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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be annoyed that nursery have withdrawn my childcare provision

52 replies

umptyflump · 10/02/2016 18:09

DS2 aged two goes to school nursery one day a week, which I pay for while I work. I cram in another couple of days over the course of a week, over part of two further days and some evening and weekend work. It is a really small school and they have only just started doing two year old places (six months ago). DS has been there from the start of that (and is the only child who has been there that long). Today they told me that as of a week on Monday, the place on a Monday is unavailable as they are not employing the person on that day as some parents' hours have changed and there's now no demand for the places. The alternative days don't work for me, as part of two days I have cover from family which fits in with their and my commitments, the other two I don't work and DS has activities. I need cover on Monday. I said I might be able to move to Thursday if I can persuade FIL/MIL to move to Monday, but MIL works on a Monday. Apparently they will try but it is full. AIBU to be fucking furious annoyed? In the interests of not drip feeding, the head and I disagree on quite a few issues as she's not keen on points of view that differ from her own However it isn't personal :) DS will start pre-school nursery at the school in September.

OP posts:
NeedsAsockamnesty · 10/02/2016 19:44

Do you really only have one childminder in say a 10 mile radius? Or do you not drive?

Loads of childminders will do early drop offs and breakfasts so you can scoop out of bed and go but obviously to do that a car is helpful

greenfolder · 10/02/2016 19:49

Every form of childcare in my 21 years of parenting have had more demand than supply on a Monday. It makes no sense

Original poster
umptyflump · 10/02/2016 19:53

As I said in the OP, I pay. Some of the newer pupils are on funded places though. I would have thought the most sensible way to maximise budget would be to keep the ones who pay and ask the funded places to 'back fill' into the spaces around them rather than lose the paying pupils.

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Original poster
umptyflump · 10/02/2016 19:58

I live in a rural area. As far as I know there are two childminders in the area who are both very busy. To go to the nearest (very small) town I would have a 40 mile round trip each day to do drop off and pick up.

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Original poster
umptyflump · 10/02/2016 20:12

greenfolder and others - it makes no sense to me either. Monday should be the busiest day. They also haven't advertised that they have capacity. To me they are cutting their market completely, as they have no space at all should someone come along and need it. They used to have no cover on another day. People applied and asked for that day, so they went to five days. Now back to four (well three and a half as the don't do Friday pm) but taking out Monday.

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CrohnicallyAspie · 10/02/2016 20:32

You would think that, being a school nursery and the places being funded, they would work on a termly basis- seeing as the funding is worked that way! (Funding for children becomes available 3 times a year, September, January and April)

It makes no sense to give only 1 weeks notice, staff will have required more notice than that so if someone has left or similar, they should have informed you then.

Are you sure they definitely mean next monday? Only it's half term for a lot of places, do they mean during the half term holiday he can't attend Monday? Or could they possibly mean after the Easter holiday, not the half term holiday?

Kitsandkids · 10/02/2016 20:37

How close to 3 is he and is he quite a 'grown up' 2 or more of a 'baby' 2? If nearly 3 and also fairly mature (as much as 2 and 3 year olds ever can be!) I think I'd be asking if he could join the pre-school nursery for that session. I worked in a school once that for the first term only had 2 nursery children in the afternoon session. Instead of paying the teacher full time hours, the nursery teacher only worked mornings for the first term and the 2 afternoon children went into Reception every day.

RudeElf · 10/02/2016 20:38

Goodness i am amazed they dont have a demand for places! People are crying out for nursery places. I reckon something else is going on tbh.

Original poster
umptyflump · 10/02/2016 20:39

No - they mean a week on Monday. No staff have left. A parent has changed their work hours and that means my DS would apparently be the only one left on Mondays (but like I say they had 6 or more in this Monday). I think they change staff hours fairly arbitrarily. There is only one person who works in the nursery (other than the EY teacher and TAs as required).

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Original poster
umptyflump · 10/02/2016 20:40

He's still in nappies kits, but quite a big boy, which I guess could be a problem. He's a summer born so not three for a while.

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Original poster
umptyflump · 10/02/2016 20:42

RudeElf I think there isn't a demand because they don't publicise the nursery well enough. It is an issue I've debated with the head a few times.

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RandomMess · 10/02/2016 20:45

Are there no childminders/nurseries where you work - or is it all from home?

RudeElf · 10/02/2016 20:45

They need to advertise their spaces! Surely that is common sense?

Original poster
umptyflump · 10/02/2016 20:48

Random very few childminders as I said earlier and I work from home in a rural area. By the time I drove to childminders and back and did school drop off, then same at the other end of the day, I might as well take my chances with putting CBeebies on and ignoring him :)

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Original poster
umptyflump · 10/02/2016 20:49

RudeElf that would be common sense, yes. Hard to get that through sometimes though.

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RandomMess · 10/02/2016 20:53

Yeah I wasn't 100% sure from what you wrote but I thought that was the case Sad

Original poster
umptyflump · 10/02/2016 20:57

He loves nursery though. He knows when it is Monday, and asks if he's going to school with DS1. He will be inconsolable if he can't go. I am not looking forward to trying to explain that to him.

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witsender · 10/02/2016 21:28

Even if the parents themselves don't pay, the nursery is paid by the Govt...

Blondeshavemorefun · 10/02/2016 21:56

fair enough if have no other children, but surely if they advertise then spaces will get filled

did they only have one member of staff on a monday then?

what does contract say about notice? would expect least a month so saying next week is not on

Original poster
umptyflump · 10/02/2016 22:01

They drafted an extra TA in for a Monday when they had more than four children. I'm pushing them for at least two more weeks following the half term - I think that is only fair.

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Original poster
umptyflump · 10/02/2016 22:02

I don't have a contract

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littleducks · 11/02/2016 06:43

Contact the council

LIZS · 11/02/2016 07:02

Yanbu at the notice but school nurseries and funded places were not set up as childcare provision but for early education ( aimed at the more disadvantaged but universal). Council should be able to direct you to a list of alternative providers. Alternatively if you can find a family in similar circumstances is a nanny share an option? There must be terms and conditions which applied when you agreed to pay for the place, check their website.

Original poster
umptyflump · 11/02/2016 08:03

No terms and conditions, I promise. And nothing about it on the website. Rural area, no nannies. There just isn't the same availability of things like that as there might be in other places in the country. A friend had a nanny and it took her months to find one and then the nanny went and got another job. Not worth it for less than five months (three year old provision would start after the summer).

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DoJo · 11/02/2016 08:54

I suspect the problem is ratios - if the rest of the group on a Monday are 3+ then they may technically need another member of staff just to be able to accommodate your 2 year old in the setting. The funding that nurseries get from the government for those aged 3+ is much lower than the rates that parents pay, so if they have a group of funded 3 year olds and the only income they get from them is the NEF payment, then adding a 2 year old into the mix who needs a higher staff-to-child ratio could mean that they would have to run at a loss.

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