to feel uncomfortable dropping dd off at nursery to staff I don't know?

[Blankiefan]

7mo dd has been at nursery for 3 months and I've made an effort to get to know the staff who work in the baby room. they're all lovely and I feel we've established a good rapport.

I understand that they use supply staff when needed - it's probably one of the benefits for me as their ability to cover staff absence means that I don't have to work round holidays/sickness as I'd have to with a CM. they tend to use the same supply staff and I've made an effort to get to know them too.

But for the last 2 Fridays, when I've dropped dd off, it's been 2 members of staff I don't know (so 4 different people in 2 weeks). To make matters worse, last week the 2 new-to-us people gave dd to DH at pick up time without having met him or asking for the password. It's fine for DH to pick her up, but they effectively gave my daughter to a stranger without any checks.

It all feels a bit slack - both in terms of turnover of staff looking after dd and in safety protocols.... AIBU or should I have a word?

I completely understand, YANBU especially about them handing her over to DH who could have been anyone.

I can't believe they didn't know to check for the password or check with other staff that he is known to them.

I would have a word with management about that because that's ridiculous!
Obviously they can't do anything about having the same substitute staff but handing a child over to who ever is a big problem

A certain amount of staff turnover (and/or use of agency staff) just has to be lived with, I'm afraid.

Not checking who is picking up is a major issue though. Is it really just room staff though? No manager keeping an eye out?

I'm afraid along with the positives you have mentioned this is a drawback to nurseries.
The handing over to dh thing I'm not sure I would need more information. At our local nursery to get into the building beyond reception you have to be buzzed in by the staff member on reception who would have queried someone they didn't know so would be a recognised person to have got as far as the baby room at all so it wouldn't be a big deal to me that they then handed her over.

I have collected friends dc from a different nursery going in through reception where I had been queried already just got handed child I had asked for. Another time they were I. The garden playing and was asked for password.

Do they have a photo of your DH on file?

Did one of the other staff see him coming and say "Oh that's Baby Blankie's dad"?

I wasn't there but having forced convinced my unsociable DH to also get to know the team, he didn't recognise anyone there.

Our baby room has a separate door to the rest of the nursery with an unlocked door to the vestibule then a glass windowed door into the baby room. So, it'd have been the staff in the room who let him in. No photos on file of either of us. He said he was baby blankie's dad. To be fair, she was all smiles and happiness to see him (so maybe obvious she knew him) but it's hardly top class security.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-24402722

well i would have thought they would have been more careful after reports like this (how did the grandfather not notice?)

When my ds was at nursery 10 years ago, I had to give in photographs of people who would be picking him up. On the off chance I was detained at work, someone they didn't have a photo of, I would need to call them and give a description plus a password! Same applied at different nursery with dd years later. I wouldn't be happy with this op.

Re the different staff, that is one of the disadvantages of Nurseries - people will be out on courses, on AL, covering elsewhere, off sick, etc.

The handing over without knowing your dh is perhaps different - difficult to know that no-one said 'that's Blankie's dd's Dad' as he approached / came in, but if that definitely didn't happen, then, yes, I would speak to the manager about why they handed a baby over to someone who hadn't brought her in, and was not known to the staff in the room - I'd check first though.

I know how you feel. My son's first nursery was from 6 mo. I liked nursery and baby room managers, and all original staff but they closed another nursery and merged into ours. I was going to collect not knowing staff plus it was suddenly busy and different atmosphere.

To their credit they asked for regular feedback and so I told them when asked that I hadn't been introduced to new staff.

Maybe you can feed this back as a suggestion? Wouldn't take much effort for that staff member to say 'hi I'm xxx'. The security issue isn't good though which makes me wonder if these are work placement students from college perhaps? If so, nursery should be supervising better.

I'd say speak to manager about it but if you don't feel reassured then look for another nursery.

Yanbu....dd nursery don't really have supply staff.... but any different or less frequent faces are introduced by person or by email even if they are just there for the day.

Seems a bit lax

That's awful, it would never happen at my nursery, they are very strict on both continuity (DS at that age would have been distraught about not knowing the staff he was left with) and about making sure handover happened with someone who knows the parent/carer. When DS moved up a room recently, the people doing handover didn't know me so they went and found someone who did before they'd let DS go. (DS was at the time shouting MUMMY! It's my MUMMY! but I was pleased they still practised good security.

I'd talk to the nursery manager and consider moving if you don't get satisfactory answers.