wanted help with letter to end contract with parents please

[mandy moo]

Can anyone help me please, with the wording, re: giving notice to a parent re the injury caused to myself due to unacceptable behaviour by mindee in my care.
Due to injury caused by said child, will be unable to work for at least 2 weeks, as Im on crutches and cannot place any weight on knee/leg at all.

I have been in touch with NCMA legal line who have advised me not to terminiate with immediate affect for certain reasons, (as much as \i would like to):(
But to give notice now, and say it will come in to effect as and when my leg has healed, so say my leg is back to normal in 2 weeks time, my 4 weeks notice will take effect from then.
So the parents will in effect have at least 6 weeks, (depending on how long it takes to heal) to find alternative childcare.

I'm rubbish at this sort of thing, so any thoughts/help would be appreciated
Thanx

[amirose]

Crikey Mandy what on earth happened??? Hope you are OK

I really don't know regarding the wording but to be honest I really don't think the parents are going to judge you too much on what you write and are probably expecting it. Definitely put on there somewhere that you have to put the needs of your other minded children first.

Good luck with everything :thumbsup:

[Pudding Girl]

Blooming Heck! What on earth happened??! :angry:

I would put something along the lines of due to behaviour and the safety of all in your setting, something like that?

[cuffleygirl]

I'm sure there is something on the back on the NCMA contract about being able to terminate without notice due to violent behaviour putting others at risk etc. Check the small print and take care of that leg.

[mandy moo]

To cut a long story short, we came back from the school run, deposited all but 2 children in house,
My sister turned up to drop of her son for an appointment she had to keep,
the 3 3/4 yr old mindee was still in car, whilst talking to her outside on drive,
Said child had undone seat belt, and was messing about on back seat, told him to get back in his seat as it was dangerous to get out of said seat when I wasnt there, dont do it again.
I then said goodbye to my sister, and went round the car to get said child out and the car starts to roll down the drive!! :panic: My drive is on a slope!
I ran after the car, to try and stop it and hurt my knee & foot in the process.
The child had managed, how I dont know, to loosen the handbrake and put the car (its an automatic) in to 3rd gear.
This is not the 1st time in the 5 weeks Ive had him that his hurt himself by not doing as hes been told/asked or endangered himself..

[Lick'le Oakes]

:angry: :angry: :angry: You must be furious

My foot is in plaster and i am on crutches too so i have sympathy with you

[peanuts]

was your car damaged in any way. i would certainly give notice once your leg healed. what did the parent say when you got them to sign the incidence report:angry:

[louloudi]

What a nightmare..

Don't like to play devils advocate but the parent may say that you should have been supervising the children and not have left them in the car!!!:(

[Pudding Girl]

Yes they may well say that, but tbh in the course of the day you have to leave them in the car while getting another in the buggy, or through the house door or getting them strapped in and walking round to your seat etc, this could easily happen at any of those times and it sounds like this child was an accident waiting to happen.

Will you be able to get any cash from insurance for lost earnings or anything like that? Perhaps your Public Liability might cover it?

[Spangles]

I have to say I did kind of think like Louloudi. If a child is continuously disobedient then it would be likely that there may be a problem leaving them unattended for any time especially in a vehicle? I understand that you do have to leave them for a few moments sometimes whilst manouevering others out of the car but you say you were talking outside to your sister?

Obviously I don't know the whole story but I'm sorry but this is what I first thought after reading your messages.

That said, I agree with you that this contract needs to be terminated, can't understand why you can't give the 4 weeks notice straight away under such serious circumstances though.

Does the mum know the whole sequence of events? Has she said anything about her child being left in the car on his own for this to happen.

I'm sorry I feel mean typing this and am probably seeing it completely wrong but this is the way I have read it if you see what I mean.

x

[Saranotts]

What a nightmare..

Don't like to play devils advocate but the parent may say that you should have been supervising the children and not have left them in the car!!!:(

I'm afraid I have to agree.

Whilst it is awful that you have hurt your leg and are unable to work (my worst nightmare). I feel it is a lot to expect of a child of this age to get back in their seat and not explore a car they have been left in. The parents may try and turn it round and say it was your fault and that you should have taken the child straight out the car when you realised they had undone themselves and that for them to have fiddled with the controls they must have been unsupervised for some time.

I am not saying that you did do this and I do know that children are very quick to get into trouble but parents will always see things from a different perspective iyswim and you don't want them to get the hump and cause trouble for you.

Sara

P.s. I hope your leg heals quickly and that things get sorted.

[mandy moo]

Belive me I can see what your all saying, I was standing by the car talking to my sister, yes maybe I should have got him out there and then, but I thought at the time it was safer to get all the others out first because he was straped, in I ve learnt my lesson, the hard way.
We will no longer use the car on the school run, in the rest of the time hes with me, Coz I am gonna give notice, and he will also be on baby walking reins if I can find any big enough.
Ive not heard a word from the parents since.
I sent a txt last night as it was his brothers 1st birthday, hoping they had a good day, and to wish little one a happy birthday,that I was going to the Dr's the next day and I would call her once Id been.
I have not recieved a reply. Almost 24 hrs later. Will call her in a mo, as I've just got back from Dr's.
As for money I dont give a hoot about that, I just want them off my books as it were.
So I'll serve notice now as per the NCMA legal guy, giving them the 4 weeks notice for after my leg is better, which according to my Dr could take up to 6 weeks, but hoping that they will find child care before that..
The legal guy said also to put in the notice, that If there is another serious incident then I could/would terminate straight away. Citing unreasonable behavior.
So a lesson learnt the hard way..

[Spangles]

I'm sorry Mandy, we all make what turn out to be the wrong decisions sometimes, I know I do! Things seem to make sense at the time and then afterward I wonder what I was thinking!

Your leg sounds like it's very badly injured, I hope that it doesn't take 6 weeks to heal, that's so long.

Let us know what happens with the family when they get in contact with you again.

Hope it will all work out okay.

x

[Spangles]

I don't want to scare you but have you thought of typing all of this up in a report incase the parents complain or something else happens from it?

I'm sure you've done an incident report already but just thought I'd mention it incase.

x

[Pudding Girl]

Yes definitely get an Incident report done, get a witness to sign it if poss? and also I think you should put it in as an Accident to yourself in accident book.

[mandy moo]

Good idea ladies will write one up today, unfortunatly no witnesses to the accident with the car :(
Apart from my sister whom I was talking to before it all happened, (she was not there when it happened) heard me tell him to sit back, (that it was dangerous to get out etc etc) in his seat, she will give me a 'statement'
And I also have a witness to another 'minor' issue that happened with said child, and she has already said she will give me a 'statement' too.

[uf353432]

Good idea ladies will write one up today, unfortunatly no witnesses to the accident with the car :(
Apart from my sister whom I was talking to before it all happened, (she was not there when it happened) heard me tell him to sit back, (that it was dangerous to get out etc etc) in his seat, she will give me a 'statement'
And I also have a witness to another 'minor' issue that happened with said child, and she has already said she will give me a 'statement' too.

You could use the words on your letter to say "without prejudice" that way the parents cannot use your letter if they wanted to persue any legal counter attack.