Complaints Policy
Aims:
At Chingford House Nursery our aim is to offer a high-quality standard of childcare and education. We strive to deliver a service that meets the needs of the community, enables children to flourish and is a nursery that we are proud to be a part of.
We are happy to receive ideas or suggestions as to how we can improve our service; to this end we conduct parent surveys which inform our quality improvement plan. Alongside this, we have a suggestion box that parents can anonymously leave suggestions/ideas that we can consider incorporating into nursery life.
We acknowledge that parents may not always be happy with our practice and that we don’t always ‘get things right’, but we take every step to rectify matters as quickly as possible if they are brought to our attention.
It is important that we assure parents that if complaints are raised and subsequently investigated, the matter will not impact, alter or deteriorate the relationship with them, their child and indeed the nursery.
Named Person:
Yolande Farrell is the Nursery Manager and has overall responsibility in ensuring that the nursery provides a safe, inclusive and high-quality environment. It is the Manager’s responsibility to look into ‘worrying matters or to investigate ‘issues of concern.’
Chingford House Nursery has this policy demonstrating how a complaint can be lodged and managed. If a parent, user or visitor of the nursery has a concern involving their child, a member of staff or any issue in the nursery that they are not happy with, they should follow the procedure as outlined.
Stage 1:
Concerns about a child should be raised verbally with the Key Person or Room Leader.
Stage 2:
If the parent is not happy with the outcome or the matter has not been resolved to their satisfaction, they can put their complaint in writing to: manager@chingfordhousenursery.co.uk. The Manager will acknowledge receipt of the complaint and advise the parent how she will proceed; this usually entails a preliminary meeting with the parent and advises them on the likely length of the investigation. The Manager will investigate the complaint, keeping the parent up to date throughout the process and then inform them of the outcome (a summary of the findings will be sent to the parent).
Written complaints and the subsequent investigation are recorded and stored in a lockable filing cupboard.
Stage 3:
If, after this stage, the parent is unhappy with the outcome of the investigation, a formal meeting will be held with the Manager and Owner (Zarkar Akhtar). The parent may bring their partner or relative to the meeting should they need support. All matters relating to the complaint will be discussed and any action to be taken if appropriate. The discussion will be recorded and signed by all present and stored in the lockable filing cupboard.
Stage 4:
Chingford House Nursery endeavours to resolve all matters of concern to the best of their ability; however, parents can contact Ofsted at any stage of the complaints procedure.
Parents are invited to contact Ofsted in all matters relating to a breach of registration or a safeguarding concern.
The Ofsted contact details are: 0300 123 4666 or enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk
If parents have any concerns about the Manager, they should contact the Owner: Zarkar Akhtar on 020 8527 2902 or via email: zarkar@chingfordhousenursery.co.uk . Similarly, parents can contact Ofsted if there are any concerns about the Owner, using the details as provided.
Investigations are a confidential process and only involve staff that have been named in the complaint.
However, once an investigation has taken place and matters are concluded, where appropriate and with consent from those involved, the Manager may share some information with staff (without breaking confidentiality). The purpose is to raise awareness, inform our practice and to raise standards.
Please note that, if parents have any child protection concerns (that a child may be at risk of abuse or has concerns about their welfare), they should immediately report this to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) Yolande Farrell or Waltham Forest Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH).
Main MASH Contact
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Phone (Mon–Thu 9am– 5.15pm, Fri 9:00–17:00): 020 8496 2310; out of hours number: 020 8496 3000
Chingford House Nursery has a legal duty to hear any complaints within 28 days of receiving them. We are required to keep records of any complaints made for 3 years.
If Ofsted are aware of any complaints, they may request to see the complaints log and how matters were resolved.
The Complaints Policy can be emailed to parents, or they can request a paper copy.
Policy created by: Yolande Farrell Manager
Signed off by: Zarkar Akhtar Owner
Date: February 2026
Date of next review: February 2028