i think we should know

[TRACEY1969]

i think we should know if a mindee in our care is special needs so we can help them in the areas they are struggling with. My mindee is special needs which i have just found out through my DO who visited the nursery he was at and i wasn't told this and i have been trying to get this mindee help for the last 18 months. i have had mindee for 3 years and hes goes to a private nursery as pre school advised this to parents as he is still in nappies and doesn't speak. I thought we were suppose to work together, but my DO said its up to the parents to tell me. The reason i wanted to know if because he doesn't talk, still in nappies at 3 1/2 years, walks round in circle mumbling to himself, doesn't interact with anyone and no eye contact thats why i had my concerns and i would like to help in the areas he needs it if i knew what to do. As i am not suppose to know this information what can i do.

[uf353432]

have you ever discussed this with parents in the past 18 mths and did they not ever tell you? has he actually been certified? do you work in partnership with the other setting? discussed your concerns with them?

[TRACEY1969]

have you ever discussed this with parents in the past 18 mths and did they not ever tell you? has he actually been certified? do you work in partnership with the other setting? discussed your concerns with them?

yes i have mentioned this to parents in the last 18 months due to his behaviour as he kept hitting himself and head banging my settee all the time as well as other things, and have mentioned this to his health visitor and they said they would monitor this. I mentioned it to my DO about a year ago but this has now left and i have had a new one who i due to come round in the new year. Another DO has said he is under SEN

[JCrakers]

If my son had extra needs then I definitly would want his carer to know so he/she could help him, provide toys etc and just so they are in the know.

Very strange that they havent told you

[AliceK]

I'm in the same kind of position. I've tried to discuss behaviour sensitively with mum but nothing has been mentioned. I'm at my wits end now. I'm about to give notice but will give mum one more chance to speak up about things otherwise I have no option as I cannot work with this child without knowing the full facts. The behaviour of this mindee is starting to seriously impact on everyone now If I knew what I was dealing with I could manage things better but being kept in the dark is useless.
Sending you hugs

xxxx

[miffy]

Are you certain that your DO is not mixing the child up with someone else?

It's a very tricky situation for you but I think you have to have another chat with parents as you have your own concerns about the child.

Miffy xx

[loocyloo]

i used to have a mindee who had had problems with her feet/legs when a baby, and consequently, with walking and gross physical activities. i mentioned it time and time again and was told it was fine Lo started nursery and i spoke to them and they were also concerned. they spoke to mum and she finally told them the history, but said it was nothing to do with any of us and we were not to 'interfere' child had, by this time, been with me for a year, 3-4 full days a week!

what made us all was that this was a parent who wanted to know every last detail of childs day and wanted to control who i saw & what i did !!! yet didn't think to tell me!

[rickysmiths]

You need to have documented everything. Every detail, conversations with the parents and their responses. This should be copied to the parent and a letter written to explain your concerns and recommendations for referral.

Perhaps including the drawing up of a Care plan (CAF) with any other carers involved in the childs care and with the Health Visitor and possibly GP. The idea of this plan is that the childs needs are identified and can be addressed and the help needed put in place.

The plan is a book and this can then be shared with any agency, carer, doctor, school etc that the child comes in contact with and saves the parents having to go back to square one all the time.

You do need the parents consent to proceed and I would suggest contacting the child Health Visitor of the Childrens to see who could start the process. A childminder can but it is unusual.

If you do all this and the parent still refuses to do anything then at least you have demonstrated that you have do all you can and have been very Professional in your approach.

[Jodie1989]

I would imagine that you have plenty of observations to back this up, I would definitely arrange an informal meeting with parents to discuss needs. The pre school has to respect confidentially but this is about his development so they should be working along side with you. If I was the childminder I would be abut concerned about this behavior.

[dette]

Could you ask parents to sign a" sharing information with other settings permisions form".This is what OFSTED have been looking for recently at inspections .This would open the doors to finding out from the nursery all they know and vice versa.Hope this helps and good luck.Ive a daughter on the spectrum and it can be difficult even with all the info so must be bad when you're being kept in the dark.

[mushpea]

could it be that the parents are finding it hard to accept this child has SEN? I've always accepted and known my son has SEN but my partner (his dad) found it very hard to accept and it wasnt unitll he finaly came along to one of his assesments that he realised what was going on and was quite upset to realise that what I had been saying was true.
prehaps they are just not ready to accept it and are in denial which is why they havent infomrmed you.

[FussyElmo]

could it be that the parents are finding it hard to accept this child has SEN? I've always accepted and known my son has SEN but my partner (his dad) found it very hard to accept and it wasnt unitll he finaly came along to one of his assesments that he realised what was going on and was quite upset to realise that what I had been saying was true.
prehaps they are just not ready to accept it and are in denial which is why they havent infomrmed you.

I was going to say this. It can be a very big shock to people that their child has special needs. A friend of mine cm's for a child and is always telling mum that she needs to seek help for her youngest - school have said this also but all mum says Oh he is a tinker. They are not ready yet to accept the truth.