members will follow our Safeguarding Policy and Procedures in addition to the complaints procedures, informing the Senior DSL (Louise Sullivan) with immediate urgency. 

In instances of safeguarding concerns, Louise Sullivan will inform the MASH team and, where appropriate, the LADO (Local Authority Designated Officer) for the relevant Local Authority. 

All safeguarding concerns will be reported and recorded accurately in line with our Reporting and Recording Policy.

Team member responsibilities and duties

We acknowledge that all team members working within Roots and Shoots Learning could be presented with an individual wishing to raise a concern or complaint at any time, therefore team members need to be able to manage this in a sensitive, structured and timely manner. In order to do this team members will:

• Be trained on induction and as a routine measure to ensure knowledge is embedded and refreshed around the complaints policy
• Have access to the complaints policy
• Be provided with the opportunity to reflect and learn from complaints as a means to developing and delivering quality care and educational outcomes
• Appreciate that any feedback from stakeholders or their representatives, needs immediate resolution, where possible, to their satisfaction. Individual Children and Young people (CYP) Folders/Plans will be updated to reflect the planned changes to care and the relevant one-to-one/keyworker informed of the feedback. Failing to do this could result in a more serious and higher formality of complaint
• Be clearly advised that on presentation of a complaint, swift escalation to management is necessary and purposefully withholding or concealing any concerns or complaints expressed by CYP and parents/carers or their representatives could lead to disciplinary action.

Compliments and Suggestions

Roots and Shoots Learning welcomes compliments and suggestions and recognises their importance in acknowledging and celebrating the success of our service and as well as opportunities for improvement. We will engage with a wide range of stakeholders in addition to CYP to support future development and improvement. We will share feedback with our team members.

Procedure

Raising Concerns

In the event of a concern, we encourage all stakeholders to contact us at the earliest opportunity, for example this could be at the end of the day in-person or via email. We also welcome telephone calls from individuals who wish to talk about a problem before it becomes a complaint.  A telephone call is better than a letter, and a temperate letter or email is better than an ultimatum or threat of action.

Do not hesitate to contact us if you are uneasy or dissatisfied about anything. We aim to provide the best service possible and without honest feedback, we are unable to grow. 

We pride ourselves on having open lines of communication within our community and we believe that this helps us to avoid concerns building up into serious mistrust or the need for formal complaint. 

We are as keen to see things run smoothly as our stakeholders are - after all, we all want the best for the children and young people. 

Procedure for Concerns:

Before a stakeholder makes contact with our team, we ask that they make an appropriate attempt to find out the facts. This is because we believe that all stakeholders will be in a much better position to know if they have grounds for a complaint or whether the matter could be resolved in the first instance by raising it as a concern, when in possession of all the facts. We may be able to give an explanation or fill in details which answer such concerns. And although we understand that it may feel uncomfortable, we ask that our stakeholders do not rely solely on the account given by the child and/or young person or on information from other parents/carers. 

If the stakeholder deems the issue to be a concern and not that of formal complaint level (at the initial stage), this can be shared with any team member of Roots and Shoots Learning. 

The team member will make an effort to resolve it in a timely manner to the satisfaction of the individual raising such concern. This could lead to an early or informal resolution of the concern.

The stakeholder will explain via email, phone call or face-to-face what concerns them to our trained and competent team member.

Our team member will apologise for the fact there was the need to raise a concern in the first instance and explain that they will record this on our internal platform and share this with Site Lead/Managers & Louise Sullivan (Director & DSL). 

Once the concern has been recorded and reported, the management team will meet to discuss what learning can be taken, how to use such information to make changes and prevent it from recurring, if appropriate. The outcomes of this meeting will be shared with the disclosing stakeholder where appropriate.

If any concern cannot be resolved; continues to occur; or, if the disclosing individual is not satisfied with the action taken, then the concern may be escalated to ‘Raising a Formal Complaint’, the process of such is described in the procedure steps below.

Raising Complaints

After raising a concern, if any stakeholder is unhappy with the outcome it can be escalated directly to Louise Sullivan, and/or other Directors as a formal complaint.

A complaint can be received by Roots and Shoots Learning in writing via email and can be made by: 

• Children and Young people (CYP)
• Parents/carers
• Someone acting on behalf of a CYP, or parent/carer, and with their written consent, e.g. an advocate, relative, Member of Parliament
• Someone acting on behalf of a CYP, or parent/carer who is unable to represent his or her own interests, provided this does not conflict with the CYP’s right to confidentiality or a previously expressed wish of the CYP
• Complaints or concerns can be made by any team member; they will be addressed via the Grievance process if the complaint or concern relates to them individually or a Whistleblowing procedure where a protected disclosure is made.

Roots and Shoots Learning will ensure that CYP, parents/carers are given information on how to make a complaint and the process once a complaint has been made, including any agreed timescales.

Complaints Procedure

Complaints will be received via postal letter or formal email, FAO Director & DSL Louise Sullivan.

The complaint will be logged.

Formal acknowledgement of the complaint will be sent within 5 working days of receipt to the complainant, this could be via letter or email. 

Roots and Shoots Learning have a system in place to manage out-of-hours emails received - however as suggested previously, we reserve the right to note receipt of all emails on the first working-day back after academic holidays.

The acknowledgement will include:

• An invitation to meet and discuss the complaint
• Who will be investigating the complaint
• How the investigation will be handled - the response will state what the investigation will be focussed on
• A time limit for the investigation to be concluded. This should be 21 working days, however, some cases may take longer and the complainant will be made aware of this
• The complaints procedure and contact details of bodies that can be accessed in the event of dissatisfaction with the outcome of the investigation

In summary, Louise Sullivan (or appropriate person) will document the formal complaint, acknowledge it in writing within 5 school days of receipt, and will consult with those directly involved, and aim to deal with the complaint within 21 working days of the receipt of the formal letter of complaint.  Team members may be involved as appropriate at this level and this may form part of a wider investigation.

Following a full investigation, a response letter will be sent and this will include the following:

• A summary of the issue from the complainant’s point of view
• Details of the evidence and sources consulted in order to investigate the issue fully and fairly
• A presentation of the findings for each issue clearly and concisely described
• A conclusion, stating clearly whether the issue is “upheld”, “partially upheld” or “not upheld”; unless it is ineligible, in which case the reason for this will be given, e.g. out of time or out of jurisdiction
• An explanation of the outcome and whether any remedial action or learning points arise from the investigation of that issue
• An apology where the issue is upheld and shortcomings or failings have been found
• The complainant's rights if not satisfied with the outcome to refer to The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
• A signature from the responsible individual or sent by email in their name

The complaint will be closed once confirmation has been received that there is satisfaction with the outcome. In the event of dissatisfaction, Roots and Shoots Learning will support the complainant to access further support, as below.

Time Limits for Submitting a Complaint

Complaints should be submitted within 12 months of the incident or concern arising. If the complaint is about a series of related incidents, the complainant must raise the complaint within 12 months of the last incident.

We will consider exceptions to this time frame only in circumstances where there were valid reasons for not making a complaint at the time and the complaint can still be investigated in a fair manner for all involved. 

When complaints are made out of term time, we will consider them to have been received on the first full working day after the holiday period.

Support

At any stage of the complaints procedure, the complainant is welcome to bring with them a friend or relative.  

Within the complaints procedure it is not appropriate for either party to bring legal representatives to any meeting forming part of the complaints procedure. However, there may be occasions when legal representation is appropriate.  

Roots and Shoots Learning will not generally enter into correspondence with solicitors or others in place of direct communication with parents/carers.

The Complaints Log

A record will be held of all complaints raised and contain the following information:

• Each complaint received
• Subject matter and outcome
• Details of any reason for delay where investigations took longer than the agreed response period
• The date the report of outcome was sent to the complainant

Where complaints relate to a student/CYP, a copy of the complaint will be held in their records.

Where complaints are raised by telephone, the log will include date and time of the call and this should be followed up with written confirmation of the areas discussed.

Where a complaint indicates the potential abuse of CYP, safeguarding policies will be followed as per local authority expectation and necessary notifications made to the regulatory body. 

Where complaints are to be shared as part of learning, the complaint should be anonymised so there is no identifiable student/CYP information.

Investigations

All investigations will be managed by using the following approach:

• Investigating the fact
• Assessing evidence
• Review of records
• Interviewing those involved

Where necessary, advice and support will be sourced via senior managers within the organisation. The complaint will be investigated by Louise Sullivan or a team member with the knowledge, experience and seniority to undertake the investigation robustly.

Confidentiality of information will be considered at all times and team members will adhere to the confidentiality policies and relevant codes of practice.

If an investigation of a complaint results in disciplinary action of team members within Roots and Shoots Learning, the complaint will continue to its conclusion. The complainant will be informed that the investigation has led to disciplinary process, but the details of the outcome or ongoing investigation should remain confidential.

Unresolved complaints

Once the complaints process is concluded (or a complaint has been terminated due to undue delay or failure to progress the complaint within the time stated in the policy) the matter is closed.  If the complainant is still not satisfied then the complaint has the right to appeal through the final stage, “Panel stage”. This means that a panel of three people not involved in the matters detailed in the complaint will be convened, they will review the complaint and all associated documentation and will provide a decision and a final response. 

One member of this panel must be independent of Roots and Shoots Learning. Where such a panel has been convened a hearing may be attended by the complainant to express their views and case for complaint. The complainant may be accompanied to this hearing should they wish.

 Monitoring, evaluation and review

Roots and Shoots Learning will review this policy annually and assess its implementation and effectiveness. The policy will be promoted and implemented throughout the provision.