AIBU to be mega pissed off with DS nursery???

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Opinions please...my 13 month old has been absolutely fine this week apart from teething so a bit more clingy than usual. No raised temperature or illness. He went to nursery as usual Wednesday & was absolutely fine when I dropped him off, nursery updated the app to say he’s fine eating normally etc. Then at about 2 they call to say he woke up from his nap hot so they did his temp & 39.5 so we need to collect him as so high but till we get there they gave him some calpol. DH went to collect him 30 mins later & he said he seemed fine, got him home did temp & 36, put him down for a nap & temp still 36 when he wakes up & happily eating Easter egg on sofa!
Nursery told my DH because of his temp he needs a negative covid test before coming back...bit extreme I think with his temp rise seemingly lasting less than an hour but fair enough rules are rules. Do him a lateral flow test as we have these in the house & negative...send this off to nursery to which I get a message saying it needs to be a PCR test.
At this I ring the nursery to tell them DS is absolutely fine & I’m not putting him through another PCR test unnecessarily. Their response was if he doesn’t have a test he will need to isolate for 10 day’s as he has ‘covid symptoms’. I tell her surely a fluke temp rise of less than an hour isn’t covid & definitely teething especially as it went down straight after having calpol. She sees my point so rings the director but she again won’t back down & says it’s ‘government guidelines’ & he can’t come back without having a negative PCR test.
Since I was backed into a corner we took him for the test yesterday morning even though yet again he has been ABSOLUTELY FINE & I have myself seen no evidence of a high temperature or illness & are taking their word for it he had a temp of 39.5.
The thing that really makes me angry is their ‘Covid terms & conditions’ means we still have to pay them for his sessions thurs & today un till we get the negative result back...husband works in professional cricket & has had to miss the first game of the season too so not good.
AIBU to be mega pissed at nursery, It all seems so unfair for such a sudden rise & fall in temperature that I never saw evidence of myself??

It's frustrating but it's reasonable policy designed to keep the children and staff as safe as possible. Nursery staff largely won't be vaccinated yet. The rules are the same at schools. Nursery staff work in very close contact with children.
LFT aren't very reliable so a PCR is standard or ten days isolation.

Im glad your DC is feeling feeling. Hopefully when everyone is vaccinated this will stop.

Those have been the rules for some time now. They are there to protect staff and families and stop the spread.

Missing work or having to find alternative childcare is infinitely better than someone getting seriously ill or worse.

If it happens again book a PCR test immediately.

It should be back by the following morning if you get a slot that afternoon.

Annoying - yes.

Over reaction in a pandemic - no.

Its difficult because lateral flow tests shouldn't be used for someone who has symptoms as its not as accurately accurate so I wouldn't expect them to accept it if they were concerned enough to send him home

Unfortunately its very difficult for younger children who do just get temperatures, I know most nursery's have pretty low tolerance for it as its difficult to allow one kid in with a temp and send another home, and understandably they are very worried about closing the nursery and making people isolate

I would be very annoyed if my child or the whole staff/clase had to isolate (and I had to have time off work) because the nursery had knowingly accepted a kid with a temperature without a covid test.

It's to keep everyone safe. They are trying to keep themselves and other children safe. They did the right thing even if it has inconvenienced you. YABU.

Sorry OP, I know it is frustrating but it is standard practice at the moment. If there’s a positive case in his bubble he’ll have to isolate too so at least the negative PCR will enable him to return a bit sooner.

The nursery might be willing to deduct a percentage of the fees, up to a third or so, for the days he cannot attend due to isolation.

They have the rules in place to try to keep everyone safe. It’s not ideal but it’s the best way as things are at the moment to avoid them having to keep shutting.

YABU, sorry. Symptoms mean a PCR test, it's been that way for a long time now. I know it's a pain but it's just how it is, especially for small children who are more likely to have mild or varied symptoms. I'd want my DC's nursery to do exactly as yours has.

I’m a GP. This is exactly the advice Id have given you and I think nursery are absolutely right. Sorry.

Rules are rules I doubt they would lie about a high temp

Really frustrating- they are just following procedures, but Ifeel your frustration

Totally reasonable from the nursery IMO.

How would you feel if another child had a temp (even short lived), continued to come to nursery and then spread covid around to everyone?

They are entirely right to tell you he has to isolate for 10 days if you don't want to get him tested. As a parent at nursery, I'd be a bit pissed off that a child with symptoms who was sent home was just isolating and not testing - I'd prefer to know if my dc had been exposed to covid or not.

Dd spikes a temp every time she gets a snotty nose. If it's been at the weekend, I've got her a drive through test and then let the nursery know her test result. She's had 4 tests in the last 12 months, it's not fun, but she's not traumatised in any way.

It is what it is I'm afraid. I work in the nursery and we have the exact same rules

They are the rules; they have to apply to everybody.

As for having to pay, presumably this was in the contract you signed. I can't understand people complaining about having to pay childcare even when their children are sick - the staff are available to provide the service so obviously they need to get paid.

I understand as I had to do the same for DS, it was lucky I did though as he was negative on Lateral Flow and positive on PCR which were done within 5 hours if each other. Like your DS he only had a very slight high temperature once so it is possible he has it.

Thanks I suppose the consensus is IABU to be pissed off...!

Just for those who work in nurseries or have children in one is it also normal practice that a parent should still have to pay for the sessions he/she misses whilst waiting for the negative result? I was hoping it would come this morning so he could go in but nothing yet so looks like he’s missing 2 x days which stings the bank balance a lot!

Must be so annoying, and I'm pleased my ds isn't teething anymore, or he'd be having tests every week! But they have to stick to policy, it is just blanket rules and if they bend for this, where do they draw the line?

Although I would recommend taking temp twice in a half hour/hour period (with NO calpol) to make sure it wasn't a fluke.

The nurseries are following the public health England guidelines and are the same in all nurseries.
Lat flo tests are for asymptomatic use and PCR tests are to be used if there are symptoms. This has been the case for a long time so YABU to be pissed off.

I say that as a parent who has had to work flexibly around nursery closures and PCR tests myself yes Iti is irritating but not the nurseries fault.

I’m with the nursery too - it’s annoying for you but it’s safest way.

While its frustrating for you to miss work, the nursery has to consider how to function best. Even ignoring the risk of children becoming ill themselves or passing it on to others ....

If they keep one kid in to stop his parents from missing work, they could accidentally put most of their staff into isolation and home from work, the whole class (and their families) in to isolation,and have to close (if enough staff need to isolate) for those kids who weren't even in on the same day.

Now imagine how annoyed all those people missing work etc would be if the nursery had decided to accept a kid with a temperature because they were "pretty sure" it wasn't covid

There's a lot of reliance on childcare and I can understand why they would err on the side of caution

Can they give you days in lieu? Won't help the bank balance but you could use those days for extra work or to get house jobs etc done?

It is frustrating, but as others have said, it is the rules and the rules are there to keep everyone as safe as possible.

Op while frustrating of course you still have to pay. Do you think the staff shouldn't be paid? The rent? They won't be able to fill the space with another child so the money has to come from somewhere.

We’ve learnt this over the last few months - as soon as one of the DC get symptoms - cough, high temp, just book a PCR test, that way you are pre-empting the issue and they’ll be back at childcare before you know it.

Yes PCR test is normal and yes it’s normal to still pay.