Seedlings & Co. - Logan Reserve

I am extremely disappointed and upset with the way this kindy handled my sons enrolment. The way this situation was managed has left me seriously questioning the service’s approach to behavioural support, inclusion and duty of care.<br><br>There was only ONE behavioural support meeting, held just one month before the service terminated my son’s enrolment. In my opinion, this was completely inadequate time to properly implement strategies, assess their effectiveness and work collaboratively with our family to support his needs.<br><br>The service ultimately deemed my three-year-old son a safety risk to other children because he was escaping the classroom. While I absolutely understand that the safety of all children is important, I strongly question why the responsibility for this situation was placed so heavily on a 3 year old rather than examining whether adequate supervision, appropriate preventative measures and effective behavioural support were in place.<br><br>A 3 year old child who is leaving the classroom needs appropriate supervision, guidance and age-appropriate strategies to keep him and the other children safe. Expecting a child of this age to manage his own behavioural challenges without the necessary support is unreasonable. In my view, this situation raises serious questions about the service’s duty of care and whether sufficient steps were taken to prevent these incidents from occurring.<br><br>Instead of working meaningfully with our family to identify the underlying issues, implement appropriate strategies and give those strategies a reasonable opportunity to work, the outcome was the termination of his enrolment.<br><br>Children do not all develop at the same pace, and some require additional support. That is precisely why families entrust their children to early childhood education professionals. Behavioural challenges should be approached with patience, understanding and a genuine commitment to finding solutions, not simply by removing a child from the service when those challenges become difficult to manage.<br><br>I find it particularly concerning that there was only one behavioural support meeting before such a significant decision was made. How can a service reasonably expect meaningful progress when so little time has been allowed for support strategies to be implemented and evaluated?<br><br>The termination of my child’s enrolment has had real consequences for our family. I am left feeling that the service was unable or unwilling to adequately support my son and that terminating his place was the chosen solution rather than making a sustained effort to address the situation.<br><br>My concern is not that the kindy had a responsibility to keep every child safe, of course it did. My concern is whether it fulfilled that responsibility through adequate supervision, appropriate support and genuine collaboration with our family before deciding that my 3 year old son could no longer attend.<br><br>This experience has seriously damaged my trust in the service. I would not recommend it based on our experience, and I hope management takes a serious look at how children with behavioural and additional support needs are managed before another family finds themselves in the same position.<br><br>3 year olds are still learning, developing and figuring out how to navigate the world. They need adults who understand that, and who take their own responsibilities for supervision and support seriously.