Does your child's nursery have days out/ go on trips

[nurseryqaa]

Just wondering if your child's nursery / pre school have days trips out of nursery?

There are 2 nursery's were we live one of them takes the children out regularly for walks to the park/shops etc, I saw 2 nursery teachers with 5 children in the local shop 18 months-2.5 years at most! Both the staff were pregnant and right away I knew my DC would not be going there!! Those baby's could of run into the road and I doubt 2 quite heavily pregnant women could of done much about it whilst having another 4 DC to watch and a bag of shopping in hand..

So we sent her to the other which is great and they stay within the school...

Had a letter today to say they will be going on 2 trips which is fine as obviously she doesn't HAVE to go but does mean she will miss 2 days of nursery..

AIBU to ask if this is the norm now? People may think I am OTT not allowing her to go but she runs of from me and her dad at nearly 3 years old so I don't trust her with all those other children to watch to..

If the nursery didn't take children out, then the full time 8am-6pm dc would never see anything other than the inside of the nursery and the garden. Trips are enriching and educational.
I think the trips are hugely beneficial they get to explore the local area, gain new expierences and learn about appropriate behaviour, holding hands, traffic safety etc.

Also at our school you can't help in your own child's class/trip. So it wouldn't be possible for you to accompany. They do risk assessment.

yes - they go out every day to the parks/farms and have proper trips out about twice a month - zoo etc. We pay extra for these.

I’m in the US but it’s normal, at least in our city, for the kids to go out twice a day (weather permitting). In our case they usually to the zoo or park opposite. The small ones go in strollers, the bigger ones all hold a long rope thing and they all wear brightly coloured bibs with the name of the daycare on it. They do extensive practice inside with the rope before they’re let out on the street. Can you chat to nursery about her tendency to bolt and see if they have a plan to handle it?

When I worked in a nursery 6ish years ago we used to go on lots of trips, they all had reins and high vis jackets, we only put reins on the under 2.5 year olds or the runners.

Yes. Not a lot, but 2-3 times a term, perhaps.
As PP have said, if your child has additional needs, you communicate that to the staff and they give her a wrist strap or one-on-one or whatever is needed.

When eldest dc was in nursery they would go on trips all the time including buses, tubes and long walks to a variety of places. They had a wonderful time, it was just part of being at nursery and learning skills. Was never a big deal and liked the fact my child wasn't just stuck in a nursery all day every day.

Thanks everyone for the feedback I appreciate it, will have a word with her key worker ! X

My local nursery doesn't really do trips - which is one of the reasons why, once DS was here and a reality not an bump, we cancelled the nursery place and got a place with a childminder instead. Trips (just little ones to the supermarket, the park, etc) make him so happy that we really didn't want him spending all day in one building and (nice but small) garden. I understand that you have particular concerns about her development and understanding, but I can't understand why you'd want to respond by not allowing trips, rather than by making sure the right measures had been put in place to allow trips.

Most trips ask for parent volunteers? So can't you just go on the trips?

My DC1’s preschool (ages from 2-4) go on welly walks (we love rurally so there’s lots of woods/farm tracks etc).
Once a month they do a walk down to the local recreation ground where there’s lots of recycling banks, and the children help separate all the recycling into the correct banks, then they play on the playground and have a little picnic if the weather is nice! There’s usually 20-odd kids and 6 staff, and they they all buddy up and hold hands in a big train of children.
I don’t have an issue with it.

Yes, similarly to others, mine goes on trips to the park, the library, the shopping centre etc. All within walking distance though. All goes into their development books so is definitely curricular.

My ds at nursery would go to the local park and the field behind the nursery and when in the pre school room they went to the shop to learn about shops.

Mine do for the 3 year olds but with a higher ratio (1:2). They don’t do many as it’s on a large site so they don’t need to go off site for things like Forrest school or play equipment.

Firstly don't assume a school would allow you to go on a trip.

Secondly, she isn't missing two days of nursery she's just going on an outing.

It’s normal for them to go on local walks. We live rurally so no shops or parks or anything but they fairly regularly take them on walks nearby (to a nearby wood, to a safe place to watch trains pass by, etc.) They walk on a road (not a busy one) and proper ratios are observed. Ones too little to be able to walk safely are taken along in a pushchair. They don’t even tell us when they are going. Definitely never been an issue as we do similar sorts of walks ourselves. It’s nice for them to get out.

They take an actual ‘trip’ about 1-2 times a year where we bring in a car seat and they travel in a staff members car to an outing (usually Christmas related, to see Father Christmas, go to a local Christmas event, etc). We are told about a month in advance and sign consent forms.

If you have any SEN related concerns, I would work with them to address these so your dc can participate. It’s usually lovely for them to do something different. As long as they are following proper procedures, I can’t see how it could be an issue.

DD is 13 months, they go out every day (weather permitting) on walks around the local area. So down to the marina, to the park to feed the ducks, to the library etc. Recently they went to see an art exhibition in the park and realised when they got there that it was entirely unsuitable for children and so went to see the lovely flowers instead.

Babies go in the bus (big buggy thing that can seat 6 or 8) and double buggies. Older ones wear high vis jackets and some use the wrist straps.

I used to see the various age groups around when I was on maternity leave, they always looked to have things well under control. We picked the place precisely BECAUSE they go out, our second choice was in a more convenient location for us but didn't have as many options for walks for the children.

It's would be a shame to prevent your DC getting out an about to have their adventures with their friends. Speak to the staff about your concerns and if you feel any special arrangements need to be put in place.

DDs nursery didn't take them out until the term before starting school. I wouldn't have been happy with trips before then, but the nursery had a huge garden, play area, forest school and allotment, so there was little need to go out and about.

Just do what you feel comfortable with.

My daughter has been with a childminder since 12 mo the old, two days a week. Weather permitting they are out all the time doing activities, trips out etc.

I think it’s brilliant, much better than them being cooped up indoors surely?

We take ours on trips out of nursery. Everything is risk assessed and staffing is decided depending on needs and size of the group going. We know the children who need extra support and staffing allows for this. We also know the children who are likely to be a bit silly so they are more closely supervised but tbh the children are all well behaved when they go out and it often surprises parents.

My DDs Nursery does, but mainly on a Friday as there as fewer children so ratios are higher. DD does not attend on Fridays so tends to miss them. I’m pretty sure I had to sign a form giving consent to outings when she first joined.

DDs nursery often go out, that's one of the things I like about it. They go to local parks, the library, at Christmas they walk to a local care home and sing songs, once they went on the bus and ferry then had fish and chips by the sea, she still talks about how much fun it was! They all wear high vis and walk in a crocodile, there are plenty of staff with them, it's not something I've ever worried about.