Feedback, Complaints and Compliments

1. Overview

1.1. Purpose

The provision of a high-quality, safe and healthy environment is vital for children, team members and other stakeholders. Feedback from children, families and other stakeholders is an important part of quality and continuous improvement.

1.2. Scope

All Junior Adventures Group (JAG) People are required to comply with the provisions set out in this policy, their contract of employment and all other relevant policies, procedures and legislation. It is the responsibility of the group to provide formal and informal opportunities for feedback and to manage complaints and feedback within guidelines.

1.3. Legislative Requirements

Under the Education and Care Services National Regulations, JAG is required to have policies and procedures in place to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of the children in care.

2. Policy Statement

JAG is committed to continuous improvement, and feedback is a vital element to understanding the experiences of children, their families/guardians and staff at the Service. Children and families have a right to provide feedback and complaints about their service experience. We welcome feedback to help us get the best service outcomes for children in our care, and we will manage it respectfully and actively.

3. Principles

3.1. We Value Feedback

As part of our duty of care and service responsiveness, we have an obligation to listen to feedback and respond to feedback, compliments, ideas and complaints relating to service experience. The Service and its team members have a responsibility to communicate how to provide feedback, provide the options and ensure that matters are handled appropriately with a mutually acceptable resolution.

3.2. Quality Systems

Learning about people’s experiences is vital to our growth and ensuring future quality and continuous improvement.

Effective procedures for receiving, addressing and responding to feedback or complaints are provided to all stakeholders. We regularly review and look for trends and patterns to identify whether we have responded appropriately and the areas to strengthen our systems and processes.

Feedback will be sought from children, families and community members regularly, providing opportunities to reflect on practices, address areas of concern and contribute to the ongoing quality improvement of each service.

Parents/Guardians or community members wishing to make a complaint will be encouraged to raise it with the Service Leader. Additional contact details for complaints will be displayed in each service for families.

3.3. Responsibilities and accountabilities

An organisation chart details the positions, roles, and responsibilities of all relevant personnel as well as information regarding governance relationships and interactions.

Families must be able to provide feedback to any team member. However, where a complaint or piece of feedback is received, it will be documented and escalated on to the service leader for review and response. This process may also involve coaching team members and collecting information to form a view of the validity of the information or complaint that has been received.

3.4. Staff Capability

Our team members are experienced and skilled practitioners in early childhood and primary education fields; they are employed and supported by clear systems of Management and administration.

Service Leaders are trained in relevant processes and supported in responding to complaints in a professional manner.

Accounts or billing feedback must be directed to the Customer Experience Team for action and response.

3.5. Leading Good Practices

All feedback is considered confidential.

Where the feedback constitutes a complaint against the Service, Management is informed and involved in responding to the complaint. In addition, the relevant agencies and regulatory authority are contacted in accordance with Regulations and License/Lease agreements which are in place.

All stakeholders will be provided guidelines on managing disputes and incidents in a fair and equitable manner, as well as within a reasonable timeframe.

The rights of all children, families and community members will be acknowledged, and a clear, concise and transparent complaints process will be made available to those concerned.

Complaints and all actions taken in response to them are recorded and notified to the school Principal/P&C/Committee as appropriate. The Service Leader will:

• Investigate the feedback as required (speak to and parents concerned)

• Inform Management and the school as appropriate

• Take relevant action

• Communicate and follow up with any updates and action taken, as required

• Communicate regularly with the person who made the complaint to keep them up to date

• Ensure that the person who made the complaint understands and is satisfied with the outcome and is given information about the escalation of the complaint where required.

A copy of any report generated is given to Management and filed, as per the procedure.

If the parent requires further action to be taken, they may approach Management (through the Service Leader or by contacting the Line Manager or Customer Experience Team directly).

3.6. Record Keeping

Records will be kept of complaints, compliments and other feedback. This data will also be looked at across the organisation for trends and opportunities to consider improvement to service delivery.

3.7. Complaint Escalation

Where feedback, a grievance or an articulated concern is not satisfactorily resolved, an external review process is available to families through collaboration with the school principal or alternative means as appropriate.

3.8. Child Safety

We safeguard children through our procedures and practices, with particular attention to the quality of our service. Policies and practices reflect the relevant legislation, including the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations. JAG provides polices and procedures to equip JAG people with the knowledge, skills, and awareness to respond to feedback, complaints and compliments to keep children safe.

Service Practice are continuously reviewed and improved to ensure current legislation is in effect throughout the business. Children are encouraged to participate in decisions affecting them. Families and communities are involved and informed through their relationships with team members, team members ensure that feedback, complaints and compliments are escalated appropriately.

4. Key Terms

Complaint:

• Verbal or written communication about dissatisfaction relating to a service experience or an element of service delivery

Concern:

• Verbal or written communication about a matter of interest or importance wanting to be addressed.

Feedback:

• Verbal or written communication about an aspect of the Service

Grievance:

• Ta state of being, emotional feeling of being unsettled or ill at ease with a person with whom there is an ongoing relationship. A grievance arises in the context of a regular relationship eg work colleagues. A grievance can be a precursor to a complaint.

Service Leader:

• Anyone who oversees the Service in one of the following roles:

  1. The Approved Provider; if the approved provider is an individual, in other cases, a person with management or control of the Service

  2. The Nominated Supervisor of the Service

  3. A Responsible Person who has been placed in day-to-day charge of the Service in the absence of the Nominated Supervisor.

Team Member:

• JAG People who work directly with children.

Customer Experience Team:

• The JAG Support Office team that provides support in customer concerns, questions, and needs, particularly regarding billing, bookings and general queries. The Support Team organisation consists of two subdivisions that are designated to support families with general queries, billings and bookings and Service Delivery teams with general queries, CCMS changes and updates.

5. References

Education and Care Services National Law and Regulations

National Quality Standards for Early Childhood Education and Care and School Care

Administration, Handle with Care (1987). Sebastian, Patricia. AE Press: Melbourne

Children Education and Care Services National Law Act 2010

Educational and Care Services National Regulations

ACECQA – National Quality Framework Other Relevant Legislation

Regulation 111- Administrative space

Regulation 168 – Education and care service must have policies and procedures

Regulation 170 – Policies and procedures to be followed

Regulation 171 – Policies and procedures to be kept available

Regulation 172 – Notification of change to policies or procedures

Regulation 173 – Prescribed information to be displayed

Regulation 176 – Time to notify certain information to the Regulatory Authority

Regulation 181 – Confidentiality of records kept by the approved provider

Regulation 185 – Law and regulations to be available Related Policies

Safeguarding Children and Young People Service Delivery Governance and Management Working in Partnerships with Families and Communities Maintenance and Confidentiality of Records Related Procedures 07P001 Feedback and Complaints Procedures 07P002 Recordkeeping and Archiving Other Quality Area 6 & 7: Standards 6.1, 7.1 OCG Guide to Child Safe Standards - https://ocg.nsw.gov.au/child-safe-scheme CCYP Child safe Standards - https://ccyp.vic.gov.au/child-safe-standards/ National Principles for Child Safe Organisations - https://childsafe.humanrights.gov.au/national-principles

Version 3.0 Change History

JAG Policy Change Register Date Approved 01/07/2023 Date Implemented

01/07/2023 Document Owner Customer Experience Document Approvers

CEO / Approved Provider Next Review 12 months