Complaints

We aim to provide the highest quality care and education for all our children. We aim to offer a welcome to each individual child and family and to provide a warm and caring environment—under these conditions children are encouraged to learn as they play.  We welcome suggestions on how to improve our setting and will give prompt and serious attention to any comments given to us.

We believe that most complaints are made constructively and can be sorted out at an early stage.  We also believe that it is in the best interests of the Pre-school and parents that complaints should be taken seriously and dealt with fairly and in a way which respects confidentiality.

Informal Process

Any complaint, no matter how trivial, will be treated seriously and investigated thoroughly.  Most concerns can be resolved by talking to the Pre-school Manager or Supervisor in confidence.

We would prefer concerns to be brought to our attention immediately so that we can do our best to investigate the issue whilst it is current.  You can do this by email, telephone or in person. Each year we also ask parents to complete a feedback questionnaire and if there are more general concerns or points for feedback then they can be given on this questionnaire.  

Formal Process

If you are not satisfied with the response from the informal stage or if you have a concern which is too serious to be raised at an informal level you should raise your concern in writing to the Pre-school Manager.

The Pre-school Manager will meet with you to discuss your complaint and following this carry out an investigation into the issues that you have raised if this is applicable.  If a parent makes a complaint it is a mandatory requirement for us to investigate the complaint, take any necessary action and tell the parent the outcome of the findings. If we have consulted outside agencies to help us reach a decision (e.g. Bracknell Forest Borough Council or Ofsted) then we will report this back to the parent with the outcome. 

This will be done within 28 days from the date the complaint was made.  We keep a record of all complaints and a summary is available for any parents on request.

If parents are not satisfied with the response from the formal complaint process they can request a meeting with the committee Chairperson.  Both Parents and the Chairperson could have a friend or partner present if requested and an agreed written record of the discussion should be made.

Any complaint will be dealt with in the strictest of confidence. We ask that any parent making a complaint give us the same respect.  Parents should not bypass the Pre-school’s complaints procedure and make a complaint publicly on social media. Remarks made about the Pre-school, a member of staff or child can be destabilising and damaging.  Public allegations can also affect the professional status of staff members and potentially too the emotional well-being of children and families who may have been identified. This can all lead to a ‘whispering campaign’ which could undermine the Pre-school’s leadership or target a particular child and family.  If deemed necessary, we will take legal action. We may ask you to remove your child from the Pre-school if we believe that the relationship between ourselves and you has been irreversibly damaged and therefore we would no longer be able to work in partnership with you for the care of your child.

Parents should be clear that at any stage of the Pre-school complaints process, they can make a complaint to Ofsted.  They can be contacted at the following address:

Ofsted 

Piccadilly Gate

Store Street

MANCHESTER

M1 2WD

Telephone: 0300 1234666

Last reviewed: July 2023