Complaint procedure

Complaints procedure Kindergarten Comme à la Maison

Nursery Comme à la Maison has a procedure for handling complaints. Since 2003, we have been affiliated with an external independent complaints procedure, De Geschillencommissie. Parents and the parents of the Parent Committee / caretakers are verbally informed about this complaints procedure during the placement interview, but also receive for clarification a written copy of our General Conditions in which our complaints procedure is described, see Article 14 page 4.

What is a complaint

For Kinderdagverblijf Comme à la Maison, a complaint from a parent/caregiver is an expression of dissatisfaction that the parent/caregiver or child has, about the actions of the service provided by an employee of Kinderdagverblijf Comme à la Maison. In practice, the complaint can be about anything, for example, a difference of opinion about the care of the child, about the way a parent/caregiver is treated or about the failure to fulfill the agreements made with the parent/caregiver.

The complaint procedure:

The regulation is in writing, provides that the parent shall submit the complaint in writing to the child center keeper and that the keeper:

• carefully investigates the complaint;
• keeps the parent informed of the progress of treatment as much as possible;
• handles the complaint, taking into account its nature, as soon as possible;
• handles the complaint no later than six weeks after it is filed;
• provides the parent with a written reasoned opinion on the complaint;
• sets a concrete deadline in the judgment by which any measures will be realized.

Composition Of The Disputes Committee

The Disputes Committee is an independent independent committee in which several expert parties are represented. These are: a representative of the Interest Association of Parents and Parents of Parents Committee in Daycare (BOINK), lawyers, pedagogues, representatives from the business community. The Disputes Committee is composed of a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 13 members. Including 1 chairman and 2 deputy chairmen, chairman of the complaints committee not employed by the organization, the person complained about may not be on the committee. In case of a conflict about the care in a broad or narrower sense, the contractor commits Comme à la Maison to refrain from communicating about it to third parties until a decision of the complaints committee has been made.

The internal complaint mechanisms

Nursery Comme à la Maison has a procedure for dealing with general complaints. At the management, the parent/caregiver can take note of the content of the complaints procedure of Kinderdagverblijf Comme à la Maison. A complaint can be made by the parent/guardian verbally but also in writing. For written complaints, a complaint form is available at the nursery.

Article 14 Complaint procedure

Do you have a complaint or a concern? First discuss it with the pedagogical staff member responsible for your child. If you cannot resolve the issue together, please inform the supervisor or management of the childcare center.
Many parents find it difficult to voice this criticism because they fear it may have consequences for their child’s care. A wrong thought, because giving feedback often turns out positively. If child care providers know that parents find something annoying, they can do something about it.

If you cannot resolve the situation with the childcare organization itself, you can report your complaint or difference of opinion to the Childcare Complaints Desk. The Complaints Desk is an independent organization that listens to questions and complaints, provides information and advice and makes clear what steps are possible. Seeking advice or reporting a complaint to the Complaints Desk is free of charge.

The Complaints Desk tries to work with you to see how best to resolve your complaint. It is not yet a formal complaint to be handled by the Disputes Committee. However, you must provide your details. It is not possible to report a complaint anonymously.

Once your complaint is received, the Complaints Desk will consider whether mediation is possible between you and the child care organization. If the Complaints Desk needs more information from you, it will contact you. The aim is to resolve the complaint as best as possible. There is no charge for this.
You can submit the complaint in writing using the complaint form below, send an e-mail or you can call us at: 0900-1877 .
Monday to Friday 9 – 17 hours
Cost: €0.20 per call
The complaint form is for both parents and parent committees.

Sometimes the trust between you and the childcare organization is too severely damaged. This may be because the difference of opinion is too great or because too many things have happened. If mediation then fails, the Complaints Desk may advise you to use mediation.
A mediator will sit down with you and the childcare organization to come to a solution together. A mediator is trained for this purpose, does not pass judgment and is impartial. Mediation is possible in many conflicts. The only condition is that both parties cooperate voluntarily.

If you do not opt for mediation or conciliation, or if you still do not come out of it, you can submit your complaint to the Geschillencommissie Kinderopvang en Peuterspeelzalen. With this formal step, your complaint is called a dispute.
The Geschillencommissie Kinderopvang en Peuterspeelzalen is an independent committee, which assesses disputes between childcare organizations and consumers. The committee consists of three independent members. They listen to you and the entrepreneur, assess the dispute and, as a rule, issue a binding ruling on the dispute to which both parties must adhere.

Annual Report 2022

We had an external complaint from a parent in FY2022, regarding contract termination.

You can read the complaint report below:

The parents in question have been using a space without my permission since November 2022.
There was a leader working in the shelter at the time and she said it was allowed, after I found out I immediately had a conversation with the parents and explained that it was actually not possible because the children were playing in that space and I never gave written or verbal permission myself either.

The parents then promised me that it would take a maximum of 2 weeks. Months went by and because of corona they were delayed I kept getting the reply.

I politely asked them several times to want to use the space myself but each time I was told they were almost done, this went on for months. Finally I was able to use the space again and I kindly asked them to clean the space and make it safe for the children again, they swept a little and that was it. Of course I could not accept that, after all they had been using the space. After asking them several times to have the space professionally cleaned, my staff (leaders and a cleaner) just did it themselves. Finally, I had had enough of this situation and had then decided to cancel the contract. The parents did not agree with my decision and they immediately terminated our contract. This while a month’s notice was agreed upon as per our contract.

The parents then filed a complaint with the disputes committee and there was a hearing.

The ruling was that the parents could terminate the contract immediately.
I refunded them the amount due.