Making a complaint about children's social care

We want to make sure that we are making it easy and straight forward for you to make a complaint about Children’s Social Care. If you are unhappy with the service the Council has provided, please get in touch with us.

Contact us and speak to us about what has happened, we may be able to resolve the issue without submitting a complaint. You can contact our Children's Social Care Team: information.officer@walthamforest.gov.uk with your query.

You can also contact us by writing to us at the following address:

There are three stages of the complaints procedure:

Stage One

• You can submit a Stage One complaint by using the online form, or
• Write to us with your complaint using the address above  

The Complaints team will investigate the complaint, which takes up to 10 days. You will receive an acknowledgement with a reference number once your complaint is logged.  The service will notify you in writing, if there is a delay in sending you the response.  

Stage Two

• If you are not happy with the response you have received from your Stage One complaint,, you can log a Stage Two complaint by following the same procedures as above.  Please remember to include why you are dissatisfied with the Stage One response and include the reference number.  The Complaints team will log your Stage Two complaint, and you will be given a new reference number
• The Complaints team will then appoint an Independent Officer to carry out the investigation. 
• The Complaints team will also appoint an Independent Person, to ensure that the process during the investigation is open, transparent, and fair. 
• The Independent Officer and Independent Person represent the department/area you are making the complaint about.  The investigation can take up to 25 days but can be longer depending on the nature of the complaint.
• These appointed persons do not work for the Council and will look at the complaint and carry out the investigation in an entirely and impartial, comprehensive, and effective manner.

Stage Three

• If you feel that the issue has still not been resolved, or you are unhappy with the outcome, you can ask for the case to be looked at by a Review Panel.  The Panel is made up of three independent people.  Your complaint should be heard by them within a further 30 working days. The Panel will take a ‘fresh look’ at your complaint to consider what stands in the way of it being resolved, but they do not re-investigate the complaint. They will make recommendations to the Strategic Director, People Directorate. You will be notified of the decision within 20 working days of the meeting.

• Childrens Social Care Local Government Ombudsman
• Safeguarding Concerns
• Complaints about Schools The Council does not deal with complaints about Schools. You will need to contact the school directly to make a complaint
• If you are a young person who needs support to submit a complaint about Social Care you can contact The Voice and Influence service who can help you.