Staff at Sunbeams nursery, which has 62 children registered, said thatthey were responding to a request from one child's parents that thechild should be distracted from having a late sleep in the afternoon.The parents said that napping in the afternoon meant that the child'ssleep pattern was disturbed throughout the night.
Ofsted became involved after an anonymous complaint was made to it thatstaff at the nursery were not letting children sleep.
Sunbeams staff explained the child's particular circumstances and saidthat they were following parents' wishes. However, the nursery was giventhe action because Ofsted said that nursery staff should prioritise therights of the child rather than requests from parents.
Nursery manager Shelley Briggs told Nursery World, 'This is a commondilemma for nursery nurses. Parent partnership is part of the EarlyYears Foundation Stage and good practice, but Ofsted would not enterinto a debate.
'It's a grey area. We do not want to step on parents' toes, but Ofstedsays that it is about the rights of the child, and the child needed tosleep. We are going to send a letter out to parents informing them ofwhat has happened and tell them that they will have to contact Ofsted ifthey want to discuss the issue further. The issue hasn't yet come upagain with this particular child, but it will do.'
Early years advisor Dr Maria Robinson said, 'This is a delicatesituation and I think that staff need to try to unpick the issue andfind out why the child might be waking in the night. There is usually areason why a child does not want to go to bed. A three-year-old probablystill needs a short sleep in the afternoon.'
