The parents of a non-verbal tot have spoken of their frustration over their struggle to get him into a nursery after being rejected by a string of centres around Oldham .
Lucy and James Ellis say they have approached dozens of nurseries and have been rejected outright by ten. They've become convinced that no nursery will accept their two-year-old son Jacob, who has allergies to soya, egg and grass and needs an EpiPen.
The youngster is currently on a nine-month waiting list for speech and language therapy. The pair say they have faced an uphill battle trying to get the tot into nursery over the past 18 months – with the difficulties starting when Jacob was just six-months-old. Primary school teacher Lucy, from Royton, says she has contacted around 25 nurseries across Oldham but has had no success.
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Dad James, who works as a driving instructor, claims many nurseries refuse to accept Jacob because of ‘lack of EpiPen training’ – despite James offering to organise the training for free.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, the 34-year-old said: “We’re frustrated and angry. We’re being told essentially that our little boy is an issue – that he’s a burden these places aren’t willing to help with.
“I get upset that he’s missing out on this time where he could be interacting with children his age and learning vital social skills as simple as sharing, personal space and boundaries. I play with him like I’m his little friend; I let him lead the fun and experiment with him with different tasks and play areas. It’s absolutely rewarding and so special but it breaks my heart he’s got no kids his age to play with and learn from or have that safe environment to get used to being away from myself and his mum and have that little bit of independent time.”
Lucy and James say they have either had their nursery applications ignored or they have been refused after visiting the premises to look around. The pair say they have applied for nurseries around Royton, Shaw, Chadderton and Middleton.
James continued: “Even when I offered to get the EpiPen training organised for free from community nurses in Oldham, I had a nursery say they didn’t have the funding to pay staff to do overtime to do the course. Even when I offered to pay the overtime costs, I was just dismissed.
“We’ve also been told a few times because he’s non-verbal they couldn’t help, even though he hasn’t been diagnosed with any learning difficulties yet and could very well just be a late bloomer, they aren’t willing to help. A few places have offered us unrealistic hours like two hours a day on two days a week which isn’t sufficient.”
James says that since approaching the M.E.N, the family has received a reply from a nursery, but talks to discuss what sessions can be offered to Jacob are ongoing. “We are taking him to Surestart community centres multiple times per week to let him play with others in a playgroup environment while also being watched by special educational needs team so they can see how he is doing to start to develop a plan to help him,” he added.
Councillor Eddie Moores, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: “We are sorry to hear Lucy has been frustrated in her experience of trying to find a nursery place for her son. While we do not control the admissions process for privately owned early years settings, we would strongly encourage Lucy to contact our Family Information Service (FIS) so we can support her in finding a suitable childcare place.
“All early years settings that are registered with Ofsted and receive local authority funds, are required to have regard to the 0-25 SEND Code of Practice. Therefore we would expect all early years providers to take reasonable steps to ensure that children with medical conditions get the support required to meet those needs, so that every child is included and supported.
“The council offers an Ofsted approved Paediatric First Aid training course as part of its training programme and this is available to all Early Years settings, including local childminders, nursery staff, play workers and teachers. This training covers Anaphylaxis alongside the theory and practical use of an Auto-Injector (Epi Pen). We would encourage providers, if they haven’t already, to access this training by contacting us at early.years@oldham.gov.uk.
“Alternatively, we would strongly encourage all private settings to seek Epi Pen training via an independent training provider if they don’t already have this, to ensure staff are equipped to take on similar admissions in the future and we can avoid these events moving forward.
“The council also provides a range of support to Early Years settings to help them deliver high quality inclusive practice and meet the needs of all individual children through the Right Start and School Nursing Service. This includes access to a comprehensive professional development training programme.”
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