Customer Charter

Introduction

Cork City Childcare is fully committed to providing a professional, efficient, courteous, quality service to all our customers. Our role is to provide effective leadership, co-ordination, and guidance across all key Childcare Policy Areas. The staff of Cork City Childcare seek to assist and support in relation to Early Childhood Care and Education and School Age Childcare. Our aim is to promote a service always acting with diligence, efficiency and courtesy and equality of treatment to everyone we deal with.

OUR SERVICE TO OUR CUSTOMERS (Our clients; Community & Private Childcare providers, Parent & Toddler Groups, Childminders, Parents, General Members of the Public, Statutory Bodies, other local groups, Pobal and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and any other agencies we come in to contact with)

Our Commitments

Customer satisfaction is very important to us. We aim to achieve this by:-

  • Giving our customers the best possible service and advice
  • Treating our customers in a proper, fair, impartial, and courteous manner
  • Aiming to ensure that rights to equal treatment set out by equality legislation are upheld in the delivery of our services
  • Aiming, where possible, to meet any special needs our customers may have.

Enquiries and Information

  • Cork City Childcare will deal with enquiries with courtesy, sensitivity and minimum delay, giving contact names in all communications to ensure ease of ongoing transactions. Cork City Childcare will endeavour to ensure that the information it provides – in person, by phone, e-mail, print or web – is clear, up-to-date and accurate.
  • If you visit our office, we will treat you in a polite, courteous, and fair manner. We will ensure that your privacy is respected and that all matters will be dealt with confidentially.
  • Contact Phone – We will be available to answer your calls during normal office hours 9 am-5 pm Monday to Friday. We will answer or return calls promptly and in a polite and friendly manner, identify ourselves and the name of the company to customers with telephone queries and will ensure confidentiality in addressing all calls. We will ensure that if for any reason we cannot deal with a phone query promptly, we will call customers back as soon as possible. When voicemail is in use, we will ensure that customers leaving messages receive a call back within one working day at the very latest.  Callers to voicemail will be made aware if the person they are calling will be away for more than one day and will be provided with an alternative contact number.
  • Correspondence by Letter or Email – If our customers write to us or email us, we will acknowledge receipt of any communications within 5 working days. We will ensure that a substantive reply to our customers will follow within 15 working days of initial receipt. We will also inform customers that complex queries may take a longer period to resolve. We will also provide our customers with a name, phone number and or email address for the person who will be dealing with a particular query and will endeavour to act upon all queries when individual staff members are absent from the office for any reason.
  • In providing our services through our website, we will ensure that our website offers information to suit our customers’ needs and that information through our website is accessible to all customers.

Providing Information

We will ensure that all our generally available information is accessible in both electronic and printed formats. We will provide accurate information, using clear and simple language that is relevant to your enquiry. We will supply prospective grant applicants with eligibility criteria and appropriate information, explain exactly what is required in application forms and ask only relevant questions. We will make decisions as quickly as possible, giving our reasons for them.

Queries

Staff will ensure your query is handled in a professional and efficient manner.

Please note Complaints are defined into two key areas:

  • Complaints in relation to Cork City Childcare
  • Complaint in relation to the wider Early Year/School Aged Childcare Sector.

Cork City Childcare staff will use the Complaints Policy and Procedure for the different type of complaints that are received into the CCC office.

 Courtesy

 Cork City Childcare will approach all our interactions with you in a professional manner, promoting an environment of courtesy, sensitivity, and mutual respect.

Transparency

Cork City Childcare is committed to transparency in all its decision-making processes and will deal with customers in a conscientious and honest manner ensuring impartiality at all levels.

Better Co-ordination

Cork City Childcare commits to linking and coordinating in a flexible manner with other structures at national/regional/local level as appropriate to help advance better co-ordination of the types of services we deliver.

Official Languages

Cork City Childcare will make every effort to accommodate our customers who wish to conduct their business through the medium of Irish.

Feedback

Cork City Childcare will welcome and take on board as appropriate any feedback you may provide to help us to continuously improve our service delivery and in our role of identifying good practice for others etc. To give us feedback on any of our services or a specific service provided to you, please call us on 021 4310500, or email info@corkcitychildcare.ie

Investigations and Complaints

Complaints

You have a right to complain if the standard of service you have received is not on a par with that set out in this Charter.  (Please see our Complaints Policy and Procedure for Cork City Childcare below).

Access

Cork City Childcare will endeavour to meet and communicate with our customers in an accessible manner.

Equality/Diversity

Cork City Childcare will ensure full adherence to the right to equal treatment established by equality legislation, and will accommodate diversity, in line with the areas covered by existing and future legislation.

Websites, Social Media Platforms, and publications

We provide an accessible, informative, and usable website. The social media platforms (Facebook and Twitter) will be accessible, informative and share practice ideas. Our platforms will not be used as a source of advertisement for childcare and school aged services. We will ensure that our publications are clear and concise, address user needs.  We prioritise communicating with the childcare service providers and parents in Cork City Childcare on a regular basis to ensure they are informed on all developments, training, and events in the sector.

Evaluation and reporting

This Charter has been developed following consultation with a wide range of our customers and

we will continue to monitor our performance through research and adjust policies in line with needs presented.

How to Contact Us

We are contactable through phone, email and post. Please see the contact details below:

Address:

Cork City Childcare
Suite 1, John Dunlop House
Marina Commercial Park,
Centre Park Road,
Cork,
T12 P9PV

Telephone: 021 4310500

Email: info@corkcitychildcare.ie 

Complaints Policy and Procedure

Overview

Cork City Childcare is committed to ensuring that all our communications and dealings with our service users, families, other organisations and the general public, and all who engage with us are of the highest possible standard. We listen and respond to the views so that we can continue to improve. This procedure outlines how all complaints will be handed within our organisation in relation to complaints about the service of Cork City Childcare.

Procedure for complaints made against Cork City Childcare:

What is a complaint:

  • A complaint is a statement in which you express your dissatisfaction with a situation.

Who can make a complaint?

  • Anyone can make a complaint if they feel that: –
  • They have been unfairly treated by CCC
  • That a service to which they are entitled to is not provided
  • That a service which is being provided is inadequate

How do I make a complaint?

  • All complaints must be made in writing (by e-mail or letter) and must state clearly that a complaint is being made; the basis for that complaint and what follow up action is envisaged as a result of the complaint. You should also state whether you require your complaint to be treated in a strictly confidential manner.

How do I know my complaint is being dealt with?

  • Your complaint will be acknowledged by CCC within 5 working days of its receipt stating who is dealing with your complaint and the contact details of that person. A response to your complaint will be issued to you by CCC within 15 working days of the receipt of your complaint.  The response will detail the views of CCC with regard to your complaint and any direct/indirect action that might have occurred as a result of your complaint.

What if I am not happy with the Cork City Childcare response to my complaint?

  • You can have your response reviewed by the board of Cork City Childcare who will review details of complaints and issue a decision on same.

Cork City Childcare Procedures for Filling Complaints

Step 1. Make a complaint.

  • CCC will accept complaints by e-mail or regular post. A complaint form may be obtained by calling our office at 021-4310500 or emailing info@corkcitychildcare.ie
  • All complaints must contain details of your grievance:
    • Name and contact information of a person submitting the complaint
    • Cork City Childcare will not accept anonymous complaints
    • Detailed description of complaint, including dates, times, direct quotes whenever possible, first hand facts and observations, names of persons involved, witnesses if any, etc.
  • All complaints must be sent to the  Coordinator Janet Dennehy at janet@corkcitychildcare.ie or by post to Cork City Childcare, Suite 1, John Dunlop House, Marina Commercial Park, Centre Park Road, Cork, T12P9PV

If you do not wish to submit your complaint directly to the Coordinator, please refer your complaint to the Chairperson of Cork City Childcare Committee by post only to Marian Quinn, Cork City Childcare, Suite 1, John Dunlop House, Marina Commercial Park, Centre Park Road, Cork, T12 P9PV.

Step 2. Investigation of your complaint.

The A/Coordinator/Chair will acknowledge a receipt of your complaint no later than 5 working days after its receipt. The complaint letter will be recorded and dealt with appropriately .

Step 3. Response to your complaint.

Cork City Childcare will provide you with a written response to your complaint within 15 working days after the start of investigation.

If you are not satisfied with the response to your complaint, Cork City Childcare will inform you how to make a formal appeal.

To download a Concern and Complaint Form, please click here.

To download a copy of our Customer Charter, please click here.

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