How can I make a Complaint against the Fostering Service

If you are not satisfied with any aspect of the fostering service you should discuss it with your Supervising Social Worker, who will try and resolve the problem with the person concerned. If you are not happy with your supervising Social Worker, you should speak to a team manager within the fostering service. If this is not satisfactory please speak with the Operations manager for childrens placements. If your complaint is about the fostering service as a whole then you can contact Ofsted.

There are different sorts of complaints that need to be dealt with differently:

• Complaints on behalf of the child or young person. See Complaints by and for Children.
• Serious complaints about the service. See Whistleblowing.
• Complaints about a decision made by the service's Decision Maker or a recommendation made by the fostering panel. See Reviewing my Approvals and Appeals.

This chapter explains the way in which you should deal with concerns that you have about the fostering service.

Formal complaints may be made by email, letter or by phone or in person. In the first instance the fostering service will always try to deal with issues informally. This does not mean that you are not being taken seriously; it is because the complaint is more likely to be able to be dealt with quickly and to your satisfaction when it is dealt with in this way. This is known as a Stage 1 complaint. All complaints are recorded by the fostering service which are monitored by a fostering manager.

If the complaint has still not been resolved then an independent review panel will consider the complaint and the way it has been dealt with. This is Stage 3 of the process and it has to be considered by an independent panel.

Complaints made by a foster carer on their own behalf are dealt with under the councils corporate complaints procedure. A manager within the fostering service will respond to the complaint within 21 days. If the foster carer is not satisfied, they can ask the corporate customer care department to investigate the complaint under the 'Chief executive stage'.

In the unlikely event that it still hasn’t been sorted out, Ofsted will be notified about the complaint.

Ofsted:
Ofsted inspect fostering agencies in relation to the National Minimum Standards. If you have a serious concern about the fostering service, you can contact Ofsted, their details are:

Ofsted
Ofsted National Business Unit
Piccadilly Gate
Store Street
Manchester
M1 2WD

Tel: 0300 123 1231
Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk