Complaints Policy

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At Stay Connected Family Time, we hope to support to ensure that our support is always positive however we understand that sometimes a person or professional may be unhappy with the service and welcome feedback so that we can use this to improve our service for future families.

Who can make a complaint?

This complaints procedure is not limited to parents that have used the service. Any person, including those who have been unable to use the service, may make a complaint to  Stay Connected Family Time about any provision of facilities or services that we provide.

The difference between a concern and a complaint

It is in everyone’s interest that minor concerns and more serious complaints are resolved at the earliest possible stage. Many issues can be resolved informally, without the need to use the formal stages of the complaints procedure. Stay Connected Family Time takes concerns seriously and will make every effort to resolve the matter as quickly as possible. 

If you have difficulty discussing a concern with a particular member of staff, we will respect your views. In these cases, Stay Connected Co-Director, Sharlene will handle the concern. 

We understand however, that there are occasions when people would like to raise their concerns formally. In this case, Stay Connected Family Time will attempt to resolve the issue internally, through the stages outlined within this complaints procedure.  

Often the concern may be something that is covered on the service’s website or in the information received before contact sessions. It is helpful to check this before raising a formal complaint. If this does not assist and you are still concerned, please contact Will Chapple, or if it is not suitable to speak to him, request to speak to Sharlene Knight. 

How to raise a concern or make a complaint

Where you are unhappy about something, concerns should be shared verbally with a staff member at the centre.  Often the complaint will be concluded at this point, if the Centre can assist you or explain the situation. If not, the Centre will take you through the complaints procedure.

Important considerations

Before making a complaint to a centre or to NACCC, consider the following:

It is important to understand that child contact centres may not always be able to offer you what you want and in particular:

• Centres may have waiting lists which mean sessions are not available when the parent wants or in some cases, at all.

• Not all centres can offer all types of contact (supported and supervised). A centre may therefore not accept a parent because they are not equipped to cover the contact needed.

• Where a centre is required to provide Court with a report, the report has to be independent. This means that parents are unlikely to have input into it and may not agree with everything in the report. If a parent is concerned by anything in the report, they can raise their concerns at Court rather than with the Centre. The Centre is not obliged to alter a report if asked to do so by a parent.

• Some centres are staffed entirely by volunteers and have limited opening hours – they may take longer to respond than a parent would like.

• Where the complaint is against a staff member, the Centre’s investigation will need to be confidential to that member of staff and parents will not be made aware if any action has been taken against them as this is an HR matter.

If any of the above apply to the concern, please bear in mind before starting the complaints process that it is unlikely that the Centre will be able resolve the complaint to your satisfaction.

• If a parent wishes to make a complaint, they will need to be clear about what they are hoping to get from the complaint and what they want the Centre to do to make things better. 

• Where cases are in court, information relating to the case remains the property of the Court and should not therefore, be shared without the specific consent of the Court.

Anonymous complaints

We will not normally investigate anonymous complaints.

Time scales

You must raise the complaint within three months of the incident or, where a series of associated incidents have occurred, within three months of the last of these incidents. We will consider complaints made outside of this time frame if exceptional circumstances apply.

Resolving complaints

At each stage in the procedure, Stay Connected Family Time wants to resolve the complaint. If appropriate, we will acknowledge that the complaint is upheld in whole or in part. In addition, we may offer one or more of the following: 

• an explanation.

• an admission that the situation could have been handled differently or better. 

• an assurance that we will try to ensure the event complained of will not recur.

• an explanation of the steps that have been or will be taken to help ensure that it will not happen again and an indication of the timescales within which any changes will be made.

• an undertaking to review policies in light of the complaint.

• an apology.

Withdrawal of a complaint

If a complainant wants to withdraw their complaint, we will ask them to confirm this in writing.

The Stay Connected Family Time complaints process

Stage 1

Formal complaints must be made to the Stay Connected Family Time Director (unless they are about the Director). This should be done, in writing (preferably on the Complaint Form), sent via email to enquiries@stayconnectedfamilytime.co.uk. If the complaint is about the named person, please make complaint to Sharlene Knight through enquiries@stayconnectedfamilytime.co.uk. 

The Manager will record the date the complaint is received and will acknowledge receipt of the complaint in writing (either by letter or email) within 5 working days. 

Within this response, the Manager will seek to clarify the nature of the complaint, ask what remains unresolved and what outcome the complainant would like to see. The Manager may consider whether a face-to-face meeting is the most appropriate way of doing this.  

At the conclusion of their investigation, the Manager will provide a formal written response within 20 working days of the date of receipt of the complaint. 

If they are unable to meet this deadline, they will provide the complainant with an update and revised response date.

The response will detail any actions taken to investigate the complaint and provide a full explanation of the decision made and the reason(s) for it. Where appropriate, it will include details of actions Stay Connected Family Time will take to resolve the complaint. 

The Manager will advise the complainant of how to escalate their complaint should they remain dissatisfied with the outcome of Stage 1.

Stage 2

If the complainant is dissatisfied with the outcome at Stage 1 and wishes to take the matter further, they can escalate the complaint to Stage 2.

A request to escalate to Stage 2 must be made to Will Chapple in writing to enquiries@stayconnectedfamilytime.co.uk outlining the basis of the complaint and the reasons for remaining unhappy with the process, within 5 working days of receipt of the Stage 1 response. This person will be separate from the day-to-day running of the centre and will not have been involved in stage 1 of the complaint.

Sharlene Knight will record the date the complaint is received and acknowledge receipt of the complaint in by email within 5 working days.

Requests received outside of this time frame will only be considered if exceptional circumstances apply.

The Director will consider the complaint and can:

• uphold the complaint in whole or in part.

• dismiss the complaint in whole or in part.

If the complaint is upheld in whole or in part, they will:

• decide on the appropriate action to be taken to resolve the complaint.

• where appropriate, recommend changes to the centre’s systems or procedures to prevent similar issues in the future.

The Director will provide the complainant with a full explanation of their decision and the reason(s) for it, in writing, within 20 working days. 

The letter to the complainant will include details of how to contact NACCC if they are dissatisfied with the way their complaint has been handled by Stay Connected Family Time. 

The response will detail any actions taken to investigate the complaint and provide a full explanation of the decision made and the reason(s) for it. Where appropriate, it will include details of actions Stay Connected Family Time will take to resolve the complaint.

The conclusion of Stage 2 is final.  

The response will also advise the complainant of how to escalate their complaint should they remain dissatisfied. EG Cafcass, FPAS, & The Family Court Welfare Service, Local Authorities, Courts, or other referring bodies and/or LADO and the ICO, whichever is applicable.

Please request the Complaint form and this will be shared with you.