“He’s on the waiting list for a different local nursery.”
“And have you asked Theo what his wishes are about going to a nursery?”
I hadn’t, of course, mainly because I knew what he’d say. At the Lamberts’ he was treated like a little prince. He never needed to share a toy. Why would he want to learn to take turns when he could have a well-stocked playroom all to himself, not to mention a nanny to fetch the toys and tidy up after him? I could tell him that nursery would be more fun because there’d be other children there, but the truth was, Theo didn’t particularly like other children, not unless they were the meek, pliable kind who could be relied on to hand over their toys whenever he wanted them.
“Theo’s wishes are mixed,” I said at last. “He loved his last nursery, and it was definitely good for him to learn how to socialize with other children. I also have concerns that he’s being overindulged by the current arrangement. For example, they’ve been coaching him to say ‘I love you’ to them.”
“Have they now?” Lyn said. “And how would you know that?”
“He said it to Miles yesterday, when I collected him.”
“But how do you know it was the result of being coached?”
“Well, it stands to reason,” I said, exasperated. I was about to add, Because he hardly ever says it to me, when I thought better of it.
“I don’t think we should make any assumptions when it comes to ascertaining Theo’s feelings,” Lyn was saying. “I’ll write down that you think that, if you like, but also that there’s no evidence to back it up.”
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Case no. 12675/PU78B65, Exhibit 32: Report by Susy Carson, proprietor, Acol Road Nursery and Preschool.
I have been asked to write something about the circumstances that led to Theo Riley leaving Acol Road Nursery. Asking a parent to remove a child is not something we take lightly, we would only do it after a sustained pattern of behavior that has the potential to negatively impact the other children. In line with government guidelines half our staff either hold NVQ or BTech qualifications or are working toward them. We always aim to maintain the recommended staff–child ratios and at the current time are actively recruiting to achieve this. However, in line with many local facilities we do find it hard to retain staff, at the time under discussion we were down from eight persons to six. I was heavily involved in covering the shortfall myself, but providing an individual child with one-to-one shadowing to prevent harm was unfortunately not an option we were able to pursue.
The specific incident that led to Theo’s removal was that he hit another two-year-old with a tumbler, leading to a large bruise and bleeding on Zack’s forehead. Even had there not been bleeding, we would have written it in the Incident Book and discussed it with both sets of parents. However, this was the fourth hitting/biting incident in five weeks and it was clear previous efforts to teach Theo to play safely with other children were not working. We had previously had several conversations with the father about the situation and the need for consistent strategies including the home. Whether Mr. Riley followed through on these is not known, however Theo’s behavior clearly had not improved. When I informed Mr. Riley that Theo would be leaving us he did not take it well and I was forced to ask him to moderate his language.
Although we report incidents to parents anonymously, on this occasion both parents I spoke to were able to identify the other child. I feel it is my duty to mention that soon after Theo left us, Zack Tigman’s mother was knocked off her bike by a motorist as she left the nursery, causing her unfortunately to break her leg. Initially she was unable to provide the police with any details, but she has told me recently that she believes the vehicle could have been a Volkswagen, the make of car driven by Mr. Riley.
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PETE
“NO!” THEO SCREAMED. “NO no no no no!”
“It’s not a discussion, Theo,” I said firmly. “You chose cheesy toast, so you have to eat it all if you want a mini roll for pudding.”
“It’s burned.”
Admittedly, the corners of the toast were dark from being left under the grill a minute or so too long. “It’s not burned, it’s browned. And anyway, you have to eat it.”