to think it's really not on that the only number I can contact my DS's nursery on is someone's mobile??

[LadyBiscuit]

My DS's nursery is in a church which means that there's no fixed line which has never bothered me - the phone has always been answered whenever it's open before so I assumed it was a nursery phone. Today though there was an accident on the motorway so I called at 5.45 to say I may be late (in the end I wasn't, I got there bang on 6). The phone rang and rang and then went to voicemail. When I got there I said that I'd called but that the phone had gone to voicemail and the manager said 'well that number is the personal phone of XX (the woman who owns it) and she's gone home'. I said that I didn't have another number and could I have one please. To which she replied that she wasn't giving out parents her personal number.

I am really not happy about this (no that I can't have her number but that the number I have is someone's personal mobile) - what if something had happened and I couldn't get there for a while? Obviously they would ring my alternative contacts if they couldn't get hold of me but I would like to get hold of them during opening hours (which are 8am-6pm even if most parents pick their kids up early on a Friday, I can't always).

So AIBU to be a bit cross about this and think it's really Not On or being a bit precious?

[FabIsGoingToGetFit]

YANBU.

How would they feel if they couldn't get hold of you or any of your nominated contacts?

[Missus84]

Not on at all! You should be able to get hold of someone in the building all the time the nursery is open.

[Foxy800]

No I personally dont think that is good. A lot of nurseries use mobiles but they stay on the premises during opening hours with the staff that are working.

[paisleyleaf]

yanbu

[ChunkyChick]

YADNBU. That is totally unacceptable.

[MumInBeds]

YANBU, it wouldn't cost them much at all to have a PAYG phone on site at all times. Using a staff member's number is very unprofessional.

[Lulumaam]

Absolutely not being unreasonable

you need to be able to make contact with teh nursery , not just one member of staff

surely the work phone stays at work if there are stil children there?

why don't they have a landline?

the woman who has the work phone either needs to stay until all children are collected, hand it over to another staff member, or at the least listen to the messages !

[LadyBiscuit]

Thanks all. I am definitely going to have a word with the woman who runs it on Monday - I feel a bit dim that I didn't ask before but I just assumed that it was a site phone.

[Lulumaam]

is it this woman's personal mobile or is she the one in charge of the work phone?

[LadyBiscuit]

They don't have a landline lulu because they hire out the church hall monday to friday when it's not being used by the church. It doesn't bother me but that was because I assumed it was a nursery PAYG phone rather than a personal one

[Butterpie]

Surely it wouldn't be hard to get a phone line installed anyway? If the nursery is there full time (which it sounds like) then really they should have a landline, if only for emergencies.

[LadyBiscuit]

The VM says the name of the nursery rather than the woman so I guess she has another phone but it's a bit weird for her not to leave it. I wonder if she'll call me to check I've turned up or am still in traffic?

[FabIsGoingToGetFit]

When my children were at play school we were given the managers personal mobile and land line numbers as well as the play school mobile number. If you are trusting them with your child they should be able to trust you with their number.

[LadyBiscuit]

Yeah actually I was a bit annoyed about her reaction fab. She was really sniffy about it like I was going to ring her up for a chat at the weekend or something.

And they were really grumpy with me too - virtually pushed my DS out the door at me. But the nursery shuts at 6 - that doesn't mean that they leave then right? I have often noticed they start putting the toys away early on a Friday too.

Hmm just as well we're not going to be here much longer really

[pigletmania]

YANBU I am shock! Surely the manager of the nursery has a work mobile that is given to her by the company, like ours has. That is unacceptable you should be able to contact the nursery easily at anytime. I would talk to the manager about this issue

[jeee]

So what do they do if you're delayed, and want someone else to collect the kids - just hand them over to any stray person who claims that they're there to pick up your DC? It's completely unacceptable, and YAdefinitelyNBU.

[littlebrownmouse]

We had to have a phone line put into our church specifically for the use of the playgoup. I'm sure it was a stipulation of Ofsted saying the building was fit to use. The line was put in, hte playgroup had a phone that they plugged in when they were there and it was taken out and put in the cupboard when they packed up at the end of a session. If they are using a mobile, that's fine but it should always be on the premises during sessions and not the personal mobile of one of the staff.

[CaptainUnderpants]

We run a playgroup in a village hall - so when we are not using it others do, however we do have a landline phone and when we are not there the phone is 'locked' i.e no one can dial out (code on key pad but people can still dial in and leave a message .

Really no excuse -what if battery suddenly fails on mobile and there is an emergency ?

Also if you dial 999 from a landline your address automatically if flgged up - I would seriuosly have words with the mamanger and a word with OFSTED , not a complaint as such yet but a hypthetical question to them about phones in settings.

[LadyBiscuit]

That is very interesting about the 999 thing. I have just had a look at the church website and there is a landline there (and it even advertises the nursery ) so clearly they are linked.

It's never worried me about there only being a mobile but I hadn't thought about batteries dying but I guess even if she is supposed to leave it there and it was a cock up today, it's much easier to accidentally take a mobile home than a landline

[Lulumaam]

it is an odd situation... DD went to a playgroup in a church hall that was used for other things, the manager had a mobile, and there was a landline too..

it does not seem a reasn for there to be no-one availabel to take a call within the nursery's working hours

it is unacceptable that they are not contactable during working hours

i would certainly run this past ofsted as has been suggested

[LadyBiscuit]

Oh Ofsted definitely know that there is only a mobile contact number - that's the number that's given out by ofsted and on all their literature. I don't think having a landline is a prerequisite of running a nursery. But I can imagine that when they first started they didn't want to go to the expense of installing a second landline given that they weren't sure if it would be successful but it's been going a couple of years now and there are about 10 children that attend so it seems a reasonable investment

[suitejudyblue]

My DCs playgroup doesn't have a landline, its in a church hall and they just can't justify the cost of installation/rental etc for the few calls they ever made or receive so they have a mobile which is on during the day and afaik goes home with the leader.
I don't have a problem with this as I'd rather they didn't waste money on a phone and its never been mentioned by Ofsted.
Maybe you could suggest that your nursery gets a cheap PAYG phone and keeps it on the premises.
Not sure what the issue is with 999 calls - can someone explain just in case I need to start worrying about it.

[CaptainUnderpants]

When you make a 999 call from a landline your address aytomatically gets flagged up to the operator thus making any emergency response quicker and more accurate should the emergency be at the place you are calling from.

Do most of the staff know the exact address and postcode of the nursery ? I expect not.

OK so not many 999 calls made from settings but how would you feel if an ambulance was called for your child and they couldn't ascertain the address properly because a casual member of staff on a mobile didn't know the full address ?

However if OFSTED doesn't feel it is a problem then so be it ....

[CaptainUnderpants]

from wikipedia

'Location
It is important for the caller to be aware of their location when phoning for the emergency services, the caller's location will not be passed onto the emergency services immediately, and finding the location will be a combination of efforts on both parties. However it is possible to trace both landline and mobile telephone numbers with the BT operator; the former can be traced to an address. The latter can be immediately traced to a grid reference according to the transmitter being used, however this is only accurate to a certain wide area, for more specific traces senior authority must be acquired and an expensive operation can be conducted to trace the mobile phone within a few metres.'

[suitejudyblue]

Thanks CU, I didn't know that. As you say the risk is very low but worth being aware of.
I'm only assuming that Ofsted don't have a problem with it as they must know that the only number is a mobile and the setting has had an inspection quite recently and it wasn't mentioned in the report.