to think nurseries shouldn't take over children's centres?

[Chulita]

We go to a local children's centre for their stay & play session which is free (but they appreciate a donation in the tea/snack pot as most do). It's got a small soft play, very small sensory room and a craft/play room.

Recently a local nursery has started bringing 8-10 children at a time with 2 helpers. They stay for the full time and all stick together as a group for obvious reasons but whichever room they're in is then full and there's no room for anyone else. At snack time they have a knack of pre-empting the time and all sit down so there are usually about 4 or 5 mums sitting on the floor with their children on their knees. Some of us bring in birthday cake/biscuits to share along with the fruit the centre provides but because the nursery children have the chairs they often finish it off and the other children go without. The nursery staff never bring anything to share despite their mindees sharing what others bring.

I know it's a children's centre and it's for children, none of us have to pay but surely this nursery is getting paid to mind the children, funded for some of them. It just seems a bit cheeky imo.
AIBU to think they're a bit out of order?

"I don't see how childminder sessions is to blame for your friend's isolating circumstances"

I don't recall saying it was to blame for her circumstances.

I'm giving up talking to you now grumple, you don't seem able to grasp anything I'm saying without twisting it to read something else into it.

Your friend that can't go on a Monday really has nothing to complain about. She sould walk, or get the bus, or do something else, or try and arrange a lift, or see if she can change the day that she gets the car.

It is her responsibility because it is her child that she wants to take.

A CC stay and play session is a free added extra on top of all the other stuff that parents get, it is not a right.

i.e. if they have 4 general groups, and one CM group, and they stopped doing a CM group then the total would prob = 4 not 5!

and the kids the CMs bring are some parents' children so I really REALLY don't understand why that should be taken away from them - if their parents work full time then they can't access the four parent groups can they? so they need it really and as has been demonstrated, parents don't like CMs etc at "their" groups so again, they can't win!

I think the unreasonability of this does depend on many variables, such as whether the nursery is private or publicly run, whether the session is well-attended enough not to "need" the extra business from the nursery and so forth. But most nurseries are private, and the OP suggests that it's a thriving group.

I wonder how people would feel if the scenario were translated to other private vs public run services. If BUPA sent their patients to an NHS drop-in health clinic once a week? Or private schools sent their pupils to use the local comprehensive's playing fields every Wednesday?

Childminders are a bit of a red herring too - isn't the OP's main grudge that the nursery takes over the group? Individual childminders aren't likely to do that.

I am a CM. We have a session at the Children's Centre on a Tuesday morning for Childminders, Nannies, aupairs and Foster Carers. We don't get any snacks provided, but we do get a free session. Our Local Authority representative comes and gives us up to date information - legal, training, financial, support, etc. We are not allowed to go to any other sessions, so not all the children in our care get to use the Children's Centre. We have asked if we can go to other sessions, on the understanding that we would leave if it got busy with parents attending, but we are not allowed.

Part of the Government Offer for Children's Centres was to facilitate a Childminder Network.

Not sure about the Nursery attending. If they are making the session too full, then maybe you should talk to the manager of the Centre to see what could be arranged.

As an aside - although ours is a closed session, we have made it clear to the centre that if any parents want to come in to talk to us about different types of childcare, they are very welcome. (and we have never turned away a parent who has come on the wrong day by accident)

"A CC stay and play session is a free added extra on top of all the other stuff that parents get, it is not a right."

Back with the straw man again.

I didn't say it was a right. I said the session wasn't inclusive, which it isn't.

Yes wifty, childminders is a red herring. I agreed that the nursery shouldn't take over the session, then as an aside mentioned the childminder thing.

Inclusion is close to my heart and I know well why it's important, but I don't really see why it matters that a CM session isn't inclusive.

I don't think the issue is with the adults really. It's with a big group of children from one private structured chilcare setting taking up the facilities at a very public similar setting, to the detriment of children who don't have access to the private setting, and scoffing all the cakes. If the nursery wanted to take advantage of the CC facilities then wouldn't it be worth them putting in place a private agreement with the CC for them to use their facilities at a time when public play sessions aren't going on?

erm can I ask my question again as it might save all of this bother - OP is the nursery tagged on to the childrens centre? My DS goes to a nursery thats comes under a sure start centre so they are obviously 'allowed' to use it, maybe this nursery is the same?

OP in my experience CC are very open to feedback, and comments from users, so i suggest you either ask to have a quick word with the manager/ coordinator, or write her a letter outlining your concerns. Noone will take offence.

As for the childminders part, the childrens centre remit is to benefit the community and outcomes for children at the end of eyfs. Through childminders accessing the centre, being able to watch how things are done, interacting with the staff, having opportunities for training and development at the centre it benefits the children in there care. It also benefits the community as more parents are able to work, poverty is reduced etc by having decent childminders, instead of ones who leave kids in front of tv.

obviously a house cannot have the same facilities and space as a cc, but a nursery should have.

The nursery is also part of the community, and you could suggest specific times for the nursery in order so more families can access the cc, and the cc sharing expertise and peer learning with the nursery in order to have best practice improve for the kids in the area and improving outcomes

their care

AMKD that would defeat the purpose don't you see that? some kids in nurseries don't get to socialise outside the nursery AT ALL, its not just about the room and toys, its about being around other different kids too!

I thought one of the best things about nursery is to socialise with other children. If there's a group of 10 children, that's already quite a good-sized group.

AKMD has it exactly: "It's with a big group of children from one private structured chilcare setting taking up the facilities at a very public similar setting, to the detriment of children who don't have access to the private setting".

molly no, it's not attached to the CC, it's a bit of a walk away.

grumple the children don't socialise with any other children because a) they have to stay together so the minders can watch them and b) because they're all together there's no room for anyone else.

There are 2-3 childminders that come with their charges, 2-4 children each and I don't see that as an issue, it's not anything to do with my OP.

I do realise, however, that we are very, very lucky to have this extremely well run/funded CC, we moved last year from somewhere that didn't have anything like this so I know it's not the norm.