How to complain about our social care services for children, what happens when you make a complaint, and how to take it further if you are not satisfied with the outcome.
If you tell us you are not happy with any of our children's social care services, we want to hear about it so we can try to do something about it. We will usually acknowledge your complaint within five working days.
You might want to complain about the service you are receiving or the way you have been treated. If any part of our services makes you unhappy, and we want to hear about it so that we put things right, apologise if appropriate, and make sure we learn from what you tell us so it doesn’t happen again. Making a complaint will not disrupt your service.
How to make a complaint
Submit a complaint online. Alternatively, contact us using the details below:
Freepost RRHZ-ZGSS-YSTZ
Complaints and Resolutions
Safeguarding Team
3rd Floor, County Hall
New Road
Oxford OX1 1ND
Or you could complete a complaint forms (available to download at the bottom of this page) and return it to the above address.
We will make sure you are given the name and telephone number of a senior manager and a date by which you can expect to hear from them.
If you are under 18
If you are under 18 you can tell us how you feel by ringing us up or writing to us directly using the contact details at the bottom of this page. Or you can get the help of an adult who will speak for you, called an advocate.More information for under 18s.
What happens when you make a complaint
Stage 1 - informal stage
Talk about the problem with the member of staff dealing with your case. If you prefer, ask to speak to their manager. Alternatively, you can contact the complaints administrator using the contact details at the bottom of the page. Most complaints can be successfully resolved at this stage. We expect this to happen within two weeks.
Stage 2 - formal investigation stage
If you are still not satisfied you can ask to have your complaint dealt with formally. You need to tell the member of staff who has been dealing with your complaint that you are still not happy and want to take things further, or contact the complaints administrator (details below).
Your complaint will be fully and fairly investigated by a senior manager from another part of the service, or by an investigating officer, as well as by an independent person.
When the investigation has been completed we will write to you with the results of the investigation and any action that will be taken. You may also be invited to come and talk with the head of service to discuss the response.
Stage 3 - review panel stage
If you remain unhappy after receiving the Stage 2 response you can ask to have your complaint reviewed. We will set up a panel of three independent people who will look again at what has been done so far to sort things out for you. They will report to the Head of Children's Social Care who will consider carefully if there is more that could be done to resolve the complaint. You will receive a copy of the panel report and the Head of Children's Social Care’s response to the panel will be sent to you within 10 weeks of your request for a review.
Taking it further
We hope that you will feel your complaint will be fully and fairly investigated, but if you do remain unhappy you can take your concerns to the Local Government Ombudsman. The ombudsman for the Oxfordshire area is:
Local Government Ombudsman
The Oaks No 2
Westwood Way
Westwood Business Park
Coventry
CV4 8JB
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