Whether you are feeling happy or unhappy with the help we are giving you… let us know.
Slough Children First wants to get things right so the information on this page is for children and young people wishing to comment or complain.
Are you…
- Living in a children’s home or with a foster carer?
- Caring for someone who depends on you?
- Being helped or supported by a social worker or support worker?
If you answer ‘yes’ to any of the above, then the information on this page is for you. It will explain how you can tell us what you think about the services we provide. It can be used to tell us where we have done things well, or if you think things have gone wrong.
I am unhappy. What can I do?
Tell someone you trust. This might be your social worker or support worker, a parent, foster carer, friend, teacher or someone at your review. We know it can be hard to talk about your worries, but if you tell someone they can start to make it better.
You might feel that you can’t talk to your social worker or carer, or that you have tried to but things still aren’t getting sorted. If this is the case, you can contact Slough Children First’s Complaints Manager on 01753 875825 or email us at complaints@sloughchildrenfirst.co.uk.
What will happen next?
Step one
- We will talk with you about what you are feeling unhappy about
- We will talk to other people involved
- A manager will write to you – by post or by email – within ten working days to say if they agree with your complaint and what they are going to do about it.
Most problems are sorted out at this stage but if you aren’t happy with what they say, tell the Complaints Manager. If we can’t talk it through, then we can take it to Step Two.
Step two
- We will ask someone who does not work for Slough Children First to look into your complaint
- Another independent person will also be involved to make sure that the investigation is carried out properly
- These people might want to meet with you to be sure they have understood your complaint n
- They will write a report and make suggestions to help sort out your problem. This should take about a month.
Step three
If you are not happy with the answer you can take your complaint to step three.
- Three people (who do not work for Slough Children First) will look into your complaint further
- You will be invited to attend a meeting with these people, called a Complaints Review Panel, to talk about your complaint. You can bring someone to support you on your behalf
- After the meeting, they will tell Slough Children First’s Chief Executive what they think should happen
- If you are still not happy with the result, you can take your complaint to Ofsted and explain the situation. NYAS will help you with this.
Remember
- At any stage of the process, you can bring along someone to help and support your complaint
- We will listen to you and take your complaint seriously
- We will not blame you for making a complaint
- You will not get into trouble for telling us about your problems
- We will ask you the best way to keep in touch with you
- We will talk to all the people involved
- We will try to put things right as quickly as possible.
You can also say when you’re happy with us!
We love hearing about good experiences as well! It’s nice to be able to let the staff who have been working with you know when they’ve done a good job. Email the Complaints Manager, who will pass your comments on.
Who can help me to complain?
You could ask your social worker, teacher or a friend to help you. You do not have to do this by yourself.
As well as contacting us, there is an ‘Advocacy Service’ which helps young people in care to have their voice heard. It’s called the National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS for short). They can provide someone to visit or meet with you to help you write your complaint and support you while your complaint is being looked at.
The Slough Children First Complaints Manager can give you more details about NYAS support and the Local Government Ombudsman, or you can get in touch with them yourself
NYAS details
Tel: 0808 808 1001
This number is free from landlines and mobiles, doesn’t appear on the bill and is open weekdays from 9am to 8pm and from 10am to 4pm on Saturdays.
Email: help@nyas.net
Website: www.nyas.net
The website includes a safe online chat service from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday and a wealth of helpful information.
Local Government Ombudsman details
If you’ve gone through our complaints procedure and are unhappy with the result or the way your complaint was dealt with, you can ask the Local Government Ombudsman to look at your case.
Tel: 0300 061 0614 or text ‘call back’ to 0762 481 1595
Calls to 03 numbers will cost no more than calls to national geographic numbers (starting 01 or 02) from both mobiles and landlines. Lines are open 8.30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday (except public holidays). Your provider may charge for sending a text message.
Website: www.lgo.org.uk
Other useful contacts:
NSPCC: 24-hour free helpline 0808 800 500
Childline: 24-hour free helpline 0800 1111