Thank you to all the families who have contacted us following the Wokingham Borough Council (WBC) Children's Services Overview and Scrutiny (CSO&S) Committee meeting on the 1st November. An increasing number of families are contacting us regarding the WBC Children’s Services complaints process and why their complaints are not part of the Complaints Report to the CSO&S Committee.

As we requested at the meeting on the 1st, the WBC Local Offer webpage is currently being updated to make the information on the complaints process clearer and more accessible. We will let families know when this information is available. In the meantime here is information about the process which families have asked for:

Complaints to Wokingham Borough Council Children’s Services

In the first instance, it is important to follow the usual process of escalating issues, so that a service has the earliest opportunity to resolve the issue. However, if you feel your concerns are not resolved, then you can consider a formal complaint.

A formal complaint is a separate process which logs and records concerns raised. Only formal complaints are reported on, including to the WBC CSO&S Committee and Ofsted. Complaints made directly to WBC Officers via emails are not logged via a formal process and are therefore not reported on.

If you wish to make a formal complaint it can be done in a number of ways:

1.You can cc the following email addresses when writing an email complaint direct to a WBC officer (this will then ensure it is logged as a formal complaint):

michael.bateman@wokingham.gov.uk and

ChildrensServicesComplaints@wokingham.gov.uk

Or

2. Formal complaint using the online form here: WBC online complaints form

The full details of the process and when you will get a response are detailed here: WBC Children’s Services Feedback and Complaints

The YouTube recording of the CSO&S Meeting from 1st November can be viewed here: CSO&S 1/11/23