We are happy your family, especially your daughter, have found a centre where she is happy, it is truly all we wanted for her. Below are details relating to your points. All were discussed prior.
*Sleeping/resting was especially difficult for her. You told us that you prefer her to have a nap as she functions much better the rest of the day. We agree as well, this is why we continued to support her sleeping *As discussed with you, quiet activities were offered to her, however she would tease the other children when they woke, singing “I didn’t have to sleep, nah, nah..” Which the other children complained was unfair. We discontinued that option. We reached out to you for ideas which worked temporarily but unfortunately did not last. Like all our other strategies *Each child has their own specific challenges & goals. Stickers are rewarded if they progress/achieved their goals. Some for eating vegies, others for using their words; Hers was for resting well/sleeping*We have a “responsibility Chart”. Children choose from Feeding the Fish, Serving Food, Watering Plants, Selecting Toys from the Store Room…These are optional tasks, & the children love volunteering. She may be refused these responsibilities if she misbehaved *Her challenging behaviours existed since preschool age. The spitting started 2 wks prior, the spitting incident mentioned here was the third & the worse. None of the incidents were provoked, there was no dispute with peers or teachers. She was happily laughing & spitting indiscriminately on teachers, tables & chairs, everything around her for 20mins. The male educator was asked to assist because he had formed a good relationship with her over the last 7mths, he was spat on repetitively as well *When you explicitly said there was a pinching complaint, we acknowledged it as a very serious allegation & do not tolerate any type of abuse. The educator accused said he did not pinch her & the only time he was physical was when he escorted her out by the arm. He didn’t say he was embarrassed, he said he felt terrible & it was not something he had done before, & did not like ushering her out. We wanted to resolve this as much as you did. We immediately got the footage & invited you to view it the next morning. The complete footage was available & you declined to watch it all. At no point were we uncooperative or hid anything from you or lied to you *We suggested 2 of our senior staff view the footage, without being briefed on the allegation, to get non*bias reports. To which you were satisfied at the time *We understand how you felt it was a slap in the face. When the staff reports praised the educator for being so calm & patient & only focused on her behaviour, not the educator’s conduct. We can only imagine the disappointment, anger & frustration you felt because the alleged is also the owner of the business. We appreciate it is difficult for you to believe we were impartial in the process given the circumstances. It also explains why you reported this incident to the DoE when your husband said you two will discuss it & let us know what you want to do. Hence, 2 business days lapsed & hadn’t reported to the DoE *That said, the educator breached the DoE regulations for discipline & supervision. He has sincerely apologised during the in*person meetings & wishes to extend that apology in writing to the entire family*The DoE conducted an investigation into the incident. We have taken steps to improve our service by, but not limited to providing further training, revising policies & committing to agreements that satisfies the DoE *Some of which are unfortunate such as, immediately reporting parents concerns to the DoE, instead of attempting to work with the parents. And, suspending the child’s enrolment when there are ongoing & extreme behavioural issues that are beyond the scope of early childhood educators’ expertise. This does not apply to children with additional needs or children receiving allied health expert support.