What happens at a pre-school nursery?

[BubblesDeVere]

DD2 is starting pre-school nursery soon, today I went with her on an introduction, and, though the children there all seem very very happy and the teachers are very nice, I was shocked by the lack of general supervision.

One teacher was outside with all the children on bikes etc and inside there were even more, there were a certain group of boys and they were going round taking toys off everyone and pushing and generally being rowdy.

None of the teachers seemed to notice this, i'm sure if I noticed it then they should have. There are 13 children in dd2s class alone and there are 4 other groups.

Should I be concerned? especially as these boys are in her class and were rowdy whilst drinking.

Don't know what to do, I had an argument with the old headmistress over something that I disagreed with there when dd1 started.

[Twiglett]

sorry but can't get over 3 & 4 year old boys being "rowdy whilst drinking"

[BubblesDeVere]

LOL twiglett, trust you

I meant drinking milk of course.

[Twiglett]

boys play differently from girls

no they shouldn't be taking toys off other children, but are you sure that was what was happening? I am sure you would have heard wails and screams from the other children if it were so.

And a teacher shouldn't let that kind of behaviour go on for too long, although it is important to let young children find their own limits and establish parameters within their social sets

I don't think I'd be overly concerned to be honest, I'd just keep an eye and see what happens over the next month

[MaryP0p1]

Bubbles perhaps go and see some others. If you don't like that have a look at others so you can compare.

[BubblesDeVere]

There was no crying and screaming whilst I was there and they did seem generally happy.

MaryP0p1 I don't really want her to go to another nursery as this one is really really good and the teachers are fab. I was just surprised thats all.

[MaryP0p1]

I work in nurseries and have always felt that a nursery is a bit like clothes, just because they fit doesn't always mean they suit.

IMHO they should have noticed but perhaps they didn't want to make an issue while you were there. Was there lots of parents there, if so I have always found this to be a bit disruptive tothe routine and the children and aften very excited but the prospect of visitors not always in a positive way.

Did the ratio's meet the standards (1:8 for 3&4 years old)? If not thats a whole other issue.

[BubblesDeVere]

Sorry don't understand the ratio's . I was the only parent there.

[MaryP0p1]

For every employed adult there can be 8 children. So for example for a group of 24 children you would need to have a minimum of 3 staff members.

[BubblesDeVere]

right, well, my daughters teacher has 13 in her group.

[MaryP0p1]

So she should have 2 teachers with the group. In my nursery regardless of the size of the group we insist on 2 teachers outside so in an emergency help can be sought without leaving the children. I wouldn't be happy with the ratio you described in your initial post.

[BubblesDeVere]

to be honest i wasnt aware of the teacher to child ration and i might enquire about that

[MaryP0p1]

Its OFSTED that insist on it and if the nursery are not ensuring the ratio's are met they could get in serious trouble with OFSTED.

[BubblesDeVere]

Thanks for that, i'll check into it

[MaryP0p1]

Good luck and tell me what they say please. I'm interested to hear their reasoning.

[BubblesDeVere]

Certainly will do. I think the other classes are of similar sizes, there is only 1 assistant that i can see and a playgroup runs in the other room.

[BadHair]

Last September, ds1 moved from my workplace nursery to the pre-school nursery that is attached to the local infant school. The old nursery seemed to have loads of staff, but the new one has less. They seem to manage their staffing by having two teachers each in charge of a group of about 10, but with another teacher sort of floating in between as a helper. So in an overall group of 20 there are 3 teachers, iyswim.

Have to say that the transition from cosy nursery to boisterous pre-school was more of a trauma for me than for him. He loves it. I miss the one-to-one handover that you get from a baby nursery - I have to rely on ds1 to tell me what he's been up to each day, and tbh he's a bit vague at the best of times. Took him nearly a week to tell me that he was going to be in the Christmas play, etc. On the whole I'm happy because he's happy, but I can't help wishing it was a bit more like his old baby nursery.

If you're unsure, I'd say talk to the staff about your concerns, and check out another pre-school nearby to compare. Can you speak to the other parents too?

[BubblesDeVere]

I do know a couple of the other parents, so i will have a chat with them.

[purpleturtle]

I thought that if the nursery was attached to a school the staff: child ratio was 1:13. Let's face it, once they're 4-5 it's 1:30 (and I struggle with 2!)

[stripey]

Ds1 is at pre-school nursery and there are at least 20 children with only 1 Teacher and 1 Assistant. He loves it there and all the children seem happy and are learning lots. She somehow manages to keep them all in line?

[MaryP0p1]

Not as far as I understand the rules its 1:8 for 3/4 years olds. When there in primary school there is normally a Teacher and a teaching assistant so even there the ratios are lower than 1:30.