Childcare complaint procedure

Complaints procedure for the nursery and BSO 't Koninkrijkje

Every day we do our utmost to take care of your children. However, please let us know when something unexpected happens that does not sit well with you! We are open to questions and suggestions from you as a parent and will always try to handle or apply them to the best of our abilities.

If your dissatisfaction continues and you decide to lodge a complaint, we guarantee you that the matter will be handled correctly and we will give you two options for lodging your complaint via a complaints procedure: An internal and an external route.

Internal means that you lodge your complaint with 't Koninkrijkje and that we will try to resolve the issue for you and with you. External means that you take your complaint to the Disputes Committee for Childcare.

In this regulation we describe the internal and external arrangements and we show what needs to be done to file an external complaint.

1. Purpose of the internal complaints procedure
This regulation describes the procedure for handling and registering customer complaints. We strive to resolve complaints from individual customers and groups to the best of our abilities. In addition, the complaints regulation offers the entire organisation the opportunity to work systematically on quality improvements.

This may include complaints about:

Services provided by the administration (planning, finances, etc.); The methods used by the children's centre when it comes to dealing with a parent/child for example; Behaviour of employees in relation to the care of the child.

Scope: The complaints procedure can be used by the customers of KDV 't Koninkrijkje, The internal complaints procedure relates to all aspects of the organisation and the services it provides.

2. Starting points

2.1. Submission of the complaint Complaints and objections are approached in a positive manner. A complaint can be submitted by: The client, i.e. the parents/guardians How is a complaint submitted? Complaints about persons are carefully drawn up The rules for submitting complaints have been made as simple and accessible as possible (see complaints form). A complaint can be submitted verbally or in writing. Taking into account the nature of the complaint, both oral and written complaints need to be dealt with as quickly as possible. During the handling of the complaint the parent will be kept in the loop, either orally or in writing.

2.2. Assistance The complainant and the person complained about may be assisted or represented by a person of their choice.

2.3. Gathering information The owner may gather further information from the complainant, the person complained about and third parties in order to assess the complaint. In order to obtain information from third parties, the written permission of those involved is required insofar as it concerns their privacy. The owner undertakes to treat all information relating to the complaint as confidential. Secrecy needs to be ensured.

2.4. Right of access The complainant, the staff member involved and the organisation will be given the opportunity to view all the documents that are related to the complaint. Documents submitted by one of the parties under the condition that the other party does not have the right to inspect them will not be considered and will not play any role in the final assessment.

2.5. Confidentiality Anyone who is involved in the implementation of a complaints procedure, and thereby becomes aware of data that is confidential, is obliged to keep it confidential. This also applies to data of which he or she knows or can reasonably suspect the confidential nature.

2.6. Decision Within 6 weeks after the complaint has been lodged, the owner will inform the persons concerned, in writing, if the complaint was founded or not. The reasons for this will be added to the letter.

2.7. Announcement of complaints procedure The owner will bring the complaints procedure to the attention of its clients via the website. The Complaints Regulations are always available for inspection at the childcare centre.

2.8. Measures The owner shall inform the complainant in writing, within one month of receiving the above opinion, whether any measures will be taken as a result of that opinion and, if so, which ones and by what date. If the one month time limit is exceeded, the persons concerned shall be informed and a new time limit shall be agreed upon. The aim is to carry measures out within 4 weeks (depending on the measures).

2.9. Periodic reporting Complaints are registered per calendar year and they are kept in a complaint file. The complaints are discussed and evaluated annually with the staff members during the assessment of the quality system. The complaints file is anonymised at the end of the calendar year and sent to the GGD before the first of March of the following year.

3. Internal complaint procedure

A complaint can be submitted verbally and in writing. Different routes are followed for oral and written complaints. Those routes are described in the following paragraphs.

3.1 The handling of an internal oral complaint procedure.

Oral complaints are handled within two weeks by the staff member and/or manager concerned. The staff member who receives the complaint makes a brief written report of the complaint and its handling on the oral complaints reporting form.

Step 1. The complainant addresses the verbal complaint to the staff member concerned if it concerns the conduct of the staff member, the running of the group or an incorrect administrative service.

Step 2. The staff member concerned tries to resolve the complaint with the client.
The staff member reports the complaint to the owner using the verbal complaint reporting form.

Step 3. An appointment will be made if the complainant is not satisfied or wants to submit the complaint directly to the owner.

Step 4. The owner interviews the staff member(s) involved and the complainant(s). She takes the necessary steps to resolve the complaint and records them on the verbal complaint report form.

Step 5. The owner signs the report form for verbal complaints and remarks after the complaint has been dealt with.

Step 6. The complaint gets archived into the complaint file once the complaint has been settled satisfactorily. The complaint file is evaluated annually with the staff and follow-up actions are planned.

Step 7. If the complainant indicates that he/she is not satisfied, the staff member asks the complainant to submit the complaint in writing, via the Complaint Form or via an email, ([email protected]) to the owner.

Step 8. The owner handles the written complaint. The complainant will receive a confirmation of receipt soon after. The owner will inform the complainant in writing about the decisions that have been made after both sides have been heard. The procedure is terminated when the complainant is satisfied. The owner will point out that the complaint can be submitted to the Disputes Committee for Childcare and Nursery Schools if the complainant is not satisfied.

3.2 The handling of an internal written complaint procedure

Step 1. Written complaints are submitted to the owner. The Complaints form can be used for this.

Step 2. The complainant is entitled to withdraw the complaint at any time. The complainant must notify the owner in writing.

Step 3. After the complaint has been made, the owner will have a conversation with the person that the complainant has complained about.

Step 4. The owner provides either a verbal or written response, within 2 weeks of the submission of the written complaint, to the complainant. The complainant can send verbal or written comments to the owner within the next 14 days. Verbal responses will be discussed in step 5.

Step 5. The owner shall, if she or either party considers it appropriate, summon both parties for an oral hearing of the complaint. She will set the day, time and place for such a hearing. If the owner considers it necessary or if one of the parties requests it, the parties shall
be heard separately. Within 14 days a report of the interview is drawn up and signed by both parties.

Step 6. The complaint gets archived in the complaint file when it is settled satisfactorily. The complaint file is evaluated annually with the staff and follow-up actions are planned. In the event a complaint is submitted by a minor, the parent/guardian is required to act as a representative from the moment the complaint is submitted.

The handling procedure of the formal complaint takes a maximum of 6 weeks.

4. External complaints procedure

If a mutual agreement cannot be reached, a dispute can be submitted to the Disputes Committee for Childcare. At the Childcare Complaints Desk, which is connected to the Disputes Committee for the Childcare Sector, an attempt is made to resolve the complaint by providing advice or mediation.

Parents can submit a dispute to the Disputes Committee for Childcare if:
- The childcare provider has not responded to the written complaint within 6 weeks.
- The parents and the childcare centre have not agreed on a way to settle the complaint within 6 weeks.
- The childcare organisation does not have an adequate complaints procedure.

In an exception to the above, parents may submit a dispute directly to the Disputes Committee for Childcare if the parents cannot reasonably be expected to submit a complaint to the childcare organisation under the given circumstances. This can be the case, for example, with complaints about harassment or when parents are afraid that submitting their complaint may lead to unpleasant consequences. The Disputes Committee assesses per individual case if the conditions have been met or not.

Step 1. The parents/parent committee should first submit the complaint to the entrepreneur.

Step 2. If the complaint does not lead to a solution, the dispute must be submitted in writing, or in another form determined by the Commission, to the Disputes Committee for Childcare. This has to be done after the parent/parent committee submitted the complaint to the entrepreneur and within 12 months.

Step 3. Disputes can be submitted to the Disputes Committee either by the parents/parent committee or by the entrepreneur.

Step 4. When the parent/parent committee brings a dispute before the Disputes Committee, the childcare provider is bound by this choice. If the entrepreneur wishes to bring a dispute before the Disputes Committee, he must ask the parent/parent committee in writing, or in another suitable form, if they can express their approval within five weeks. The entrepreneur should also announce that he will bring the dispute before a regular judge after the expiry of the aforementioned term.

Step 5. The verdict of the Disputes Committee will be in accordance with the provisions of the applicable regulations. The regulations of the Disputes Committee are available at www.degeschillencommissie.nl and will be sent upon request. The decisions of the Disputes Committee are made by way of a binding opinion. A fee needs to be paid for the handling procedure. Only the above-mentioned Disputes Committee, or an ordinary court, are authorised to take cognisance of disputes.

You can download the form to report a complaint.

5. Definitions
Childcare: The professional care and education of children up to the first day of the month in which they start their secondary education.

Childcare organisation: A legal or natural person who, in an organisational context, maintains a facility that regularly provides care to children from different families, age 0 up to and including the end of primary school age, by means of a day nursery (KDV) and after school care (4-12 years), for which a fee is payable.

Client: A natural person who uses, wishes to use or has used the services of the childcare organisation for the care of his/her children. (KDV and BSO).

Owner/Entrepreneur: The person who's ultimately responsible for the childcare that is being provided within the organisation. Pedagogical staff member: The person responsible for the daily care at the KDV and BSO.

Staff member: Every person working at the childcare organisation, both employed by and associated with the childcare organisation, including persons who are following (part of) their training at the childcare organisation and who provide services for the childcare organisation.

Complaint: Is a verbal or written expression of dissatisfaction by a client about the manner in which he/she has been treated by the childcare organisation, the owner or an employee of the childcare organisation. The dissatisfaction can be related to actions and decisions, or the lack of them, in relation to the client of the childcare organisation.

Complainant: A client or group of clients, in relation to the childcare organisation, who present a complaint or wish to see a complaint presented to the childcare organisation or external complaints committee.

External complaints committee: The childcare organisation is connected to the external committee. The committee deals with customer complaints and they give recommendations to management.