Nursery complaints procedure

The rule: paragraphs 3.101 and 3.102 of the EYFS

The complaints duty for nurseries, pre-schools and other group and school-based providers in England is paragraph 3.101 of the EYFS statutory framework for group and school-based providers, in force from 1 September 2026: “Providers must put in place a written procedure for dealing with concerns and complaints from parents and/or carers, and must keep a written record of any complaints, and their outcome.” The paragraph continues: “All providers must: Investigate written complaints relating to how they are fulfilling the EYFS requirements. Notify the person who made the complaint of the outcome of the investigation within 28 days of having received the complaint. Make a record of complaints available to Ofsted, or the CMA with which a provider of CoDP is registered, on request.” A CMA is a childminder agency; CoDP is childcare on domestic premises.

Paragraph 3.102 adds the signpost: “Providers must make available to parents and/or carers the details about how to contact Ofsted, or the CMA with which a provider of CoDP is registered, if they believe the provider is not meeting the EYFS requirements.” Paragraph 3.100 makes the procedure itself public, because providers must share with parents “Details of the provider's policies and procedures – making copies available on request.”

These are legal requirements, not good practice. Regulation 3 of the Early Years Foundation Stage (Welfare Requirements) Regulations 2012 defines the obligatory provisions as “the provisions in Section 3 of the Document that, by virtue of their use of the word ‘must’, express requirements”, and every sentence quoted above uses must. The numbers changed in September 2026: a procedure that still cites paragraph 3.98, the complaints paragraph of the September 2025 framework, has not been checked against the current text.

What a nursery complaints policy should contain

The EYFS fixes four things – the written procedure, investigation, the 28-day outcome and the record – and leaves the rest to the provider. A workable procedure usually covers:

1. Concerns as well as complaints. Paragraph 3.101 covers both, so say how a parent raises a concern informally (with the key person, at the door or by message) and how they make a formal complaint in writing.
2. Who investigates, and who hears a complaint about the manager. Usually the manager; for a complaint about the manager or owner, another named person such as the nominated individual or, in a committee-run pre-school, the chair.
3. The outcome and how it is given. Within 28 days of receiving a written complaint, with any action taken. Ofsted's information for parents about its role in regulating childcare tells parents the provider “must tell you about the outcome of their investigation, and any action they take, or plan to take, as an outcome of your complaint”, and that “You can ask to have the outcome of their investigation in writing.”
4. Ofsted's contact details, or the CMA's, as paragraph 3.102 requires. Ofsted's complaints procedure gives enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk and 0300 123 4666 for complaints about a childcare provider.
5. What the complaints route does not handle. A safeguarding concern about a child goes to the designated safeguarding lead and on to children's social care under paragraph 3.9; an allegation of harm or abuse by anyone living, working or looking after children at the premises follows paragraph 3.10 and is notified to Ofsted, or the CMA, as soon as reasonably practicable and in any event within 14 days, as the guide to notifying Ofsted explains. A complaint that a child has not received a funded place goes to the local authority, and a concern about personal data follows the setting's data protection route, set out in our GDPR guide for nurseries.
6. Confidentiality. Who sees a complaint and where the record is kept.

Many published procedures set a three-day acknowledgement, two or three stages and an appeal. None is an EYFS requirement, but a deadline written into your procedure becomes the one parents and inspectors measure you against, so set only stages you can meet inside the 28 days. A complaints panel and a formal appeal are school rules, covered in the school complaints policy guide, and a pre-school run as a charity can take its trustees' oversight of complaints from the charity complaints guide.

The 28-day clock and the complaints record

The statutory clock starts when the setting receives a written complaint about how it is meeting the EYFS requirements: the outcome is due “within 28 days of having received the complaint” (3.101). The framework does not define writing, and a setting that treats a parent's email or text as a written complaint is on the safe side, so a message to a practitioner at nine in the evening can start the clock before the manager has seen it. A concern raised aloud does not start the clock, but noting it shows patterns and fixes the date if it later becomes a written complaint.

The record must cover “any complaints, and their outcome” (3.101). A useful entry holds:

• the date received, how, and by whom;
• who made it, which child it concerns, and which EYFS requirement it relates to;
• who investigated and what they did, with dates;
• the outcome, any action taken, and the date and method of telling the complainant;
• anything passed on: to the safeguarding lead, Ofsted or the local authority.

Ofsted reads it. Its early years inspection information for use from September 2026 says inspectors may need to see “records of any complaints and their resolution”, and that where Ofsted has received concerns or complaints, “the inspection will focus on the wider issues raised by the complaints, what the setting has done in response and the impact this has had on children. Inspectors do not investigate individual complaints.” For a minor concern, Ofsted's information for parents adds, “We ask the provider to record the information and outcome in their complaints log so that parents and carers can see the action the provider took.”

The EYFS sets no retention period for the complaints record. For records about individual children, paragraph 3.98 says they “must be retained for a reasonable period of time after they have left the provision”, and its footnote leaves the period to the provider. Three years is a legal duty only for providers on the Childcare Register (next section). A setting on the Early Years Register alone should write a period into its retention schedule with its reasons; a setting on both registers must keep complaints about its Childcare Register provision for at least three years, and one period for the whole log is simpler. The record is personal data about parents, children and staff, so restrict access to it; the other EYFS records are in the nursery record-keeping guide.

Childminders, the Childcare Register and school nurseries

Childminders have their own version of the rule. Paragraph 3.100 of the EYFS framework for childminders: “Childminders are not required to have a written procedure for handling complaints, but they must keep a record of any complaints they receive and their outcome.” The rest matches: investigate written complaints about the EYFS requirements, give the outcome “within 28 days of having received the complaint”, make the record available to Ofsted or the relevant CMA on request, and tell parents how to contact Ofsted or the CMA (3.101). The procedure can be explained rather than written; the record cannot, and the childminder record-keeping guide sets it beside the others.

The Childcare Register is stricter. Ofsted's requirements for childminders on the compulsory Childcare Register and for daycare providers on the compulsory Childcare Register, with matching pages for the voluntary part, say a provider must “have a written complaints policy and fully investigate each complaint”, “keep written records for 3 years of any complaint, the investigation outcome and any action taken”, respond to the parent “as soon as reasonably possible but within 28 days of the complaint being made”, and “provide, if we ask for it, a summary of complaints for the last 12 months and any action taken, or a list of all complaints made during the last 3 years”.

The legal basis is Schedule 3 paragraph 18 and Schedule 6 paragraph 19 of the Childcare (General Childcare Register) Regulations 2008, as amended by the Childcare (General Childcare Register) (Amendment) Regulations 2009, which from 1 September 2009 replaced 20 days with 28 and two years with three; the revised 2008 text on legislation.gov.uk has not applied that amendment and still reads 20 days. Under the register, a complaint is one made in writing by a parent, and the 28 days run from when it was made; under the EYFS they run from when it was received. A setting on both is safest counting from the earlier date.

A nursery can be on both registers without having thought about it. Ofsted's information for parents says “People who want to provide childcare for children older than the early years age group but under the age of 8 years must register on the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.” A nursery that runs a holiday or after-school club for five to seven year olds will usually be on the compulsory part for that provision, unless an exemption applies, so check which registers your registration covers.

School nursery classes and maintained nursery schools can use the school's procedure: paragraph 3.5 says “Schools are not required to have separate policies to cover EYFS requirements provided the requirements are already met through an existing policy.” Check that it gives the 28-day outcome and Ofsted's details. Nannies have no complaints duty: “All registered childcare providers, except nannies, must keep a record of written complaints.”

Beyond the setting: Ofsted, the agency and the local authority

Ofsted's complaints procedure is plain about the order: “The first step is always to raise any issues with the school, service or provider by completing their full complaints procedure. Most issues can be resolved in this way.” It adds: “We may not be able to accept your complaint if you have not done this already.” After that, a parent can contact Ofsted at enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk or on 0300 123 4666.

Ofsted's role is narrower than parents expect. “Ofsted's powers here are limited: we cannot resolve disputes between you and the provider. Our role is to make sure that the childcare provider or agency is following all registration requirements and to take action if necessary.” Its information for parents adds that it “cannot deal with information that is not about the requirements for registration, for example, disputes about contracts or fees.” Depending on the risk, Ofsted may inspect, ask the provider to deal with the matter or work with other agencies, but “we will not contact you to let you know the outcome.”

A parent need not give a name: “You do not have to tell us your name”, though without one Ofsted will “usually, but not always, pass the information you give us to the registered provider to deal with.” Information about child safeguarding, or from a whistleblower such as a member of staff, is assessed “to see if immediate action is needed to safeguard children”. Where a child may be at risk, the complaints route is the wrong one: “If you think a child is at risk, contact the children's social care team at their local council or call your local police on 101. If a child is in immediate danger, call 999.”

Two other routes sit beside Ofsted. For a childminder registered with an agency, Ofsted says “Complaints about a childminder registered with an agency should be made to the agency. If you are not happy with the agency's response, you can then complain to Ofsted about the agency.” And a complaint about funded hours belongs to the council: the Department for Education's early education and childcare statutory guidance says local authorities must tell parents “of the local authority complaints procedure if they are not satisfied that their child has received their free place or with any aspect of the way they have received it”.

Where nursery complaints actually start

Few complaints arrive as a letter. A father texts the key person at half past eight to ask why his daughter came home with a bitten arm and no accident form. A mother sends the manager a long message at ten at night after seeing the day's photographs. The setting's first reply, sent quickly and kindly from a personal account, is part of how it handled the complaint.

That matters under paragraph 3.101. If the message is a written complaint, the 28 days may have started on a practitioner's phone, and the manager hears about it on day four. The record needs the complaint and the setting's reply, and both sit in a personal app the setting cannot open, which leaves with the practitioner. And when Ofsted asks the setting to log a matter, the setting can only log what it can find.

The remedy is not to stop parents messaging staff, which is how many concerns are settled before they become complaints. It is to give parent messages a route the setting owns, where the parent's words and the replies are kept and everyone is told it is on the record, and to move anything that is a complaint into the procedure and the log the same day. ComplyChat is designed to be that route on its paid plans, where parents join a channel as guests by their mobile number. It is not a complaints case-management system: it does not run the 28-day clock, write the outcome letter or keep the log, and a setting already using a parent app it controls may not need it. Free is a permanent personal tier: up to 25 staff members in one private group, with direct messages alongside it, three calendar months of recent history and no Microsoft 365 archive. Paid plans can include staff and guests, so Free is not the place for parent messages or a complaints record. The question for the next managers' or committee meeting: for the last written complaint you received, can you show the message in which it first arrived, and the date it did?

Questions people ask

Is it a legal requirement to have a complaints procedure?

Yes, for nurseries, pre-schools and other group providers in England: paragraph 3.101 of the EYFS framework says “Providers must put in place a written procedure for dealing with concerns and complaints from parents and/or carers”. Childminders on the Early Years Register alone need not write one down but must keep a record of complaints and their outcome (paragraph 3.100 of their framework), and providers on the Childcare Register must have a written complaints policy.

How long does a nursery have to respond to a complaint?

A nursery must investigate a written complaint about how it is meeting the EYFS requirements and tell the complainant the outcome “within 28 days of having received the complaint” (EYFS paragraph 3.101). The EYFS sets no acknowledgement deadline; any shorter stages are the setting's own choice, and a setting on the Childcare Register must respond within 28 days of the complaint being made.

Can I complain anonymously to Ofsted?

Yes. Ofsted says “You do not have to tell us your name”, but without a name it will usually pass the information to the provider to deal with. Safeguarding information, or information from a whistleblower, is assessed to see whether immediate action is needed.

How do I complain about a nursery to Ofsted?

Complete the nursery's own complaints procedure first, then contact Ofsted at enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk or on 0300 123 4666. Ofsted checks whether the provider is meeting the registration requirements; it says it “cannot resolve disputes between you and the provider”, does not deal with fees or contracts, and will not tell you the outcome. If a child is at risk, contact the council's children's social care team or the police first.

What are the five main steps to handling a complaint?

The EYFS does not set out numbered steps. What paragraphs 3.101 and 3.102 require comes to this: receive the complaint under a written procedure, investigate a written complaint about the EYFS requirements, tell the complainant the outcome within 28 days, keep a written record of the complaint and its outcome, and make Ofsted's or the childminder agency's contact details available to parents. Any stages beyond those are the setting's own.

How long should a nursery keep complaints records?

The EYFS sets no period: the provider decides, and should write the period and its reasons into its retention schedule. Providers on the Childcare Register must keep written records of any complaint, the investigation outcome and any action taken for three years, so a nursery on both registers keeps complaints about that provision, such as a holiday club for five to seven year olds, for at least three years.

Official guidance and your next step

The primary sources are paragraphs 3.5 and 3.100 to 3.102 of the EYFS statutory framework for group and school-based providers and paragraphs 3.100 and 3.101 of the framework for childminders, both in force from 1 September 2026; regulation 3 of the Early Years Foundation Stage (Welfare Requirements) Regulations 2012; Ofsted's complaints procedure, its information for parents and its early years inspection information; Ofsted's Childcare Register requirements for childminders and daycare providers; and the Department for Education's statutory guidance on early education and childcare for funded-hours complaints. Quotations are from those pages as published on 8 October 2026.

This guide summarises published requirements for registered early years providers in England and is not legal advice. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own regulators and rules.

Then do one thing: open your complaints procedure and check it against paragraph 3.101 – that it covers concerns as well as complaints, promises the outcome within 28 days of receiving a written complaint, gives Ofsted's contact details and cites the 2026 paragraph numbers. Then compare, for the last entry in your log, the date the complaint arrived with the date the outcome went out.