Dealing with legal issues
Did you know?
When dealing with a diverse range of parents from different cultures we must respect their beliefs, even if they are different to our own, and ensure that they have an equal opportunity to access the service.
Here we are in Alison's office. As you can see, Alison is talking with Mrs Forbes. As you would have read, the parenting order for Owen clearly state that Mr Forbes has sole responsibility for the day-to-day care of his son. This means that Alison cannot allow Owen's mum to take him from the centre. However, she needs to make sure that she handles this situation very carefully, as it's obvious that Owen's mum is upset.
What else could Alison do when she provides the brochures to Mrs Forbes?
Alison could point out the contact phone numbers on the brochures in case Mrs Forbes' finds them difficult to read or understand.
If Mrs Forbes weren't a fluent English-speaker, what could Alison do to help her understand her options?
Alison could provide contact details for a locally available interpreter service.
Alison's meeting with Owen's mum could have been quite difficult. Thankfully Owen's mum calmed down once they got into the office. Alison could understand her frustration - it's very difficult when two parents are trying to sort out the arrangements for parenting of their child. However, Alison had to remain neutral - not take sides with either parent - and stick to the guidelines on the parenting order. Her priority is Owen's safety, and his rights in this situation.
The Rights of the Child is an important issue and underpins legislation and policy affecting children. If you haven't already done so, please read through the Convention on the Rights of the Child at www.unicef.org/crc/.
What should Alison do next?
Read the choices below and click on which action Alison should take next.
Probably not. Alison saw Owen's mum leave in her car, and she is satisfied that she has calmed down. It is unlikely that Owen's mum is going to try and get back into Cybertots by climbing over the playground fence, although such things have happened in particularly bitter parenting negotiations. Try again.
The staff at Cybertots do need to be told about what just happened with Owen's mum, but there would be no need to also tell all the children. There is something else that should be done first though, so check the list and try again.
Well done! That's right, the first thing to do now is contact Owen's dad and let him know what just happened. When Alison talks to Owen's dad, she will:
- clearly explain the facts of what happened
- not go into detail about the behaviour of Owen's mum while she was here
- suggest that he collects Owen from Cybertots as soon as possible.
Even though Alison did a good job of handling the situation with Owen's mum, there are still a couple of things that need to be done. Check the list and try again.
