To stop sending my child to nursery cause they allow him outside

[O8O818]

here me out, I hope I'm not being PFB but I am so fed up with my child's nursery. Time and time again I've said he is not to be outside, but nobody listens! Each day he comes home caked in mud, all up his back, caked on his shoes, not wearing any gloves or a hat, some times not even wearing his wellies just his indoor shoes! Its Baltic. On Friday I went to collect him and they said he was outside making hot chocolate... with the mud he was rolling around like a pig in shit but he was covered from head to toe, in his hair, his ears, his back from when another kid through a mudball at him I don't know whether I'm overreacting though? Aibu!!

Can't be arsed to read beyond the front page but I always put my kids in 'nursery' clothes fully expecting them to come home covered in mud/paint/bits of gluey pasta. I wanted them to get stuck-in to having new experiences & not being worried at the end of the day. I saw plenty of mums though who sent their tots in wearing Monsoon and they'd be covered in felt pen/egg with snipped holes etc by the end of the day.

I know the thread is long but can people please stop telling the OP that time outside is good and she's being unreasonable. Before posting please consider Hazey's points.

The op's 2 year old is left outside alone

The staff do not put him in the appropriate clothes and do not make sure he is dry and comfortable afterwards

He's having the time of his life! He's lucky he gets outside.

The issue here is surely the supervision (Or lack of). I can't think of a single childcare setting I've seen (and I've seen lots) that would leave a child solo in the garden. Also Ofsted are pretty hot on appropriate clothing and staff explaining the reasons why to the children.

So Id ask for a meeting with the manager, don't focus on dirty clothes, say you're concerned that despite you providing appropriate attire he isn't wearing it and you're concerned at the lack of supervision. His/her reaction would inform my next steps.

www.careinspectorate.com/index.php/scswis-complaint-form

Unlike the majority of gormless posters jumping in on this thread, i have RTFT.

This is seriously poor quality care from the nursery staff and it IS a safeguarding concern.

At the age of two, children are still developing their fine motor skills and need help with coats and shoes. Failing to help them dress to prepare for going out in cold weather is neglect.

Aside from the being inappropriately dressed for outside, he should never be left unsupervised out there. Kids eat all sorts of things, my cousin used to eat slugs and snails up til the age of 5!!

The Care Inspectorate would take this very seriously. The nursery should have an outdoor play policy. I'd be emailing the manager strict instructions for his care going forward and be collecting him at different times. Some nursery workers hardly have two brain cells to rub together and blatant favouritism of children is a definite issue.

Notify the Care Inspectorate today. This is not on.

I take my dd to nursery in wellies and leave slippers there. She had wet socks everyday last week from playing out in shoes . If she was taken outside in her slippers I would be fuming.

Omg.... The state of that Wellington, I would ask them to replace them.
I ensure when my children are wearing wellingtons that they only ever walk on clean concrete paths.
Children should not be encouraged to experience good old fun outdoors, the quicker they get on the xbox or in front of the TV the better

Next Nursery Day, give them a (fairly formal) letter, saying something like :-

Dear Nursery Manager,

As you will know from the concerns I have verbally addressed to your staff, I continue to find that my two year old child is not only spending extended periods of time outside inappropriately clothed, but is also spending much of that time alone and unsupervised.

First of all may I say that, on the plus side, I applaud and support your fresh air policy and am delighted that my child joins in with all forms of outdoor weather and age appropriate play.

I will ensure that I always provide suitable clothing for this and think you will agree that in the winter (and for the level of mud-play that seems to be enjoyed) an all-in-one outdoor suit, wellington boots, a hat and gloves would be suitable.
These will be provided daily and I ask that, for your part, you ensure that all staff are aware that they must ensure he is wearing this outdoor clothing for outdoor play.

Further to outdoor play, and of particular concern, is the fact that he is spending a lot of his outdoor play-time alone. That is, entirely alone outside, so not supervised by any member of staff.
At just two years old, this does not seem appropriate (or even allowable) from a safeguarding point of view. Can you advise me of your policies with regards to supervision outside?

I do hope these matters can be addressed with immediate effect, and will review the situation within the next two weeks. I look forward to hearing from you,

Yours sincerely,
O8O818

Sooooo many people not bothering to read beyond OPs opening post🙄

READ. THE. THREAD.
Or don’t bother commenting at all.

That's a very good letter template Deafly. OP I know you say you don't have an email for nursery but I would be very surprised if they don't have one. If possible I would email it to make sure there was a paper trail. Going off your previous requests being ignored I think a letter like that would be misplaced (or ignored on purpose)

Unless there is a medical reason he shouldn’t be playing outside, for example he has CF, then yeah you are being unreasonable.

Sorry just read the full thread and see that your issue is with the nursery, not him going outside. You need to officially complain and potentially remove him. It’s not a safe environment!

As always, love the posters who think that in over 250 posts no one else would have suggested that he should be dressed appropriately.

Tbf I'm reasonably impressed if my 3 year old is wearing anything more than pants. (Nursery seems to have marginally more luck and usually get her to keep to leggings and T-shirt) today I'm winning at parenting and she's wearing a skirt and T-shirt (it's also fucking Baltic here in Northern Ireland). She is always bogging however if there's mud she'll find it so I wouldn't find that part odd.

My DM has worked in a nursery for years and OFSTED are insistent that all the children spend time outdoors each day, regardless of weather. So i'm afraid you'll have to put up with it. Besides, it's good for them!

If you let your 2yr old play outside for an hour unsupervised in gym shoes and indoor clothes in the weather we have had in Scotland in the past couple of weeks you would have been accused of neglect. Is there some miracle get out clause for nurseries? ( No there isnt in fact its their duty to ensure kids are dressed appropriately and supervised. Op doesnt have to put up with neglect at all)

children should not be encouraged to experience good old fun outdoors, the quicker they get on the xbox or in front of the TV the better

Maybe adults shouldnt be allowed to reply to threads without basic reading and comprehension skills.

As my mum used to say "you never look more stupid than when you are being a smart arse."

Nearly 300 posts and people still cant grasp the basic premis of ops concerns.

They probably encourage him to do all the mud play because you said he 'wasn't allowed outside' :-D

Eugh get a grip!

Aaaaaaaaaasagh.

Eugh read the thread!

I have read the thread, I don't know why people post when they haven't.

Anyway, I think this is shocking, I'm a childminder and wouldn't dream of just letting a child roll about in the mud without putting his waterproofs on first, or let a child play in the garden unsupervised.

You say there aren't any other nurseries nearby, are there any childminders?

YANBU on the grounds that they are letting him get too cold and wet when they could easily help him to slip into the right clothes.

The lack of supervision is a major concern, anything could happen whilst he is alone. How can they justify that it's ok to do that.

The mud is not the problem here. The shitty level of care he's receiving is a BIG problem.

The nursery sounds awful on supervision, but I take any day my kid comes home filthy or covered in paint as a win as he’s obviously had a cracking day.

You seem to be making heavy weather on the coats and jackets? For all seasons, my kids only have nursery coats that are waterproof and just about anything can be wiped off them, including mud and paint. The Gap warmest coats are my favourite - thy are 50% off at the moment.

I asked before why he's outside alone "oh he loves it, it allows us to have other 1-1 time with other children" "he is so well behaved he doesn't need a teacher out there" "He's the only one out there, tinkly laugh the others found it too cold" have been their responses**

WTF? This is wholly inappropriate OP. I say this as an ex Nursery Practitioner and Teaching Assistant.

I would be asking for a meeting with the nursery manager and room leader if they have one. This is just not on.

The mud is not the problem here. The shitty level of care he's receiving is a BIG problem.

Nicely summed up BarbarianMum