Case Study
Tania’s (8) parents are from Sierra Leone and they went to visit family over the summer. Tania’s recently come back to the Play Provider and you’ve noticed that she seems quieter and thinner.
One afternoon, Tania was playing in the climbing area. Another child bumped her and Tania fell and started crying.
When you went to her attention, you realised that she was bleeding through her clothes from the crotch area.
What are your concerns?
What action do you recommend?
CaseStudy
Sally’s (9) behaviour has been problematic – she has been physically aggressive with some of the other pupils, and she keeps starting fights with them.
Your colleague tells you he does not want to address Sally in front of the other children as Sally can sometimes be very sensitive to criticism. You agree that talking to her quietly is a good idea.
But then you notice that your colleague takes Sally into a large storeroom where you can no longer see them.
Sally runs out of the storeroom a few minutes later crying and before you have time to find out what happened, her mother has come to pick her up.
What are your concerns?
What action do you recommend?
Case Study
You have noticed that Kadija (5) is very quiet and a bit nervous of new situations. She does not have many friends but seems content to play on her own in the background. Mostly you think of Kadija as an easy child who is always polite.
Sometimes her father comes to collect her and you have noticed that he can be very negative and critical, always telling her to ‘shut up’ and that she is ‘good for nothing’.
A few times her mother has come to collect her and she is very quiet like Kadija. She does not speak to staff much and seems anxious to get away quickly.
What are your concerns?
What action do you recommend?
Case Study
Lauren’s (7) behaviour seems to have changed quite over the last couple of months at After School Club. She is more aggressive with the other children and often refuses to do what she is told.
She has had several absences from school recently – each lasting about four or five days at a time.
A few weeks ago, you asked her about a bruise on her face and she told you that she slipped down the stairs. You spoke to Lauren’s mother at the time and she said that Lauren is hyperactive and clumsy and is always falling down.
Today when Lauren raised her arms above her head as she was playing, her T-shirt slipped up, and you noticed bruising on her stomach. When you questioned her about it, she said that she fell over in the playground.
What are your concerns?
What action do you recommend?
Case Study
You have noticed that Yemi (10) has increasingly been wearing more adult clothing. She has been behaving flirtatiously with a male member of staff and he has come to tell you how uncomfortable he feels about this. He thinks her behaviour is getting worse as she used to seem to favour him but now is constantly approaching him and wanting to engage him in conversations and has started touching his arms and torso affectionately despite him asking her repeated not to.
You try to talk to Yemi about her behaviour and she says that she isn’t doing anything wrong and starts to cry. You try to reassure her but she is inconsolable and begs you not to tell her mother.
You know that Yemi lives alone with her mother but you don’t know much about her home life. She is a very popular girl and has a big personality.
What are your concerns?
What action do you recommend?
Case Study
Henry is (6) and his older sisters Janna (3) and Elizabeth (4) attend the After School Programme. Henry has had a cold for over three weeks and does not seem to be getting any better.
You have raised the issue of the cold to Henry’s mother on several occasions previously and she has said that he is fine and the GP has already seen him.
You’ve noticed that Henry is frequently wearing old ripped clothes and that he has been quite smelly recently. This is surprising as Janna and Elizabeth are always very clean and well groomed, and seem to be in good health.
This week, Henry is increasingly listless and pale. You think he has lost a lot of weight and has had diarrhoea for the last couple of days and today he has had a fever and is complaining of a severe headache. When you asked him why the school did not send him home, he said he didn’t want them to know because he didn’t want to disturb his mother.
You told his mother this evening that he needs to stay at home until he is better, but she kept saying that Henry is fine and if she does not work, she will not be able to feed her children.
What are your concerns?
What action do you recommend?