Children living in a children’s home must be able to say when something is wrong and expect a fair response. Regulation 39 of the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 requires a procedure for complaints made by children or on their behalf, protects children from reprisal and sets clear requirements for independence and records.
A good complaints system does more than close cases. It gives children influence over their care, provides early warning about unsafe or unfair practice and helps the home improve. It should be easy to use during an ordinary day, not only understandable to adults reading a policy.
This guide explains the legal requirements and shows how to create a process that is accessible, independent and connected to safeguarding.
Images in this guide are AI-generated illustrations, not photographs of Welcare premises or evidence of a particular home’s facilities.
Key point:
The route should follow the substance of the concern. A complaint that suggests abuse or neglect must enter the safeguarding process immediately, while the child’s complaint rights and protection from reprisal remain in place.
What Regulation 39 requires
Regulation 39 requires the registered person to establish a procedure for considering complaints made by or on behalf of children.
The procedure must ensure that:
There is a specific interaction with the Children Act 1989 Representations Procedure (England) Regulations 2006. Apart from the protection against reprisal, Regulation 39 does not apply to a matter governed by that statutory procedure.
The registered person must therefore know which complaints procedure applies and avoid sending a child between organisations without support.
Who can make a complaint?
The duty covers complaints made by children and complaints made on their behalf
A concern may therefore come from:
A child living in the home
A parent or person with parental responsibility
An advocate
A social worker
An independent reviewing officer
A family member
Another professional
Another person helping the child express their concern
The home should not reject a complaint simply because it was made verbally, informally, through a message or by somebody supporting the child. The first task is to understand the concern and the child’s preferred way of participating.
A complaint can concern a decision, staff conduct, privacy, food, routines, contact, activities, bullying, discrimination, restraint, missing-from-care response, property, money, records or any other aspect of the child’s experience.
Make the process genuinely accessible
Children have different ages, communication styles, disabilities, first languages, literacy levels and experiences of adults. One written form cannot meet every need.
The complaints procedure and children’s guide should explain, in an age-appropriate way:
Options may include speaking privately to a trusted adult, using a feedback box, sending a message, recording audio, using symbols, contacting an advocate or asking another person to complain.Staff should notice indirect communication. A child may express dissatisfaction through withdrawal, repeated questions, refusal or a comment made during an activity rather than by using the word "complaint".
Explain the difference between a request and a complaint
A child does not need to use formal language. Staff can resolve an everyday request quickly while preserving the option to complain.
For example, asking for a different meal may be a request. Repeatedly being denied food that meets a child’s religious or health needs may be a complaint about care and equality. The response should be based on meaning and pattern, not the label chosen by the adult receiving it.
Staff should not downgrade a complaint to a suggestion merely to keep it out of the log. If the child is dissatisfied with an aspect of care and wants a response, it should normally be recognised and recorded.
Receiving a complaint well
The first response influences whether a child will raise concerns again. Staff should listen, thank the child for speaking, check immediate safety and explain the next step.
They should avoid:
The receiving person should record the child's words, desired outcome and any communication support required. The child should be told who will manage the complaint and when they will hear from them.
Informal resolution
Some concerns can be resolved promptly through explanation, apology, practical change or a conversation. Informal resolution should remain the child’s choice where possible and should not be used for serious matters.
Regulation 39 allows the subject of a complaint to take part at the informal stage only if the registered person considers it appropriate. The child should never be pressured into a meeting with that person.
A complaint should move beyond informal resolution where:
Even an informally resolved complaint must be recorded with the action and outcome.
Independent consideration and investigation
Once a complaint requires formal consideration, anyone who is the subject of it must have no part in the consideration or investigation.
The procedure should identify an alternative investigator if the complaint concerns:
A key worker
A shift leader
The registered manager
The responsible individual
The registered provider
Several people in the management line
Independence should be practical as well as nominal. The investigator needs authority, access to records and freedom from conflicts of interest. External investigation may be appropriate for serious, complex or provider-level concerns.
The investigator should establish clear terms, gather relevant evidence, hear the child with suitable support, speak to other people fairly and keep a reliable decision trail.
Fairness to everyone involved
Complaints that contain safeguarding concerns
A complaint may allege abuse, neglect, bullying, exploitation, excessive restraint or another safety issue. The home must act through its Regulation 34 safeguarding and allegations procedure without waiting for the complaints process to finish.
This may require:
Immediate protection
Referral to children's social care or police
Contact with the local authority designated officer
Notification to Ofsted under Regulation 40
Consideration of the adult's duties
Preservation of evidence
Support for the child
The complaints record should note the route and continue to track the child's concerns. Referring externally does not justify silence. The child should receive updates that can lawfully and safely be shared.
No reprisal
Regulation 39 expressly prohibits reprisal against a child for making a complaint or representation. Reprisal can be obvious or subtle.
Examples include:
Managers should check the child’s experience after the complaint, not simply tell staff that retaliation is forbidden. Changes in relationships, routines or restrictions should have a clear care-based reason and be reviewed.
The protection against reprisal still applies where the matter falls under the Children Act representations procedure.
Advocacy and external routes
Children should be helped to access independent advocacy. An advocate can help the child understand options, express what happened, attend meetings and challenge delays or unsatisfactory responses.
The children’s guide should include current contact information for:
- the child’s social worker;
- the independent reviewing officer where applicable;
- an independent advocate;
- the placing authority’s complaints service;
- the Children’s Commissioner;
- Ofsted; and
- emergency or safeguarding services.
Ofsted accepts information and complaints about children’s social care services, although its role is regulatory and it does not replace the provider’s or placing authority’s process. The Ofsted complaints guidance should be used for current contact routes and expectations.
A child should not be told that they must complete the home’s process before seeking safeguarding help.
The Children Act statutory complaints procedure
Local authorities have a statutory procedure for certain complaints about children’s social care under the Children Act 1989 Representations Procedure (England) Regulations 2006.
Regulation 39 states that, except for the no-reprisal duty, its other paragraphs do not apply to a matter governed by that procedure. The home should therefore work with the placing authority to identify the correct route.
In practice, the provider should:
Where a complaint contains both local authority and provider issues, responsibilities should be agreed so that no part is lost.
Setting stages and timescales
Regulation 39 does not prescribe a universal number of complaint stages or fixed response period. The home’s procedure should set clear, realistic timescales and explain what happens if they cannot be met.
A useful process might include:
immediate acknowledgement
safety screening
an informal option where suitable
formal investigation
a written or accessible outcome
a review or appeal route
external escalation information
The child should receive regular updates. Delay without explanation can feel like disbelief and may increase risk.Timescales should never delay an urgent safeguarding referral.
What a good outcome looks like
The outcome should address each part of the complaint and explain:
The response should match the child's communication needs. A long formal letter may be useful for the file but inaccessible to the child. A supported conversation, visual summary or audio explanation may be needed as well.
An apology should be genuine and specific. It should not be used instead of corrective action.
Complaint records
Regulation 39 requires a record of the complaint, action and investigation outcome.
A robust record normally includes:
- date and method received
- who made it and on whose behalf
- the child’s account and desired outcome
- immediate safety screening
- classification and route
- conflicts of interest
- investigator
- evidence considered
- communication and updates
- findings
- response and remedy
- referrals and notifications
- appeal or review
- completion date
- learning actions.
Access should be controlled, but the record must be available for monitoring and inspection. The Regulations 36 to 38 records guide explains storage and accessibility.
Learning from complaints
Each complaint should be resolved fairly, but leaders should also examine patterns. A series of minor complaints about food, privacy, transport or staff language may reveal a significant cultural or operational issue.
Analysis can consider:
- subject and location;
- child characteristics and equality themes;
- shift or team patterns;
- response time;
- outcome and upheld elements;
- repeated adults or processes;
- use of advocacy;
- evidence of reprisal;
- actions completed; and
- whether children noticed improvement.
Learning should feed into policies, training, supervision, placement plans, the Regulation 45 review and provider oversight.
The 12-month summary for HMCI
The registered person must be able to supply HMCI, on request, with a statement summarising complaints made during the preceding 12 months and the action taken in response to each.
The home should be able to generate this accurately without exposing unnecessary personal information. A live complaint log with quality checks makes the requirement easier to meet than reconstructing events before an inspection.
The summary should agree with case records, safeguarding logs and management reports.
What Ofsted may examine
Ofsted’s social care common inspection framework for children’s homes considers whether children can express views, access advocacy and receive effective responses to complaints.
Inspectors may speak with children, examine complaint records, test staff knowledge, compare safeguarding referrals and check whether learning improved care. A low complaint number is not automatically evidence of a good service. It may mean children do not trust the process.
Common weaknesses
Common weaknesses include accepting only written complaints, allowing the subject to manage the investigation, treating a safeguarding allegation only as dissatisfaction and closing a matter without telling the child.
Other problems include inaccessible language, unclear external routes, no follow-up for reprisal, missing informal complaints, repeated delays and action plans that are never checked.
Regulation 39 audit checklist
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
At least once in each calendar year. It should also be updated when significant changes make the existing assessment unreliable.
No. It may be one source, but the review should combine current local intelligence, children's experiences, service access, physical hazards, incident patterns and consultation.
No area is risk-free. The legal focus is on avoidable risks so far as reasonably practicable and the overall appropriateness and suitability of the location.
Regulation 46 requires consultation with each relevant person. Children's views are central to understanding how the area feels and works in daily life and should normally form part of the evidence.
No. Planning status and children's home suitability are separate questions. The provider must complete the child-centred annual review even where planning use is established.
