Parents Complaint At A Childs Injuries.

[Guest]

I had a parent ring to complain today about the number if times her child is falling over at playtime. The little girl has had 4 knocks in the past 2 weeks. Everytime a child falls and bumps their face or head we always send a letter. She has so far had a graze to her face and forehead. On the 3 other occassions there was no mark where she fell but we still sent letters as a precausion. This littl girl tears around the playground and has little awareness at the moment about her space and the space of others. I assured mum that there are plenty of staff on duty and that her child is reminded daily about slowing down and being careful. Mum was not at all happy and made us feel like we had caused her child harm. I have now said to mum that we will encourage her child to play the adult led games at playtime i.e ring games but at the end of the day we can't prevent her child from falling over. What do you say to parents in these situations?

[Beau]

Goodness Lola! Talk about making you feel bad. I have never had a problem like this but surely she must know what her daughter is like? It is not our jobs to wrap them in cotton wool - taking risks and helping them to learn about the space around them is though. Just make sure that you keep your paperwork up to date and get the relevant signatures so that you are covered should she decide to take it further.

[Susan]

Much the same, Lola!

 

But have you looked at her shoes---my own children always used to fall over as they were growing out of their shoes, it was a good indication that a shoe shop visit was needed.

[Guest]

I find my own children are more likely to have falls and accidents when they are having a growth spurt. Never thought about the shoes!

 

Megsmum

[Guest]

The growth spurt comment is very interesting and valid. It may be a good tack to take in placating the parent. Do you recall a documentary in the last 1 or 2 years on telly. There were at least 2 programmes, one dedicated to girls and one to boys. I specifically remember the bit about some ballerinas at ballet school who grew very fast in their early teens and lost all their grace & coordination because the bones grow faster than the muscles. It takes time for the muscles to be retrained and the body to regain its control and coordination.

Hope that helps!

[Running Bunny]

You might want to update or carry out a risk assessment on the outdoor area and then show it to mum to show that there are no actual hazards (loose paving, scattered toys, tree roots etc)

 

At least you can show that you have reviewed the accidents, evaluated the situation and done something about it. I'd thank the mum for raising her concern and this should reassure her that you have taken the complaint seriously. You might also want to sit down with the children (not sure how old they are?) and establish some boundaries/rules for the outdoor area too.

 

By the way, did you record the complaint in the way that Ofsted recommend,using their form (just checking as they would want to see that it has been actioned)

[Guest]

We are a reception class in a school children are all currently 4. Haven;t recorded it on a nofsted form where can i find one running bunny?

[Susan]

Lola, not aware that there is such a thing for schools but you should refer this on to your head on team leader so that thye are aware.

[Guest]

Just had another thought Lola - last year one of our children was very clumsy, always bumping into others/equipment, falling over etc - she went for an eye test and was found to be very shortsighted. After only a short while wearing glasses (and a patch on one eye) we could all see an improvement.

 

Megsmum

[Guest]

We used to have a very clumsy girl at a nursery I used to work in. Her family were always complaining about the frequency of her bumps.

 

The grandma would literally stand and inspect her g.daughter from head to toe before leaving nursery to see if there were any new bumps.

 

In the end she said we were to watch her all the time whilst outside. We said that the only way we could do that was for the girl to hold hands with one of us and walk with us the whole time as we wern't prepared to compromise the wellbeing of the other 29 children!

 

The other alternative was that she herself came and watched her g.daughter at playtime. She came twice then apoligised for having made such a fuss. She'd realised just how often children do bump, in particular her g.daughter!

 

Fluff x