Parents & paper work

[Hatchlings]

I am in the middle of redoing a couple policies as i am getting marryed & so a few words need changing. Also i am just updating them as i do each year

Ok so my problem is this 2 sets of parents wont sign to say they will keep the things they may hear quite as they cant keep a secret

for example the other day child x mum mrs X arrives & sayes she may be pregnant again but she not sure would i mind having child x for a couple extra hrs while she pops doctors to have a chat. In the mean time mum of child A arrives & stands by the door i did try to stop mrs X but she didnt have time to wait she just tryed to mouth the comment endding. mrs A then said are you pregnant mrs X i must go thank you ** & runs off i tryede explaining to mrs A that was not very nice & she just said i love gossip i did advise her she had a copy of the policy but i never asked them to sign to say they agree so i said i was going to include it on the new ones mrs X reply I wont sign that think its a heap of c**p

How should i handle this ??

[FloraDora]

I have never had a confidentiality form for parents to sign.

If a parent wants to talk about confidential matters then they / I make sure they do it when no one else is around.

Would be very wary of "gossips " though, they can cause such a lot of trouble.

[moggy]

Goodness, if a parent spoke to me like that, and used language like that to me, I would be seriously doubting our working relationship. How rude and unpleasant of them.

I have not had a policy to cover what parents say to each other. I trust parents to be sensitive and also to be careful about what they say in earshot of others.

[bunyip]

Hi Hatchlings. Sorry this has happened and left you upset.

Exactly how you handle it will depend on your policies, your contracts, and how unacceptable you think the mum's behaviour to be. Does you policy cover parents gossipping about one another?

My confidentiality policy includes a section about keeping contract details confidential (within reason), and the following to protect primarily my own family and offer some consideration for other parents:-

• Parents will also find out confidential information about me and my family during the course of our working relationship. I expect parents to respect my family’s confidentiality and not repeat anything they have heard to other parties.
• Parents will refrain from making any written, verbal, online (including social media) communication which may be prejudicial or detrimental to my business, reputation, good name, family, clients, minded children etc.

In all honesty, I think it is near impossible to be able to 'police' parents who want to gossip about one another. Another consequence of the 'FaceBook Generation': there is nothing sacred or private. Probably the most you can do is make it clear that you find it unacceptable and advise all parents not to say anything in front of another parent they don't want the world to know.

Ultimately, you could decide this is unacceptable or a breakdown of trust and give notice accordingly. I'm not at all sure that you'd be legally entitled to give immediate notice using the 'unacceptable behaviour' clause in (eg) pacey contracts: certainly not if it wasn't clear in your policies, etc. So it could be an awkward 4 weeks.

Personally, the very least I would do is issue a warning that I find the gossip unacceptable and the attitude unacceptable also. ie. If she thinks my policies are a "heap of cr4p" then there is a clear lack of respect and evidence that she doesn't intend to follow the way I do things. Personally, I'd confront her and explain that my policies describe how I do things and my ethos: if she doesn't like or respect them, then she needs to be finding a CM/nursery/whatever who does things differently (closer to her own low morals, by all the evidence. ) That's me, but I realise it's easy for me to say on the outside of your situation.

Hope it all works out.

[Hatchlings]

Thank you all i have sent out a small part with my newsletter & asked them to discuss things they would like kept quiet after working hours & i try to make time for them. as sujusted i have added it to policies many thanks all.