Dd being bothered at playgroup

[butpint]

Every week we go to a toddler group and there is one boy about a year younger than DD (who is 4) who may have SEN who constantly bothers her. It's hugging, touching, sometimes pinning her against the wall. I've stepped in a few times as she gets fed up but his parents just watch and think it's cute. Then I am the bad guy as he then gets upset.
I absolutely do not want my DD thinking it's ok for a boy to be touching her when she says no, even at this age (DH is a safeguarding lead and is getting mighty pissed off ), so how do I address this?
He occasionally does it to other girls, their parents are awkwardly polite and shift their kids away. He was occasionally violent but this seems to have moved on. DD is too big for me to pick up and move, shes also very calm and a bit of a sweetheart so she's as polite as she can be before notably feeling annoyed as she just wants to play with her friends there (both boys and girls)

Start teaching DD to set her own firm boundaries 'No thank you' 'Dont touch me' etc. Softplay is usually the place where kids learn this stuff - they learn by doing. Try talking to her before and after about what to do, e.g tell them to stop as you don't like it, and then tell a grown-up if they don't stop etc.

You can do it with her to set an example if you think she needs some prompts.

If he is ever violent, do not hesitate to call the parents over with a firm 'Please can you stop your sons behaviour.'

@BlueMonday1977
Thank you, I will speak to her again before we go. We have said to her the importance of saying no, personal boundaries etc and she will say it to her family but she's a bit of a soft touch with other kids sometimes.
DH and I will be acting it out for her.

DD is the same! It doesn't hurt to step in and be their voice for them and show them to get them going.

Sometimes it can help to role play the situation with dolls/toy animals/whatever so that she can practice her response.

If she can't in the moment or he doesn't respond, then I think you're doing absolutely the right thing in stepping in for her, whether he gets upset or not. Ideally his parents would step in, or maybe a group leader (is there one?), but if not, it has to be you.

I would just have a polite word with the parents. It’s up to them to parent their child and if you speaking to the child hasn’t done the trick then it’s the next step.
Nothing OTT or dramatic, just explain she’s not keen on the hugging so could they keep an eye, thanks.
Shouldnt offend them, but even if it does it’s worth the offence for your daughters comfort.

I had this years ago with my little one. I went with showing how to use both words and actions to maintain the amount of space she felt comfortable with.
So I taught her to say "I need more room" sort of thing and slowly stretch out her arms in front of her, if someone was continually encroaching in her space.

We talked about how she felt and in our case she actually enjoyed the child's company when he wasn't so full on, so we role played things like saying "I like playing with you when you play next to me here" and her showing where she'd prefer him to sit , for example.
Fortunately this worked well for us, and actually they were quite good friends for a couple of years.

My asd child used to get freaked out by a kid that did this and we taught him “no stop” ✋ with his hand up to prevent the child coming close. We practised a lot at home being firm but polite!