Nursery have terminated our placement!

[Vanishabenj]

We’ve just received an email from our nursery setting that they are terminating our sons placement with them, and giving us until the end of the month as notice (effectively less than 3 weeks).

They had reduced his hours at the placement as they were unable to meet his needs - no reason given us to why they were unable to meet his needs. However, that they were waiting for his local authority high rate funding to come through. Two weeks later they have now said that are terminating his contract, as the funding won’t come through until September 2025. And they have a number of health and safety concerns within the Nursery.

Our little boy has suspected ASD, and currently non-verbal. The reported behaviour by the Nursery is different to what he is like in other childcare settings, or his previous Nursery. I have asked the nurse for CCTV footage so that I can see your behaviour they are referring to, which has been refused. Likewise, I’ve also asked if I can observe, again they have refused for this.

There’s no formal contract, just terms and conditions, however the terms and conditions do state that two months notice need to be given - which I assume doesn’t refer to a breach of term and conditions which they are claiming.

Any advice as to where we potentially stand here?

Terminating the placement due to SEN is against the law (equality act).

On the flip side, it is often difficult to meet a child's needs without additional funding for the support they need.

How old is your son? Will he be going elsewhere in September?

He was due to transition to their preschool room in September.
he had SEN funding in place from the local authority, and the placement has applied and been granted higher rate funding.

DC can present differently in different settings. It doesn’t necessarily mean the setting is lying. It could be a sign his needs aren’t being met.

Has an EHCNA been requested?

Does your LA have any early years assessment places?

There will be a contract. The nursery must comply with the Equality Act, but there are still situations where they can terminate the contract. Just like disabled DC can still sometimes be excluded from schools.

He’s had a few assessments/ observations with his IDO and specialist advisory teacher who have both reported back that the setting hasn’t undertaken their strategies or suggested training as yet.. when I’ve asked about some of the incidents reported we get a few different stories as to what has actually happened.
I don’t think it’s the right setting for him anyways, just hadn’t realised they could terminate his placement so soon!

Request an EHCNA now. On their website, IPSEA has a model letter you can use.