Guest Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 (edited) Hi....just wanted to throw something out there for discussion: A prospective parent visited my setting the other week and hopes to enrol her child at our setting and still keep a place at another setting she already uses for convenience of work and hours etc....we had the this conversation when she looked around the setting and I could see no problems and assured her that we would liaise with the other setting (also informed her that the government encourage us to be flexible and trust a parents decision as to what is best for them and their children) to ensure continuity and good communication was had...... however the other setting have advised her against using two settings as they have said it is too confusing for the childs development to go to two settings! The parent has rung me for advice as she feels confused and was assured that it had nothing to do with the other setting wanting to keep her on the books or money or anything like that but obviously the parent is worrying that her choice although convenient and welcomed by me is going to be detrimental to her childs development...the other setting is Montessori based... I could only advise her that we all use the same curriculum ( I tend to beg borrow and steal from all the wonderful styles of learning....Reggio, Montessori, Te Whariki..bits of all of it....EYFS) yet interpret it slightly differerently but fundementally this should have no detriment to the the childs development at all.....I also said that she should do a bit of research to see what she could find out herself - I tried to remain impartial but I have never thought it to be a problem when a child attends two settings in fact we generally compliment another setting and it also builds links between us which are invaluable with exchange of information.... any thoughts....? Edited July 16, 2010 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panders Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 I feel the same as you Shirel - because we are only open 4 mornings per week, we have always had at least 2 children who use another setting. Over the years we have got to know those settings reasonably well and I have to say I think we all work well together. The only drawback generally we have found is the child does some things twice - take end of term - one of our children has already finished at their other setting and had "graduation" and party etc. and next week he will do the same with us - parents may need to take time off work for both, or feel they should! I often say to parents it's like when the children visit relatives - rules at Grandma's house are slightly different to rules at home or at their other Granny's, the children adapt. I don't see it harming their development. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inge Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 The parent should know her child and what he is capable of managing. I would suggest she comes into the setting with the child for a few sessions . This will allow you to assess the child and her to see how he copes with a change / additional care. If she cannot do this then perhaps ask if she would like to give it a try and see how it develops, assuring you will contact if there are any problems etc. Some children are not able to cope with the change or addition of another setting.. but it does all depend on what is already happening.. we had a child who went to 2 settings, had 2 sets of grandparents help with care as well as at home... all this really was too much as there were different rules/ expectations in all of them. Where another child would cope this one was not. I do know many settings always say two settings are not good for development as advice to all who decide to try .. but until you have met the child and see how he copes you are unable to advise... Inge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finleysmaid Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 we have this situation often and i have to agree with Inge that it is really the child who will decide wether they can cope or not. I do not believe it has any detrimental effect on their development - in fact sometimes the opposite - unless they are already experiencing difficulties. IMO money may be the route of all evil here difficult for you though as the sensitive practitioner who has explained the true situation to this Mum.Perhaps offer a trial period to see if it works and if not you'll let her go with no consequences - then the Mum has nothing to loose financially and you are seen as being the supportive one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnyday Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 Hi Shirel Just to echo what has already been said........we are a very small, but (thankfully) popular setting - I only allocate 2 sessions per week for children from outside my village, therefore, we 'share' several children with other settings.......I am completely confident in saying that this has not harmed, or in any way delayed any child's development. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 Just a word of caution, my own daughter was attending 2 settings (ours and a local nursery) but she quite firmly 'chose' that she only wanted to go to ours, and began to refuse the other in a way that made it impossible for us to send her. It's not that we 'gave in' to her (we could have pushed) but rather that she made it obvious that one was far more suitable for her than the other. Personally I feel that children are quite capable of adapting to 2 settings, but as a parent I can see the benefits of continuity that they get from just attending 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stargrower Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 I wonder if the Montessori aspect is playing a part here? Perhaps the other setting feels that the child should only experience a Montessori education. If they are a very 'pure' Montessori setting, they might feel that the input from a 'mainstream' setting might confuse the child. Just a thought. Beehive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristina Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 We have quite a few children that we 'share' with other settings one of the main one being a montessori, we have never had any problems and the children have been quite happy to attend both! I do think it is down to the individual child and the parent knowing what is best for their child. Our problem at the moment is a setting that announced last month they were closing (we were inundated with requests for spaces) have now announced they are staying open (1 week ago)! So now have parents swapping days moving back etc etc!! All good fun, glad we finished today so I can finally sit down and work my numbers out!! LOL! Kris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 We are a morning only setting and as we offer places on birth date order we sometimes have children who come 2 mornings but mum wants 4/5 mornings for a variety of reasons. I have in the past advised parents to have their child at only one setting because the parent has asked me what I think. My answer has been based on my knowledge of the child from having them in our setting for a while before the situation arose. I've never suggested which setting because sometimes the situation has come about because the parents needed more hours than we could offer. I'm not sure if this is the case in this situation but I just wanted to offer another point of view. My advice has always been out of interest for the child as they had struggled to settle with us or to follow routines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.