I pretty much know the answer but would like opinions please

[sminkypinky]

My DS is 2.5 years old and has been at his nursery since January. DH and I have concerns about his care and are now approaching other nurseries to check what they are like with an aim to move him. I have a few issues with moving him, mainly that he really likes the staff there and it's very close to home, so I get a few more hours a week with him when I work from home. The main issues we have with the nursery are:

Nappy rash - DS comes home most weeks with nappy rash. Over the last couple of weeks he has had it a couple of times so bad he can't sit down in the bath. He has also come home with poo mixed in with sudocrem all over which has made the rash worse. Twice now he has been put back in clothes which have had poo smeared in them because he's been in his poo so long it has come out of his nappy. I also had poo covered clothes placed in his bag where his clean change of clothes and nappies were (usually they put them in a nappy sack).

We also have no idea what he eats as they keep "forgetting" to give me a copy of the menu and they aren't on display anywhere. We don't get a written report so have to rely on staff remembering (which they generally can't) whether my DS has eaten properly/slept/been involved in activities.

At a recent parent's evening they have told me that he hasn't been there long enough to have been observed in most areas so they don't know what his current development levels are (after 6 months).

Additionally there is a biter in the room and my son has been bitten 5 times, 3 of which weren't recorded (which we believe is because the mother of the biter was working in the room at the time).

We've obviously raised these issues with the nursery. The nappy rash is being mentioned so frequently it is getting embarassing, usually it is met with lots of excuses and now I have been advised that we should probably see a Dr about it (!).

Having read that back, I really have to move him don't I? my poor boy

[SarahJonesS]

Gosh, they sound awful. I got more information in a 1.5 hour taster session!!

(on a side note, have you tried Metanium? I find that always clears up the rash in a couple of applications although, I suspect the issue is that his nappy isn't being changed regularly)

[sminkypinky]

We tried Metanium but it didn't really do much for him. Bepanthen seems to work miracles for us. When we've got him over the weekend we can usually clear most of it up with Bepanthen, I just wish it wasn't so expensive

[insancerre]

Move him
I'm a nursery manager and I would be appalled at that level of are in my nursery
We don't do daily reports for over 2s but all nappy changes and sleeps/ food are recorded daily so that information would be easy to pass on
We do starting points on entry on their first day with input from parents, so we can place them in an age band immediately. It's not acceptable to say 6 months isn't long enough. I monitor development and have a spreadsheet where I input all the children's data every 6 weeks
How can they show progress if they haven't got starting points?
Ofsted would take a very dim view of this
Have they done a 2 year check?

They should have a menu displayed and it is a requirement that parents are told what food the children have

The nappy rash and poo stained clothes sounds like pure laziness
We record nappy changes so we could tell you exactly when a child was changed and by whom. Our policy is the keyperson changes nappies
I've told you all of that so you can compare against your nursery

[eurochick]

That sounds appalling. You have to move him.

[SandysMam]

Our nursery give detailed feedback.
The poo issue sounds disgusting and is also a health hazard...if there are 20 kids in poo stained clothes running around then that must be a problem!!
I think if your DS loves this nursery, he will soon settle in at another one but you need to move him, it's not good enough.

[InDubiousBattle]

Move him. Appalling levels of care. You've asked them repeatedly about the nappy rash and nothing has been done so I would assume nothing will be done. Coming home in poo smelling clothes added to nappy rash was a problem at the nursery my friends dd went to. She went to collect her earlier than usual one day only to find the outer door propped open (it was a hot day)so anyone could wander in, she went in only to hear a member of staff saying to a toddler she 'would give them something to cry about'. My friend picked up her dd, walked out and never took her back. That was kind of the last straw after several smaller things which, in isolation weren't so serious (poo smelling pants, coming home in the wrong nappy, menus not given out )but put together added up to very poor care.

[BrutusMcDogface]

InDubious and OP- you have to report these places to ofsted. It's appalling that such vulnerable members of society are being treated so badly

[Fruitcocktail6]

Remove and report to ofsted. That's disgusting.

[sminkypinky]

Thanks everyone, we have an appointment to see the new nursery soon so hopefully this will be much better.
I've only just started keeping a written record of the issues, do you think Ofsted would take it seriously if I complain to them explaining what has happened without specific dates/examples etc?

[Rumtopf]

Good luck viewing the new nursery, this one sounds horrific.

Ofsted would most definitely be interested in what you have to say, this level of care is simply unacceptable.

[ohlittlepea]

You need to raise this with the nursery manager and ofsted. Poo smeared with the sudocrem is awful :(

[Laineymc7]

You've definitely got to move him. They should be giving you a daily log of sleep times, feeds, toilet activity etc. There is no excuse for your poor boy being left with a dirty bum and not being cleaned properly. My daughter has been at nursery since she was 11 months and apart from her clothes with can have paint or food on it. Which is understandable and shows she's having a good time. She always comes home with a clean bum, hands and face. Also putting a dirty nappy in the bag like that is disgusting. Their standard of care sound very poor. Move him. He will build new relationships at a new nursery.
A good barrier cream such as neals yard is good to put on his bum before going to nursery you should ask them to reapply at each change.

[BumWad]

Move him.

Sounds absolutely disgraceful!