Bitten 3 times now

Bitten_2

My daughter has now been bitten three times at nursery, i know children bite and 1 maybe 2 i could let go but 3 just seems like a supervion problem to me. I have complained on numerous occasions to the nurserywhen i have had to drop my daughter offin a room of 18-24 month old when there are 5,7,8 kids to ONE adult. but still staffing is a problem. I want to complain to OFSTED about it as i feel that if my child was being supervised properly or the adequate staff were around then it may not have happened three times. i know children bite and yes it would seem that my child is not the only one (7 bites to 3 children that i know of). but surely that many is a problem. I am not on a with hunt after the biters blood, just the nursery to sort out their staff issues. so back to the complaint, on the OFSTED website it says complain to the care provider which i have done many a times and also complain officially in writing and they have to respond within 28 days - i do want to complain and will write a letter but the 28 days i feel is a problem, that is another 4 weeks my child is being inadequitely supervised. Can anybody help me out with some unbiased advice. Before you start though i just want advice.

izoomzoom

I would write the complaint letter today, and if you are not happy about the care then remove your child but I honestly don't know what good either will do.

My younger son was a biter - and he would 9/10 bite his older brother (and occassionally DH or me). Now I was only watching two children and I couldn't 'save' my elder son .... so even a ratio of 1 adult to 2 children isn't enough ...

merlinormartin

Hi Bitten

Sorry to hear your daughter has been bitten at nursery
can you suggest that the setting buy the book "teeth are not for biting" http://www.amazon.co.uk/Teeth-Are-Not-Biting/dp/1575421283/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212416148&sr=8-1

Also on the "staffing" topic ... the government recently developed a new EYPS standard which allows 13 children to 1 member of staff! :rolleyes:

cookie54

i would first of all complain in writing and request a copy of guidelines for dealing with such things . so that if things get worse or other parents do the same they can see they have a problem . Also i would make sure that the parents of the children doing the bitting are aware ( i have a friend whose child was biting all the other children and she only found out when confronted by one of the other parents in a really nasty way)

choccymoose

Hi , The ratios are the same in England, however from september if the setting has a member of staff who has Early Years Professional Status then the ratio for 3yrs + can indeed be 1:13, however this is only allowed whilst the EYP is present and so will probably cause major staffing issues.

With regards to the biting and the issues at the nursery attended, ring the OFSTED help line and explain your concerns and in addition that you have on a number of occasions noticed that the nursery appears to be under ratio, you can remain annonomous (sp). If the nursery is in fact operating under ratio and there is an accident then their insurance will be void. OFSTED will carry out an unnanounced visit to follow up the complaint. I assume that you have had to sign either the accident / incident book, OFSTED would check this and would be able to see if it is a very frequent occurrence involving lots of children, which again would give them insight into the behaviour management at the nursery.

As a previous poster mentioned it is very hard to intervene in a biting incident because they happen so quickly, however the nursery should be monitoring the 'biter' and seeing if there are any trigger points that provoke this reaction so that intervention can happen before the biting, if you get what I mean.

Choccy

mrcow

Bitten wrote: »

I want to complain to OFSTED about it as i feel that if my child was being supervised properly or the adequate staff were around then it may not have happened three times.

If you do not feel that your daughter is being adequately supervised then you should take her out of the nursery.

Make the complaint by all means, but also vote with your feet and go somewhere else.

I know it's hard........I was unhappy with the level of care that my son was getting at his first nursery. I'd spent ages picking the nursery and it was a real step down for me to admit that I'd made a mistake.

He went to a new place and I've never looked back. It was seriously SUCH the right thing to do.

Oh...and yes - being bitten three times is more than unacceptable. The nursery are obviously doing nothing to address the issue or to take your concerns onboard. Go somewhere else where they do listen and have better staff ratios.

mrcow

clarefrances84 wrote: »

Although I understand your frustrations about your child being bitten, it isn't always possible to keep your eyes on them 24/7, esp in times where staff could be changing a nappy, tending to an upset child etc.

It's not that hard!

How come this doesn't happen in every other nursery then? (Or at school come to that?) If the staff can't keep adequate control, then they either need to add more staff or replace the ones they've got who can't do their jobs properly.

At my son's first nursery, I was signing incident reports on a weekly basis (he only went three days a week)......at the second nursery, I didn't have to sign a single one for him or for his sister who now goes there. Reason......the staff were too busy chatting to their mates to keep adequate control of the children in their care. It's an abuse of trust and not one to be taken lightly considering the age of the children involved.

mrcow

clarefrances84 wrote: »

By no means am I sticking up for people who do not provide adequate care but I think that it shouldnt always be blamed solely on the immediate staff caring for children, there are other factors to consider too.

I have looked after my fair share of kids and know what I'm taking about, thanks all the same :rolleyes:

The nursery is to blame. That includes all their staff and managers.

pickle

My daughter has been at nursery for a year and nothing like this has happened. I would be concerned especially if the skin is broken as the biting child may have a disease which could be transmitted in this manner. I would think it was a health and safety issue.

anonymousie

pickle wrote: »

My daughter has been at nursery for a year and nothing like this has happened. I would be concerned especially if the skin is broken as the biting child may have a disease which could be transmitted in this manner. I would think it was a health and safety issue.

THis is a bit OTT I think! Biting happens amongst toddlers and rarely is damage beyond a bruise sustained- it hurst and isn't a good way to behave but it isn't likely to be dangerous (we don't have an epidemic problem of HIV or Hep B!).

To the OP. REmove your child if you aren't happy full stop, there are other nurseries and you can only leave your child when you are fully confident in the care surely?

My children are older now (9, 12,14) but on reflection, at nursery (they all went to nursery from babyhood) you were either the biter or the victim at some stage- one of those "it too will pass" phases.

Oregen

Hi there,

Being bitten 3 times is really bad. I feel that it is about time that you change your nursery. I have put my child in a really good nursey close to where I live. I found this nursery through Emergency Childcare. The nursery takes good care of my child and I do not have any problems with them. Maybe you can try them out too. Bye and all the best.