Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about how the Council handled a safeguarding investigation about her conduct as a registered child minder. This is because the complaint is still going through the Council’s complaints procedure.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about the way the Council handled a safeguarding investigation into her conduct as a register childminder.
2. She said that the Council treated her unfairly when it:
• based its decision on unconfirmed allegations made against her;
• failed to speak to her or take a statement from her about the incident the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) was investigating;
• included untrue information in its LADO investigation report and the report it submitted to Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted);
• did not keep her informed of the progress of the LADO investigation; and
• failed to meet its public sector equality duty when it did not offer her services of an interpreter.
3. Miss X says the Council’s actions destroyed her reputation and caused her avoidable distress. Additionally, she says she had to close her childminding business which means she suffered a financial loss.
4. Miss X wants the Council to once again investigate the allegations made against her.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

5. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the council knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the council of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5))
6. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

7. In making my draft decision I considered:
• the complaint and Miss X's comments; and
• the comments and documents the Council provided.
8. Miss X and the Council have had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Background

9. The Children Act 1989 says councils have a duty, with other agencies, to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people in their area.
10. The Department for Education issues statutory guidance, ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ which it last updated in 2018. This says councils should identify an officer to be involved in managing and overseeing allegations against people who work with children. This officer is known as the Local Authority Designated Officer or LADO.
11. The Act and accompanying regulations also set out a three-stage statutory procedure for councils to follow when looking at most complaints about children’s social care services. The accompanying statutory guidance, Getting the Best from Complaints, explains councils’ responsibilities in more detail.
12. Complaints about the LADO are not usually subject of the statutory procedure. However, councils can exercise their discretion to investigate such complaints under this procedure. Once the complaint had entered the procedure the Council is obliged to ensure it completes all three stages if that is the complainant’s wish.

What happened

13. Miss X complained about the Council’s handling of a safeguarding investigation into her actions as a registered childminder. This happened after a child she was looking after made an allegation against her at school in early 2021.
14. Miss X complained to the Council about its actions and the outcome of the safeguarding investigation in June 2021. In the same month the Council told her it had considered her complaint and referred her to the Ombudsman.
15. Miss X was not satisfied with the Council’s response, and she complained to the Ombudsman.
16. A month later the Council wrote to Miss X again. It offered to escalate her complaint to stage two of the Children’s Statutory Complaints procedure and carry out an independent investigation. It said that it would not be able to consider some of the matters Miss X complained about, namely:
• the outcome of the Child Protection Conference;
• the outcome of the safeguarding investigation the Local Authority Designated Officer carried out; and
• claims for compensation.

My analysis

17. The Council has offered to further consider Miss X’s complaint, and I think it should have the opportunity to do so. In making my decision I am mindful there are parts of the complaint the Council can consider which we may not be able to look at, and as a result may be able to achieve the outcome Miss X desires.
18. We are not an appeal body, so our investigations focus of whether the Council followed the correct procedures and its own policies in the decision-making process. We would not be able to substitute our own opinion for the one of the professionals. While the Council has said it will not look at the decisions of the Child Protection Conference or LADO investigation, it can look at the processes undertaken to carry out those considerations.
19. The matters Ms X complains about do not fall within the scope of the Children’s Statutory Complaints procedure as Ms X is not designated as someone who can complain under that procedure. However, now that the Council has made its offer, I would expect it to continue with the Children’s Statutory Complaints Procedure when dealing with Miss X’s complaint.
20. If, after the Council has finalised its complaint process, Miss X remains dissatisfied she will be able to submit a new complaint for us to assess.

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Final decision

21. I have discontinued my investigation as the Council has not finished considering Miss X’s complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman