Complaints Policy

Complaints/Duty of Candour Policy

Rosetta Early Learners

17/03/2022

Rosetta Early Learners is committed to providing a high-quality service and maintaining good relationships with parents. It is important that staff and parents work together in the best interests of the children. We are aware that there may be occasions where concerns or complaints are raised. A complaint can be about any aspect of the running of the setting. We will be open and accountable and will build trust and respect by listening and responding positively to complaints. Complaints will be dealt with fairly and confidentially and every effort will be made to resolve the complaint as quickly as possible.

Open Access

Staff have a duty to inform parents of their right to make a complaint, including a right to appeal. The setting will supply a written copy of the complaints procedure on request to ensure parents are aware of their own roles and responsibilities regarding complaints.

The complaint will be fully investigated and acted upon and will always have a response. Complaints will be investigated by a member of the management team however if the complaint involves the management a third person will investigate (e.g., committee member). The investigator or manager will respond to the complaint.

Complaints Process

Complaints can be made to the setting both informally and formally.

Informal Procedure: The initial approach made by the parent will be listened to carefully and after discussion agreement should be reached as to whether the complaint has been resolved satisfactorily. If further investigation is required, this should be resolved within twenty days. If a delay is unavoidable the complainant will be informed, the reason for the delay will be stated and a revised timescale given. If there has not been a satisfactory outcome the formal complaint process should be initiated.

Formal Procedure: If a parent wishes to make use of the formal procedures the complaint should be put in writing to the chairperson/manager of the setting. The receipt of the complaint will be acknowledged within three working days in writing.

The parent should request a meeting with the chairperson/manager of the setting. The parent will have the right to have the assistance of a friend, relative or representative throughout the process.

The complaint will be investigated and responded to within a further seventeen working days. A confidential written record of the meeting will be taken, actions agreed and noted. If the complaint remains unresolved the appeals process will be invoked.

Appeals Process

A parent has the right to appeal if they are not satisfied the complaint has been resolved. The parent should contact, in writing, the same person the original complaint was sent to. If an agreement cannot be reached an external mediator, acceptable to both sides, will be invited to listen to the complaint and offer advice. The mediator has no legal powers but can help to clarify the situation by defining the problem, reviewing the actions, and suggesting further ways which the complaint might be resolved. If requested, a meeting can be arranged between all those involved in the formal process. All discussions will be confidential, and a written record will be kept of all meetings held and any advice given.

Care Inspectorate

In certain circumstances, it may be necessary to involve the local authority and/or the Care Inspectorate.

The Care Inspectorate is the national organisation which regulates and inspects care services. The Care Inspectorate has a complaints procedure for dealing with any complaint regarding regulated services.

If you are unhappy about a care service, there are several things you can do.

Firstly, we would encourage you to raise any issues directly with the service. Often, things can be resolved quickly once the service is aware of the problem, and you can agree how it will be solved. We would encourage this wherever possible. Or you may wish to make a formal complaint to the service using its complaints procedure. You may choose to complain directly to the service or to the Care Inspectorate or both.

If you complain to the Care Inspectorate, you can choose to be anonymous. Further information can be found in the complaints section of the Care Inspectorate Website www.careinspectorate.com

You can choose to complain directly to the Care Inspectorate by either:

Care Inspectorate

Compass House, 11 Riverside Drive, Dundee, DD1 4NY

Duty of Candour

The Duty of Candour sets out a range of things that need to happen when unexpected or unintended harm has occurred

The Duty of Candour Procedures (Scotland) Regulations 2018 underpins our commitment to openness and transparency which is vital to the provision of safe, effective, and person-centred health and social care.

Honesty, trust and effective communication can be difficult to maintain and easy to lose when things have gone wrong. If this should happen, then we would like to have the opportunity to try and resolve any issues or concerns you may have.

Procedure:

When an unintended or unexpected incident that results in harm or death occurs, we will be open and accountable.
We will apologise if there are any misunderstandings or if something goes wrong, without delay.
The Manager will meet and discuss this with you as soon as possible when we are aware that an event has happened, or harm has been confirmed.
We will listen and respond positively to your complaints and discuss what actions will be taken to reduce the risk of this type of incident happening again to anyone else.
We will provide an annual duty of candour report.
All staff will be trained on our organisation duty of candour procedure to be able

to identify harm whether it is unintended or unexpected
to understand what has gone wrong
to know who to speak to, to discuss concerns/issues.

The legislation requires care services and social work services to publish their own short duty of candour reports. The first reports will be due after April 2019. Even if there are no incidents to which the duty applied, a short report will still be required, as it must contain information about staff training on the duty of candour.

The Manager will produce a report on meeting the duty of candour annually. The Care Inspectorate will be including a recording system on their e-form site. From 1 April 2018, a new question to their notification forms, “does this incident trigger the duty of candour?”. The Manager will be asked to collect data on how the duty is being implemented and help embed awareness. Rosetta Early Learners will annually report and record these findings.

This report will include an assessment of how the duty was carried out and provide:

a record of the number of unexpected incidents that have resulted in death or harm
the nature of the incident
a review of any policy and procedures reviewed and any changes made as a result of the incidents reported.

You will find the online training resources information here:

http://www.careinspectorate.com/index.php/duty-of-candour

Links to national policy:

Health and Social Care Standards – My Support, My Life

Health and Social Care Standards 2.3, 2.4, 3.22, 3.24, 4.4, 4.18, 4.19, 4.20, 4.21, 4.22, 4.23

http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0052/00520693.pdf

https://education.gov.scot/improvement/learning-resources/realising-the-ambition/ 2020