bad experience with well known nursery

[butty]

HI All,
Going round the twist here!!!!!!!! My son attented a BB's Nursery for a long time only i had to withdraw him due to their lack of care and negligence with accident forms.
Since leaving i have been bribed, threatened and lied to about issues raised and money owing.

Is there anyone else here who has suffered this kind of treatment.

People like these give reputable nurseries a bad name.

From Butty mum of 2 of which one disabled.

[Jimjams]

My son attended a well known nursery chain from 18 months to 2 ish. At the time he was quiet and a bit disengaged (no trouble though- not like now :-)) They treated him appallingly. At 3 he was dxed as autistic.

[Jimjams]

I was terrified about putting him in nursery again, but found a wonderful small owner managed nursery and he spent almost 3 happy years there.

[butty]

cheers guys.

Having a real bad time with them as still persuing the matter 12 months on. My son has GDD and Hypotonia and it could have been picked up sooner if they had noticed the major differences in him to other children his age and indeed younger.
If you dont mind me asking jimjams what chain was it you had problems with and did you persue the matter.
These people need to be stopped and since i have lost all confidence in day care centres something needs to be done for other parents and children who are suffering.

[bubble99]

Our son's meals at a well know chain included: Half of a white bread plastic cheese sandwhich with hula hoops and a jam donut, A tiny bowlful of packet soup which was mixed with boiling water in the salad drawer of the nursery 'fridge (sure hope it was clean ), garage sandwiches ( I assume they were inacapable of making their own) and a greasy vegi burger which had been fried in black carbonated oil.

The nursery brochure boasted of "Nutrionally balanced meals prepared from top quality ingredients"

This was an Asquith nursery and they tried to diddle us out of our grant.

[Marina]

and [anger] at these stories - knew about Jimjams as dd attends another (much better) in the same chain nearby, and we were very cautious and persistent in our questions because of the way her ds was treated. As far as I can tell ours is run very well, with the former owner staying on to manage for many years, and the food much better than Bubble's horror story.
Butty, have you thought of going to the local paper about your horrible experiences? So sorry to hear what you are going through

[pinotgrigio]

OMG Bubble - which Asquith? I've just moved DD to an Asquith from another nursery, which I wasn't happy with.

[bubble99]

pinotgrigio. Asquith Richmond (Surrey)

[pinotgrigio]

I'm Asquith Kingston. You're VERY close though. I wonder if the management chain is the same. I have deliberately been keeping a close eye on the food DD is given there though. So far it's been a lot of shepherds pie and home cooked stuff - according to them. I think I'm going to grill the manager on Friday (she only goes 2 days per week).

How long ago was it that your DS was at Richmond? Was it very recent? I'm definitely going to pursue this issue with them. I think a surprise visit on Friday lunchtime is in order.

Nice that you're in Richmond though. Wish I was! Ahh. Those summer days down by the river. Fab. I love Richmond.

[hub2dee]

Pinotgrigio, you're almost close enough to use this fantastic sounding place:

here

Just make sure you surf the Web site on a PC as it looks a bit funny on a Mac.

[pinotgrigio]

Wow hub. That does look better.

I might go and have a look. If my chat with Asquith re: food (and a little incident where I heard one of the staff shouting at a pre-schooler) doesn't make me happy I'd be quite willing to move DD. She's only going 2 days per week, and its so she gets used to group activities/other children.

I could do Hampton while I'm not at work, but it might be a problem if I get another contract in the near future. Hmm.

[Blu]

Really sorry to hear that, Butty.

I have recently moved DS from a big chain nursery - I think an awful lot depends on the individula manager and staff - and also on the area manager. But they also work to financial models which put the care under strain, I think, and IME are much more expensive than independent nurseries.

Good friends have a v happy experience at another branch of the chain which is v close, so I think it's hard to generalise.

[hub2dee]

Pinot... you should check this thread .

[pinotgrigio]

Hub!! Thanks!! They're in Richmond too? That's even closer to me than Hampton. A quick nip through Richmond park in the morning with DD would be lovely.

This is exactly the ethos I'm looking for. I was really scared when I saw your link in case you were being ironic and I misinterpreted your post.

I'm going to make an appointment to view next week. Thanks. Happy pinot.

[butty]

has any one else here had probs with a BB's nursery.
It would be good to know so that i can stop feeling insane!!!!!!!!!!!!
All they seem to care about is the money and not the kids which is crap coz they only get the money to provide our kids with proper and appropriate care.
I totally agree with BLU as there is such a strain on making the money which they probably have plenty of to run with as many nurseries as they have but also the fact that the management and financial department seemed to change every 5 minutes.
Its a wonder the government promote them as well as they do, but then again it is the government in this country that get things wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[butty]

is there any advise that anyone can offer with regards to this situation whether experienced it or not!!!!!!!!!!!????????????

[Blu]

Butty - I honestly think that your own case is bad enough whether other people have experienced it or not. The advice to contact ofsted made sense to me.
It wasn't BBs that I had a problem with.
Actually, how bad is the threatening? Bad enough to tell the police?
If there are ongoing disputes about them invoicing you, go to CAB?

[butty]

i have gone through all the channels but seem some what unconsoled with the whole situation as i feel that what they have done is serious and yet people seem to still bypass the mistreatment with the talk of what money is owed!!!!!!!!! It feels like childrens protection is an outcome of if you have paid of which i have and just cant seem to get that point across even with bank and cheque statements!!!!!!!!!! Talk about ignoring the evidence and dealing with the truths of the matter?>?

[bubble99]

hub2dee.

[Berries]

Hi, I had an issue with a nursery a number of years ago (6!!) which resulted in us being taken to small claims court for non-payment of 2 months fees - we gave 1 months notice instead of the contractual 3 months. Be warned, if it comes to this the ONLY thing which is taken into account is the terms of the contract. I called out social services and the nursery failed on staffing levels but that WASN'T sufficient reason to break the contract We eventually won the case because the nursery refused to say whether they had filled the 2 places or not - they can ONLY claim the extra months payment if they can prove material loss, so if your ex-nursery filled your childrens places as soon as your children left there is no material loss and so no money is owed. I can give you more details if you like, but it was 6 yrs ago so things may have changed legally since (though I think contract law is still much the same)
HTH, and doo sympathise, I know first hand how stressful it is.

[lucy01]

my dd's (14m + 3) both go to a BB nursery and I think that (as far as nurseries go) its great.

The food is the best of all the nurseries friends children go to and at 3 the older one is still immune to junk (crisps, sweets, choc, pop etc) as the nursery support our eating plans (normal, no junk food).

The care is great and both dds appear happy whatever time I pick them up.

The only general observation I have to make is about the size of the girls working in the 3 year olds room! For people working with very active 3 year old they are huge - one I have yet to see off her fat backside!

Apart from that can't recommend it enough!

[butty]

like some one said it depends on the management and their staffing levels.
But if your son had severe global development delay and CP would you then be praising a nursery for neglecting the fact and also not reporting accidents that have occured whilst in their care!!? I dont think so.
I never complained about the food or the nurserie nurses themselves as at the end of the day, they have to do their job the best they can, but to not pick up on problems which were noticble and then to neglect parents requests and complaints is absurd.!!!!

[Blu]

Wee-e-eell, we left our last (chain) nursery without giving the required notice and citing our dissatisfactions as the reason we were leaving. they sent us invoices and reminders for two months - we sent a rude note - and have this week had a VERY apologetic letter, not mentioning the money, but most obsequious about looking into the management and procedures at the nursery etc. I am sure publicity and reputation has to be the most important thing to a nursery.

[Jimjams]

butty- sorry missed this so didn't follow up[- it was an Asquith Court nursery. I suspect in each case the standard of care depends on the individual manager.

The nursery we moved to after Asquith (and a break- we waited until we moved house) was owner managed, a small, long established nursery. Someone whose autistic dd had gone there recommended it to me- I emailed the owner and the reply I received asking lots of questions about ds1, saying that she had a waiting list but she'd kept one place aside for a child with SN so we could have that if we wanted, and saying she couldn't say how she would be able to help him but she promised she would do whatver she could made me realise it was exactly the right place for him. So different from our Asquith experience where they seemed to find him distasteful (only word I can use really).

[spiker]

My ds is also at a BB and there is an issue there at the moment following a complaint. Happy to discuss this if anybody CATs me, but as it wasn't me who complained and it might be malicious, not fair to name and shame I think. Incidentally I'm mostly happy with the care.

Butty - sounds like you've been doing all the right things; escalate at BB/Ofsted/Council/CAB/maybe Trading Standards? If your main aim is to alert other parents to lack of professional care standards then going to the press would provide the most results, but I guess would depend on there being other parents at that BB who have had similar bad experiences and are willing to talk. Sounds hideous.