Can I change pre-schools during the ECCE free year and keep the scheme.

wolfpawnat

Hey all, just a quick question, my son is going through the ECCE scheme this year and has been attending a pre-school 20 min walk from our home. At first it was great, but I have noticed his behaviour change recently. There is only 10-12 children in the class and two minders, which I thought was great, everyone would have a helping hand. But there is a boy there with Special Needs, and though I respect that he needs extra care, I have noticed he seems to get one of the carers to fawn to his every want the entire time, and as a result my son, and his friend are mimicking his behaviours to get the same attention.

My son is intelligent and I have explained to him that V needs extra help sometimes, but that it is not V's fault, but the reaction the boy gets encourages my son to mimic him. The boy pulls children's hair, scratches them, hits them, screams and is only told that "we don't do that" there is no repercussions. My son then has started doing this and has even had to go back into nappies as he says over and over "V does it and it okay" how can you argue that? I have spoken to the woman running the place about it and she says that the boy is "special" and that my son will still be reprimanded if he misbehaves and that he should be trained. He was, but going there has caused him to revert back, she knows this. Also when the boy does something wrong, he freezes and becomes a silent statue, my son is copying this and it just isn't right.

My son came home one Friday with a bad bruise and no explanation because both women were discussing the boy with his mother, when I asked the following Monday they denied it happened there first, but when I said there was Amica cream on it, they recalled he "may have fell" they could not recall because V was very angry that day. I am sorry, but you cannot neglect the care of 11 children for 1. If they cannot care for the other boy without risking the care of others, he should be in a Montessori/pre-school that can cater for his needs, his mother admitted he was kicked out of two other places for violent behaviour.

But enough ranting, I cannot change how that pre-school is run, so my only option is to change where my son goes to pre-school. Can I change the pre-school half way through the year and keep the ECCE scheme?

lazygal

Yes, there's a transfer form. I'd tell the service why you're leaving too, it might make them reassess the approach to those with special needs.

Hannibal Smith

whatever about the lack of attention..if your son has an accident you need to know about it. we always get an accident report form...never has my son come home with a bruise and we weren't told what happened. if it was a bad bruise we always got a phone call about it. you can't run a creche without being open and honest with the parents.

Lola92

I agree with the other posters. Definitely choose another service, most would be happy to take on another child providing they have spaces available. I would be speaking to the manager about the incident too. You should have been told about any fall/bruise on collection and presented with an incident report form to sign.

If a parent has an issue which requires the full attention of the two staff members in a class they should schedule a meeting and get other staff to cover rather than neglecting the other children in the room, especially if there are ongoing issues which seems is the case, regular progress/update meetings would be far more appropriate IMO.