Pros and Cons of nursery at your place of work

[MrsCK]

Hiya,
My workplace are looking into opening a nursery for staff to put their children. Do any of you do this already and if so what have you found to be the benefits and drawbacks?

[Millionprammiles]

We don't have one but the biggest drawback would be dragging a young child on the commute. Fine if you only have to pop them in the car but not if you have to contend with packed tubes/trains/buses.

[letsplayscrabble]

Never done it but I'd say pros are that if you work shifts etc they might offer more flexible sessions - as said above, cons are that you have to take them to work with you, harder for other family members to collect/drop off depending on distance, have to show up at work during your next maternity leave if you keep the first child at nursery!

[PiggyBeekman]

Depends how far away from home work is. It's fine when you are working, but if you need to put them in nursery but you're not going to work, for example if you're ill or just fancy a day off in peace then you still have to trek to work.

[TiggyD]

If your place of work is going to be in charge of it, they will be able to directly control the quality of it for their staff. If it's going to allow a chain nursery to set up an independent business on the grounds, it might be convenient but shit.

[Callofthewild]

My girls go to nursery 5 mins from our house and I work 1.5 hours away. Its great to be able to pick them up and be home almost straight away rather than having to cart them on a long commute, trying to keep them entertained after a long day. I have a week off in a few weeks time and will put them in nursery for a couple of days whilst I sort some things out at home and then just pick them up earlier than normal.

[MrsCK]

Fab thanks all :)

[VeryPunny]

We have an on campus nursery. It was originally independent but is now managed by a chain. It's excellent (Ofsted outstanding) and many people freely admit it is what's keeping them in their jobs. Our workplace takes it seriously and there's a liaison committee to oversee issues.

It's lovely to be able to go to work with my kids - an extra 20mins each way in the car with them to chat, and it is so convenient. I can do drop off at 8:50am and be at my desk drinking coffee by 9am. Any problems and I can be with my kids immediately. I also popped in to breastfeed at lunch when they were small.

[MadeInChorley]

It really only feasible on a campus out of town type workplace with plenty space and parking very nearby. And most people prefer a nursery somewhere close to home because it's better to drive 5 mins with a sick child than half an hour.

I work it the City and there's no way I'd drag my children on packed tube trains for an hour to go to nursery so not feasible for us (and atCity rents, I don't think any company would open one)

[DuelingFanjo]

yes I do. No drawbacks, just benefits.

I was able to go over and breastfeed in the early days and can be there in a flash if needed.

Also knowing other people in work with children there meant

A. I could find out what they thought of it
b. There would always be someone I knew popping into nursery at different times who would tell me if they had any concerns

RE commuting - it takes about 30 minutes for me to get to work so not stressful and a whole lot better than dropping him in one place then going to work.

Also I have opted to keep him in the nursery near me rather than put him in a school nursery which would have been a logistical nightmare.

Actually - one drawback is that I do ALL the drop offs and Pick-ups as DH works in the other direction. it means he never get the calls to come in when DS has been hurt or is ill and he never suffered through the settling in period.

[TheBeanpole]

We do this- nursery is in DP's work. It's in central London and DP commutes with her most days- although I work nearby and do pick ups one day or if DP is ill etc. I was/am still breastfeeding and I could have gone in at lunchtime to do that if I wanted.

It's an excellent small nursery- it is contracted out but to a social enterprise, and the workplace is happy to subsidise it to run at a slight loss.

DD is 15 months and the commute is mostly ok- one train (18 minutes) plus a 15 minute walk or short tube if it is chucking it down. DP always gets a seat, they read books and chat about what they can see. He has flexed his hours a bit to miss the worst of the trains and to go home earlier- the day I do pick up it's usually quite a bit later as I have longer hours and she is noticably more tired on the journey and a bit grumpy. So finishing a bit early may be worth looking at. She hasn't had to be picked up sick once since she started so that hasn't been an issue. Being smaller probably helps with reducing the number of bugs going around.

One of the main bonuses for us is also that the little known tax benefit of having a workplace nursery is very beneficial- if your workplace runs the nursery you can salary sacrifice the entire amount (as long as it doesn't dip you below minimum wage), not just the 65/week- and that amounts to a saving of several hundred pounds per month.

The main downside is if you want a day off and them still to be in nursery- although we have been known to drop her and then have a date day in London which is quite fun. Oh and also carting nappies in every so often is annoying but DP could always get them delivered to his work or a nearby boots if he organised himself.

You do also have to be quite zen as even the most even tempered toddler will occasionally become very cross on the journey- it doesn't happen often- but fellow commuters are often more understanding than you might think.

And a sling is a lifesaver! Plus an array of toddler snacks.

[TheBeanpole]

Oh and- no stress about late fees if the trains are on the blink! You can just go to a cafe for tea and get home a bit later.