Malicious complaints

[Simona]

I don't understand your post Simona. Members of any representing organisations - or owners / managers etc - are very welcome to come on here and tell us what they have been doing.

UKCMA have their own section - if they had something to say which was relevant to childminders then I am sure they are perfectly capable of coming on here and adding a post. The same with Pacey. PLA and the ICM one are not members as far as I am aware - but it only takes an email to request membership and I am sure it would be looked on favourably.

We try very hard to be fair - I have, for example, included them all in the comparison of membership and insurance options.

We have over 25000 members on the forum - I am sure someone would report if they thought there was something important to tell us!

I am trying to see if there was any feedback from UKCMA meetings with Truss which took place 2 weeks ago and other associations ...that meeting was important for CMs because it has some new insight/info on agencies

We can post info about them but with many the link is starred so the sharing cannot take place? that is what I was trying to find out with my question ...just to be sure, however, there is news elsewhere from them and that is where I have picked it up from and also by speaking to those involved

[sarah707]

I am trying to see if there was any feedback from UKCMA meetings with Truss which took place 2 weeks ago and other associations ...that meeting was important for CMs because it has some new insight/info on agencies

We can post info about them but with many the link is starred so the sharing cannot take place? that is what I was trying to find out with my question ...just to be sure, however, there is news elsewhere from them and that is where I have picked it up from and also by speaking to those involved

I wasn't aware UKCMA turned up - I thought they sent a childminder in their stead who spoke on their behalf. The blog is widely available if people want to read about it ...

As I said they have their own forum section if they want to post. I haven't seen anything from them on Facebook either unless they are posting in groups to which I don't belong.

They are invited members of our Independent Childminders Facebook group but haven't posted for some months on there either... but then so are Pacey and they are not updating us either.

At the end of the day, information sharing is not really about links to websites - it is about informing as many people as possible what you are doing - if you don't use the sites with your target audience on them then you aren't going to get much support are you? And if you constantly bite the hand that feeds you then you aren't going to get much support when you do try and share either

[LauraS]

I agree largely with what bunyip et al are saying. Malicious complaints are a risk of our job, and whilst it would be nice for a malicious complainant to get their just desserts in some way or another, it isn't workable. We just have to be ready. A full inspection after a complaint is a pain, and would seem unfair, but ultimately it could be in the best interests of the children.

When my children were smaller I used a playscheme to drop my six (almost seven) year old off at school in the morning and pick her up in the afternoon. She started in the September, and in mid January I had a call from the head teacher of the school asking if I was aware that my child was being dropped off early and left in the playground. Unbeknownst to me, she was being dropped off anywhere between twenty past eight and twenty to nine and left alone in the playground, no other adults, just another ten year old boy. The school don't have teachers in the playground until ten to nine and school doesn't start until nine, so she was spending between ten and thirty minutes unsupervised, and up to forty minutes in the cold. This had started in the September, and by January the weather was cold, rainy and snowy etc and still quite dark in the mornings. The playground was very exposed at that time, so if it rained she would have had to stand in the rain until school started. To cap it all, the matter was finally raised by the head because the boy who was being dropped off early with her had started leaving school grounds and crossing a very very busy road to visit the shops every morning, which meant that he could have been run over and my daughter was completely alone. She hadn't told me because she hadn't realised that the playscheme were doing anything wrong, but confessed that she had been frightened.

I was absolutely furious (still am). I visited the scheme and asked if the allegation was true, and the manager of the playscheme confirmed that it was. They had taken on children from schools whose start times clashed and the only way that they could drop off everyone without being late was to drop off some kids early, and they didn't have enough staff to drop off staff to look after the kids too. They were quite matter of fact. They chose my six year old to drop off early because the other clashing school had a four year old reception age child who 'obviously' couldn't be left unsupervised. I withdrew her and reported it to ofsted.

Ofsted visited and upheld the complaint, and the playscheme were given a number of actions. In future years they would have had to make that complaint available to parents on request, I believe, but not as many parents go looking for problems with a prospective child career as you might think, unfortunately. The consequences for them were extremely minimal. In hindsight, I have also found out from an ex employee of the playscheme that the early drop offs were the tip of the iceberg and there were a number of problems within the scheme. These were not found out when my complaint was investigated because only the actual complaint was looked at. However, it makes sense to me that a child carer who is negligent in one area will probably have poor practice in others too.

If ofsted had conducted a full inspection at the time, they would have had their good downgraded to inadequate, the other issues might have been unearthed and the problems would have been much more obvious to current and prospective parents. I can't help but feel that this would been in the best interests of the children.

[Simona]

I agree largely with what bunyip et al are saying. Malicious complaints are a risk of our job, and whilst it would be nice for a malicious complainant to get their just desserts in some way or another, it isn't workable. We just have to be ready. A full inspection after a complaint is a pain, and would seem unfair, but ultimately it could be in the best interests of the children.

LauraS ...Thank you for your comment.
Complaints are unpleasant and having to be inspected following one made by someone who has a grudge against us is really irritating ...however...lets keep a wider picture in mind...some malicious complainants do not stop at just one phone call to Ofsted do they?...cms do work on their own and they are vulnerable
Lets not confuse the 'safeguarding' issue of a complaint, which I agree Ofsted cannot ignore, and must act by inspecting with malicious, vicious, grudge driven revenge
Also lets remember that providers were able in the past to 'investigate' their own complaints and many have been turned down by Oftsed, filed away and forgotten...or have they?

I feel we should not lose track of the #ofstedbigconversaion and make every effort necessary to attend the next meetings which will probably be organized by region so that we connect to the Ofsted 8 regions which have now started to operate.
More will come out soon on this as June and the team start preparing for the 'Next Steps' of the #OBC campaign

If you read Sue Gregory's message to #OBC she briefly explained about complaint triggered inspections, what triggers an inspection following a complaint, the cycle of inspections and much more....stay tuned to her NWorld article with more explanations.

A few cms did attend those meetings but not enough in comparison to other providers...I think we need to make our presence felt and speak up on our issues...they have things in common with other providers but essentially are different because our practice is different

keep an eye on the news and keep listening for the dates and attend if you can.

[Tweetybird]

Hi Everyone

I am mega please to inform you all that I have now had my New Grading after my unannounced Ofsted visit triggered by a malicious parent. I have been graded "GOOD" again.

I am over the moon and have will be writing to the parent to inform of the outcome of the Inspection highlighting her that I have been Graded "GOOD" following her complaint. Also stating that I will CONTINUE TO UPHOLD MY HIGH STANDARDS.

I can't wait to see her stupid face in the school playground, Me walking with my full quota of children like a proud peacock.

Thanks to you all for your support.

[MessybutHappy]

Hi Everyone

I am mega please to inform you all that I have now had my New Grading after my unannounced Ofsted visit triggered by a malicious parent. I have been graded "GOOD" again.

I am over the moon and have will be writing to the parent to inform of the outcome of the Inspection highlighting her that I have been Graded "GOOD" following her complaint. Also stating that I will CONTINUE TO UPHOLD MY HIGH STANDARDS.

I can't wait to see her stupid face in the school playground, Me walking with my full quota of children like a proud peacock.

Thanks to you all for your support.

Go you!!! Fab news, thank you fir sharing!

[rickysmiths]

Hi Everyone

I am mega please to inform you all that I have now had my New Grading after my unannounced Ofsted visit triggered by a malicious parent. I have been graded "GOOD" again.

I am over the moon and have will be writing to the parent to inform of the outcome of the Inspection highlighting her that I have been Graded "GOOD" following her complaint. Also stating that I will CONTINUE TO UPHOLD MY HIGH STANDARDS.

I can't wait to see her stupid face in the school playground, Me walking with my full quota of children like a proud peacock.

Thanks to you all for your support.

Well done you

However I wouldn't stoop to the parents low level. Also complainants are meant to be un named so you shouldn't officially know who has made the complaint against you though I know in practice we usually do you should maintain that confidentiality.

Rise above it in your glory and hold your head up high. Ofsted will respond to her and I think if they don't send her a copy of your new report they will tell her exactly where she can view it. Just think of her seething as she reads it!!!

[AdeleMarie88]

Well done you

However I wouldn't stoop to the parents low level. Also complainants are meant to be un named so you shouldn't officially know who has made the complaint against you though I know in practice we usually do you should maintain that confidentiality.

Rise above it in your glory and hold your head up high. Ofsted will respond to her and I think if they don't send her a copy of your new report they will tell her exactly where she can view it. Just think of her seething as she reads it!!!

I agree!! By all means shout from the rooftops your grade, but her right to confidentiality should be adhered to, as hard as you may find that!! You wouldn't want to give her cause to complain! x

[Tulip]

Well done you! Really pleased for you, I bet you are grinning from ear to ear. Some good points mentioned above.

[kellyskidz!]

Yay!! Truth will out!
So glad everything's turned out ok, and has been said I'd ignore said parent but would flash a few huge grins in her general direction xx