I am employed as an educator in a childcare centre in Queensland, this means I am a mandatory reporter.
Grace is a four-year-old child who attends childcare five days per week. You have known Grace since she was very young, as you are friends with her mother, Joan. Joan and her husband Tom divorced a year ago, however the separation was amicable, the parents get on well, and Grace regularly sees her father.
Grace is usually a bright and bubbly child. She is very social and energetic and often shows affection to the educators and other children in her room.
Over the last month, however, Grace has been acting withdrawn. She avoids eye contact with the educators in her room and often spends her time playing alone in a cubby house she has built in the corner of the room. While Grace often used to ask for a back rub when she was trying to sleep at rest time, she now flinches and refuses when this is offered. When Joan arrives to pick her up, Grace is often reluctant to leave.
Grace told you a few weeks ago that her mum’s new boyfriend, Richard, had moved in with them.
Yesterday at around 10 am, you noticed a bruise on Grace’s back, near her tailbone, when you were helping her in the bathroom – it was about the size of a hand and was purple and swollen. When you asked Grace about the bruise, she would not speak about it and ran away.
During outside playtime this afternoon (approximately 3.30), you noticed Grace was rubbing her back. When you asked if her bruise was sore, she told you that it hurts, because Richard smacked her again this morning. She then started to cry. This was witnessed by Jim Bobbington, another educator in the room.
Based on this case study, accurately record your observations of Grace’s behaviour. When recording your observations, be objective. Record only what you saw and heard.