To be concerned about this member of staff at the nursery??

Sorry, not to be impolite but who is it that you feel is evidently in the wrong job - the new young employee who doesn't understand why another colleague's inappropriate behaviour towards the children is tolerated and is trying to gain advice about what to do to bring this up? Or the colleague who is doing the inappropriate behaviour towards the children?

Please do report OP. Abuse like this tends to escalate and children in her care could be in danger if she's left alone with them.

She’s evidently in the wrong job. I’d def, have a word with the manager. I dare say it’s not easy to recruit the most suitable staff, though.

Me too.

I work in a school and there is an imbedded culture of being curious and speaking up and therefore all of us know how to report and are encouraged to do so even at a very low level.

Have a word with your manager OP.

Perfect response! @RaspberryJammy this is great supportive non hysterical advice. I hope you’re ok, it’s a very difficult thing to do but knowing you’ve raised it will give you peace of mind.

I'm not sure that's helpful, sorry. This is a new employee in a workplace where others are apparently tolerating the behaviour. OP has reached out for advice/reassurance. Have any of the others?

If you don’t report this, you are complicit.
Surely you have been trained in raising safeguarding concerns??

I'm a nurse and absolutely would report someone if I heard them speaking to someone they are caring for with such disrespect. I have been in this situation during personal care and I asked the person to immediately step out and swap with another rather than letting the abuse continue, then reported them.

Please report this. As others have said: it is critical for the children in her care as these are some red flags, but also report it because your co-worker might be struggling and need some extra support. If she is struggling with depression or something she may be unaware of her deteriorating care standards.
This isn't about getting anyone into trouble. It is about protecting everyone involved.

Op, Ignore the snide comments and listen to @Ilovelurchers and others who are saying that it is unacceptable behaviour from the staff member and does need reporting but who also recognise that this can be difficult for a new or part time member, especially if others seem to tolerate the behaviour and who understand why you posted in here first.

Hi OP, if you feel you can’t report to the manager/DSL then please report to the local authority.

Thanks. Appreciated

Well done for posting on here, and getting the reassurance you need, to report this woman immediately. You will have done safeguarding training, but sometimes it is difficult to put principles into practice the minute you see something disturbing.

I agree @GranPepper

Nobody says workplace culture is an acceptable excuse to mistreat children. What has been said is, it's difficult as a young new employee to realise the culture of your new workplace seems to tolerate an employee who's been there longer than you not treating the children appropriately. I think OP (the new employee) appears to realise the behaviour of her "colleague" is unacceptable, probably doesn't understand why it has been tolerated and not addressed previously, and wants to protect the children but wants people to reassure her what she should do for the best. She could have just kept her head down and said nothing. She could have just left for another employer and left the children under this other person. She hasn't. She's came on here seeking advice/reassurance. It is all well and good telling people to become the one who puts their head above the parapet in a workplace that appears to tolerate inappropriate behaviour if you are not the one in the position. I think OP should be thanked for caring about the children enough to reach out for help/reassurance

I won't take the blame for someone else in the future not reporting so don't try that nonsense. The children don't have the liberty of knowing they are safe. They feel upset and cannot advocate for themselves.

Err…well have you reported it?? Instead of posting it on a forum? What’s this staff member to you? Surely you don’t owe them anything.

If you don’t feel that the manager takes the issue seriously you can escalate to the LADO yourself.

Or go straight to ofsted

Report to DSL, and if they do nothing, go to LADO. I hope you've had safeguarding training so know this already. It's not acceptable and "workplace culture" is not an excuse for mistreating children.

I worked in childcare a long time ago with a woman like this. She was quite aggressive with staff too if you weren't one of her favourites. She got sacked for smacking a child across the head. in the end. It wasn't a proper smack, it was more of an exaggerated gesture with a soft tap but it was unacceptable and her cold, rough manner of the children really went against her. Everyone suddenly started to speak up where before everyone was too afraid. Go straight to your manager and if they don't do anything then you need to go to head office.

This. Absolutely.

OP, You are the one who has the power to stop this child being abused because that's exactly what it is. In turn, you will also help protect other children.
Everything you have listed is disgusting behaviour from a childcare practitioner. I know it has been normalised in your setting but I am telling you now, it is not OK. Trust me, you will sleep easier at night knowing you did the right thing.

I worked as a DSL in the past and it is VERY common even for highly trained, competent, caring staff, to struggle to make the decision to report when a colleague is involved.

It's very easy to see that something needs reporting when you hear about it from the outside, but when you are there and know the people involved, especially if you are less experienced than them, it can be hard - I think because we are conditioned to trust our team mates, so at first you can't quite believe the evidence of your own eyes.

OP has made a wise decision to post here so that she can gain reassurance and support that what she is doing is right. I think we should applaud her for identifying this and being willing to bring it to light, not criticise her because she wanted to check her decision anonymously first.....

What if a woman in OP's decision didn't dare post in future, because of all the cries of "why did you post this, why don't you know?". So they just stay silent and a child gets harmed .....