desperately sad..nursery sent home Eyfs specialist guidance and assessment inclusion officer report. why.? what does this mean?

[samzaffar123]

Please help. I have one 3 year old boy recently starting day nursery eg 4 months ago. He's just had a specialist guidance assessment from the county councils assessor. Why.? Is this normal for all children.?the report states he doesn't use words doesn't communicate and just relies on waiting for adults to help him. He's the exact opposite at home and am very upset to read the report, and to learn he was undergoing an assessment without my knowledge? Please advise. Is this normal due to recent government changes or is there something wrong with my baby that I don't know about?

[CultureSucksDownWords]

I'm amazed the nursery have had an assessment done without telling you! The first thing you should do is to speak to them on Monday and ask them why you weren't informed. You cant understand the significance of what's in the report unless you know more about why, who did it and what they were looking at.

I would be furious to find out an assessment like this had been done without consent.

[happystory]

I can understand how upset you must feel. The nursery should have discussed any concerns with you first and suggested ways they could help before getting in someone to assess him. And- they absolutely need your permission before he can be assessed. Some nurseries do take the easy way and you may have signed some blanket permission form to this effect on admission but it is really really not on to do this without telling you. It appears you have no concerns about your son and they have not taken into account what he is like outside the setting and frankly 4 months is too soon to be jumping in with an assessment.

I would ask to speak to the manager to explain this further but it appears this nursery is very very poor at communication...

[samzaffar123]

Thank you for your comments. They just put the report in his bag on Friday. I found it Friday evening and haven't slept all weekend. He's the most boisterous typical cheeky 3 year old boy you've come across...loud, car ma, always singing jumping climbing etc...just shy outside the house. Apparently this report is a follow up from last month. But follow up from what why when? I worry they are going to label him unnecessarily and without my knowledg.

[insancerre]

I think there must be some breakdown in communication somewhere
Parents should always be consulted before any kind of assessment is undertaken
Is there any chance the nursery may have spoken to somebody else about the assessment and they have not passed the info on? His dad or gran or someone?
Have the nursery not raised their concerns with you at all? I find that very strange
Is the report definitely for your son? Is there any chance it couldbe for another child? Whichwould be a major breach of cconfidentiality and cause for concern
I would be making an appointment with the manager as a matter of urgency

[samzaffar123]

I asked dad and nothings been mentioned to him he says! Nursery's never said anything. Report has my son's details on there. He's my only baby so I wouldn't have known this is not normal. Only few weeks ago nursery were saying to me he's a lovely pleasant child and plays with his car mad friends. He's just shy sometimes. I was shy up until I started uni but I wasn't labelled as anything or needed assessments or special needs. I will speak to the manage. who else can I talk to about this report eg ofsted or the local LEA? thanks for all your advice I wwill be acting upon it.

[CultureSucksDownWords]

Speak to the manager about it first and see what they say. If you're not happy with their response then you can contact OFSTED after that.

[Reekypear]

Oh my goodness I would go mad. He is still a baby. They are trying to label him. Burn it and find a new care setting.

[CloserToFiftyThanTwenty]

Reeky - that's terrible advice!! The nursery should absolutely have spoken to you first about any concerns and if they wanted to conduct an assessment. But if there is an issue, isn't it better to be aware now and work towards getting appropriate support and intervention in place? Not flounce out

[NigellasGuest]

Speak to the senco - they have to have one by law - and this person will be the one behind it. Ask her if she is aware of the new code of practise (a statutory framework) and consider reporting the setting - this is bad, bad practice

[samzaffar123]

Reeky I thought of doing exactly Tbh. I feel betrayed and am really tearful over this. I am quite an organised person therefore not knowing about this has shook me to the core.

[CultureSucksDownWords]

I'm not surprised you feel upset about it. No one should be put in this situation.

The nursery must explain themselves to you, and if they are not suitably apologetic then you should take it further. I really hope that this was some sort of oversight or misunderstanding from a member of staff, rather than something done as a matter of course.

You can prevent this happening again to someone else by following it up as much as possible. Of course you can also look to move your child, and tell them that this is the reason why.

[samzaffar123]

Thank you very much culture I too hope it's an oversight and my baby has no special needs. That's very sound advice. I have been observing him all weekend and couldn't find fault. Staff at morrisons yesterday commented how polite well mannered and well behaved my boy is. lady at opticians today I was getting my glasses from also commented what a very polite boy he is and patient. I was there 2 hours today. The nursery has an outstanding rating And only one in the area. Quite hard to get into Waiting times etc. do I put him in a nursery or nursery school That's only rated as good?

[insancerre]

What did the report say and were there any recommendations or next steps on it?
Do you know any other parents at the nursery that you could contact to ask if they have had one. Maybe all the children have had one done.

[samzaffar123]

The report says it's a specialist needs report and that he doesn't talk, communicate, not verbal, only uses few words, doesn't ask for assistance when needed and waits for adults to help him or ask him what's wrong. Recommendations are to review again in few months. Use visual aids and pictures to get him to communicate. the boy doesn't shush unless he's sleeping when at home.

[samzaffar123]

I don't know any other parents there. they all keep themselves to themselves really

[claravine]

Don't worry about labelling op, doctors and health professionals are v v cautious about making diagnoses in young children. Nursery really should have spoken to you first if they had any concerns. If he is happy at nursery I wouldn't hurry to pull him out. Does he speak ok at home then?

[samzaffar123]

Gosh at home claravine he is a chatterbox. Always singing in the bath on the loo. Shouting at numbers alphabets nursery rhymes. Very inquisitive When am cooking or cleaning. That's why am confused. The nursery know about his behaviour at home because am always telling them but they have ignored everything and taken it upon themselves to assess him. Has anyone had any similar issues or recent nursery reports?

[claravine]

Can he ask for things verbally tho. Some years back my ds was able to speak and sing but a lot of it was just memorised, and he didn't understand language as well as he should for his age. He was quiet at nursery too. He did catch up after a few years of speech therapy, fortunately

[tethersend]

I'd treat this as two issues-

1. Why did the nursery not inform you of the assessment and discuss the findings with you?
   

1. Any needs he has.
   

FWIW, my DD was/is selectively mute, although is speaking more and more to different people now at the age of six. At three, she would barely speak at nursery but chat away at home; children often behave very differently in different settings, particularly at that age.

I would video your son talking at home and take it to show the nursery staff. Of course, if they had informed you about the SEN advisor assessing him, then you could have showed them too. Point that out.

[insancerre]

Children are often very different at home than they are in nursery

It is absolutely right that the nursery have flagged this IP as can area of concern as his lack of communication at nursery can have serious implications on his learning and development both at nursery and possibly at school.
The way they have raised the issue is not ideal, but don't let that make you think there isn't the need for the report at all
You absolutely should have been aware that the nursery had concerns and they should have spoken to you.
But the fact they have identified his needs an have put strategies in place is a good and positive thing.
I have cared for many children who don't talk at all in the setting but are charter boxes at home
Inclusion is about making sure all children get the best opportunities they can.

[samzaffar123]

So insancerre you think I should be worried? Does inclusion mean he's special needs? isn't it normal for kids to be shy Though? He talks about what he's done or learnt at nursery so it's not as if he doesn't know what's going on.

[tethersend]

I would argue that the assessment cannot possibly be accurate without a picture of what the child is like at home, and frankly, I'm surprised the advisor assessed without this information.

[BackforGood]

Agree with most people here.
It's absolutely wrong that the Nursery have had someone do an observation without talking to you first.
However, if they see a boy - as presented in the report - that is very different from the boy you see at home, then it is also absolutely right that they should be addressing this.
As insancerre says, and tethersend talks about, it's very, very common for parents to see a different side to their child at home, from the side they present at Nursery but the Nursery staff should be chatting with you about this, and putting strategies in place long before they start referring to any outside support.

I'd agree with tethersend though, that, as this has been raised - be it in a very poor, and heavy handed way, but it's out there now - then talking to staff about ttheir concerns and what thy are going to do to help him, is the next step forward, not the ridiculous suggestion from Reeky.

[Camolips]

Have you asked your ds if he is like that at nursery? I'm inclined to think there's been a mix up if not.

[UnikittyInHerBusinessSuit]

I agree that if a nursery notices that a child is non verbal at 3 then they should definitely take steps to assess, and fast. But step one should always be to speak to the parents and keep a detailed dialogue up for a whole host of reasons.