AIBU to worry about nursery staff turnover and consider moving DS?

@Worriedforson1
You really need to go with your gut sweets, bottom line!

There are good and bad out there do what you think is right.

If you go through with the change hopefully the new place is better. I don’t think there’s anything clearly wrong from what you’ve said other than turnover. Just because the woman seems happy doesn’t mean there’s something you’re not aware of going on. Some people are just cheerful people. Some people are good at putting on a smile. She may like working with children but got a better offer in terms of wages or hours.

I’ve experienced staff members leaving at the nursery my children go to. It can be sad if you like the person and they get on well with your child.

It does seem to happen in waves. I have had that in workplaces before too. I think people leaving makes others think of what they’re doing with their life. Like others say the conditions aren’t the best in the sector as a whole.

I am a nursery owner. I have a single setting and I am term time only, Mon to Fri 9-3. Over the years I have had lots of turn over.

The vast majority is due to people starting out young then realising to get anywhere tou need money and 30h a week 39 weeks of the year just isn't going to cut it. Then I have the flip side. I have the slightly older staff who want hours that work around their children and school, then their children grow and workers can take on more hours.

My other problem is numbers. We are based in a deprived area so 95% of the children are funded by the local authority. I dont know where this leaves me year on year, some times term on term. I may have extra staff in if I have a SEN child some time more than one, when the child leaves, I may not have another with significant needs and I have not renew the staff members contract.

It is a very, very tough industry. We are expected to do more and more year on year. No one asks us if we can manage what they are expecting, especially with funded children. The checks they want, the learning journals, the paper work is huge, but the funding sometimes is just enough to cover the child at the setting, so pay is rubbish. I admit it.

Then there is the responsibility. I have taken so much from work home with me over the years, mentally and I know my staff do too. Some people just get to the point where they want a job where everything stays at the work place door. Which I get.

It could be a combination of many of these. I treat my staff the way I want a manager to treat me but there are places out there where you are just a number, especially chain settings, maybe there was a change in management, maybe new expectations are in place that the workers don't agree with. I know of setting where you are expected to take things how, where you are expected to do training and courses in your own time, where you are expect to be in work 15min before and 15min after and not be paid for it. This is.wring 100% but the childcare industry is on its knee, many setting have to rely on the good will of their works rightly or wrongly and not all agree, this is due to funding.

It may not be for the reasons of the quality of care, safety etc is why they are leaving, it could be so much more.

I worked in private nurseries for 20 years and I would never ever go back. The cliques of staff are awful, favouritism is alive and well, the pay is low (although so is that of a TA wage, I'm much happier working in a school) you're expected to be giving 100% all of the time with next to no resources (the amount of stuff I've bought for those places from my own pocket adds up to so much over the years, and then they have the audacity to search your bag on the way out in case you've stolen anything of theirs!) Expected to start your shift 10 minutes early yet god forbid you get back off your lunch 30 seconds late, having to hold your pee in because someone has decided to go and have a skive talking to the management and if YOU leave the room you're out of ratio.... being blamed for children falling over a sometimes they do, the list goes on. I think the final straw for me was having to empty the bins in the room to look for a pair of socks for a child that had barely just turned 1 had lost a few days before, because they were her absolute favourite pair, and she couldn't rest until we found them. Never did come across them, but she came in with them on a few days later, no apology from the parent, and we had all been given a stern talking to by management because 'if we hadn't seen her taking them off and losing them, clearly we weren't watching the children closely enough'.
I've had parents complain I'm too happy, not happy enough, I didn't greet them quickly enough, I put nursery clothes on their child when they didn't have any spares in their bag, I didn't wash heavily soiled underwear (who wants someone's poo spraying up in their face as you rinse them in the basin you use to wash your hands!) Oh, and then the parent lets slip that they don't wash them either, they just bin them!

Many more examples, too many to mention, but I hope this gives you an insight into what it's like to work in childcare!

TBH I work in a nursery and the turnover is crazy everyone seems to leave in big groups all one after the other. The class I work in currently seems to have this happen kinda every 6 months. Yeah often it's due to changes being made behind the scenes some that may be affecting the children and others like reducing lunch breaks for staff, management pressue and things like that making staff unhappy causing them to leave. If there are other things you are unhappy with then maybe it's something to look at but consider how long your child would he in the new nursery if they are a school leaver I wouldn't bother but if they are younger it could be something to consider.

The nursery we had had very little turnover. Was run by a daughter of one of the key workers and 'manned' essentially by a group of grans.

I've heard horror stories about the child minders locally so I don't think you can apply blanket rules about these things.

Day nurseries are awful places to work. Staff turnover is often high even is nice nurseries. The pay is rubbish, the hours are long, everyone one has their own different agendas. Look for a childminder if you need long days, and preschool if you just want social development.

We had this situation for my son. Lots of staff leaving coincided with him no longer being happy to go in. We found another nursery where staff situation seemed more stable and moved him - even though it was only for about ten months until he went to preschool nursery. Was the right decision and he was much more settled in new one with predictable staff.

Im a NNEB nursery nurse with many many years of experience. In 2018 I decided I just couldn't take any more, working for minimum wage with young girls who really didn’t have the same training and left for a cleaning job in a care home. Obviously that was only minimum wage but alot less stressful. A year later I set up my own cleaning business and it was such a success. I retired last year.
I missed the children when I left but I can't believe anyone works in childcare these days. Only ONE of my former colleagues is still in childcare and she hates it.

Stop with the questions. She doesn't owe you an explanation. You are being prying and overbearing. She was acting uncomfortable because you were probably making her uncomfortable. She could be quiting for any reason she wants to and none of them are your business. Leave the poor woman alone.

When I was battling depression not even my close family members could tell and were surprised when I decided to get treatment. Not saying that she's depressed, but she's not your friend or family member. She's someone hired to be friendly and nice with the kids and parents. She may not even be dissatisfied with her job, but just got an opportunity to make more money or get better hours.

High staff turnover is very common especially for the amazing staff… they are chasing a unicorn an amazing workplace…. Aren’t we all

For me My DD has this and it has also been management so I’d rather the same location and environment for stability rather than a complete change but as someone else says trust your instincts

I worked in a private school for two years as a TA and the staff turnover was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. We had TAs leaving after two days in the job. They were (and still are) desperate for TAs at all times due to the high staff turnover.

I’m not surprised this is happening in nursery settings too. I’d consider a child minder instead. I’d imagine that would provide more consistency for your DC.

I work in early years, high staff turnover is never a good sign. I’d be concerned too.

ive found that staff turnover in a private nursery is much higher than turnover in Local Authority nursery due to pay and conditions,

IME (two DC at two nurseries, but going back 10+ years now), high staff turnover is very common. DS1 had three keyworkers and DS2 had several as well. The pay is shit, the staff are young and often nurseries aren't great places to work. The hours are long and the work isn't exactly exciting - you're changing nappies, putting/on taking off coats and wellies, setting up and clearing up activities, snacks and meals, dealing with tantrums and crying children - it's my idea of hell tbh!

If staff are leaving it could be a sign that it's not necessarily a good place to work/ they aren't offering the best wages/ there are bad working practices /maybe some of the staff who are left behind aren't nice to work with.

The reasons i have left nurseries are due to management and the other staff.

If you like a job and all the working conditions are good (not perfect) then why would you leave?

It’s hard work for little reward. There are easier jobs. It’s probably as simple as that.

For a lot of people working in a nursery isn't the job that they want to do for the rest of their lives. The pay is not great and parents can be awful at times to work with. You can't expect someone to stay in a job that doesn't pay the bills or that their unhappy at just so your child can have stability.