Are you unhappy about something?
- We want to know.
- We will listen to you.
- We will do our best to make things better.
If you are unhappy with how we, or your foster family are supporting you, please let us know so that we can sort things out quickly.
You might feel that:
- We are not doing something we promised, or you expected.
- We are not doing things in the way that you need.
- We are not treating you with kindness and respect.
The most important thing is that you tell someone, or write it down, so that the problem does not get bigger or become more serious. Please do not worry about making a complaint to us. It is your right to raise a complaint if we get things wrong. By making a complaint, you are giving us the chance to make our service better.
We will always let your social worker know that you have made a complaint and let them know what we will do to make things better. They will check that we do what we have said that we will do.
How can I raise a problem or complaint?
There are lots of ways in which you can raise a problem or complaint, depending on how you are feeling:
- Speak with your foster parent. They can help you to let us know what is wrong.
- Speak to someone from ISP when they visit your home.
- Speak to your social worker and ask them to help you.
- Talk to an advocate and ask them to help.
- Call your local ISP office and ask to speak with the manager.
- Email complaints@ispfostering.org.uk to report your complaint directly to our Complaints Officer.
- Send your complaint via our I-SPACE website:
www.i-space.org.uk/send-us-your-ideas
How do I find an advocate?
An advocate is someone who can help you to share your wishes and feelings with us, so that we understand how you feel and what you want to happen.
You can ask for an advocate from the National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS) at www.nyas.net or by calling 0808 808 1001.
What we will do
Informal resolution
When you tell us that there is a problem, the first thing we will do is talk with you about what is going wrong. We will try and understand your concerns and see if we can sort things out so that you are happier.
If you are not happy with our response at this stage or feel that we did not do what we said we would do, please let us know that you would like to raise your concern as a complaint.
Our Complaints Process
Stage 1
At the first stage of our complaints process, your local ISP Manager will talk with you about your concerns. They will go away and investigate your complaint thoroughly and make decisions about what needs to happen to put things right. We try to complete this process within 2 weeks.
The manager will let you know what they have done, and what they plan to do to resolve the problem. They will also let your social worker know what they have decided.
If your complaint is about the manager, we will ask a different manager in ISP to investigate your complaint.
Stage 2
If you are not happy with what we have decided, and the problem has not improved, we can ask an independent person (outside ISP) to take a fresh look at your complaint and how we have tried to resolve it. This can take up to 4 weeks, and they will tell us what they think we should do to make things better. We will let you know what we decide to do and let your social worker know too.
Stage 3
If you still do not feel that the problem has been sorted out, we will ask a senior leader to review the complaint. The manager will be independent of ISP and will not have been involved in the complaint so far.
You will receive a formal written response with a final decision from ISP about your complaint and what we will do to try and resolve it. We will share this with your social worker.
What if I’m still not happy?
If you are not satisfied with our response to your complaint after stage 3, you have the right to report any concerns about ISP to Ofsted. You may also choose to contact the Children’s Commissioner.
Ofsted
0300 123 4666
Children’s Commissioner for England
www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/help-at-hand
0800 528 0731
