That nursery wasn't better prepared

[lucelou82]

We've known about the heatwave for a couple of weeks now, yet I was told that they had just done a risk assessment on the building in the heat yesterday?! This seems bizarre, as someone who's organised events we do risk assessments all the time! BEFORE the event! The nursery is part of a big chain of private nurseries and I'm perplexed why they didn't buy a few air conditioning units last week, surely it is their duty to keep the children they care for safe and make it their priority? They were also saying that heat is coming in through windows, again I would have thought they might have got some black out window film or a blind (surely it would have a blind on it anyway)! I know margins in daycare are very small, but I pay nearly £2k a month and for them to not invest in air con units (I'm talking from Argos not a full air conditioning system) seems really negligent! Surely they have a duty of care to prepare for the really hot weather as well as the cold weather! They are asking us to pick out at 1pm if we can, but I can't as I have meetings at work! I would love to be able to take her out and do something fun with her in the air con this afternoon! Just dropped her off and was told she is going to be the only child here this afternoon and just now feel massive mum guilt! Ahh sorry rant over! Xxxx

@girlmom21 that's great but you are speaking from a position of privileged! A lot of people don't have relatives living near to help as a one off. I am a single mother and my parents live abroad.. my ex has refused point blank to ever pick up his daughter when she is ill/in events like this! It puts all the pressure on me and forced my company/job to always be flexible!

Standalone air con units would be a nightmare in a nursery unless they were somewhere the children couldn't access which would probably render their effects largely unless. They will have carried out a risk assessment for the heat, but in reality with the temps we have had being so unusual its hard to accurately predict beforehand what the building will be like, best they would have been able to do was made an educated guess. I think they should have told you they were closing at 1pm if that's what's best rather than give the option, its supposed to be 30 at 10am so who knows what it'll be like later. I don't blame people on minimum wage in a tough job to not want to work in the scorching heat either to be honest.

Plenty if portable ones for under £100. No one's expecting them to have an air con system installed!

Some schools were closing early because of the heat. Surely depends in what area you are. We are meant to have rain this afternoon and are not in the red zone.

I'm not talking about your situation at all. I was responding to a specific comment about people finding alternative childcare.

@girlmom21 sorry didn't meant to come across ratty! Appreciate everyone has different circumstances... am very jealous you have relatives to help out nearby x

Best thing I've read in here recently is venting through a cat flap!!

obviously unlikely to have one at a nursery!

they can be put inside a play pen, behind a baby gate etc and banter into a bucket.

they won't make the rooms icy cold, but they'll reduce the heat to bearable.

@lucelou82 don't feel guilty, if you have to work, you have to work & that's why you pay the nursery. I doubt your DD is the only one, they're just trying to make you feel guilty enough so you pick her up! She'll be fine, if there aren't many kids there, it'll be easier to keep them cool won't it!!

they can do water play inside in a mat, topping up a big bowl/crate of water if they don't have water tables, a mop if it wets the floor. It's not a big ask to sit in the floor & play with them with the water, or read stories!

I'd be very angry if they didn't even have blinds sorted. They have a responsibility to do everything within reason to stay open. Not fitting blinds (or covering windows with cardboard ffs) is simply not good enough.

I think you are just as culpable for being “unprepared”. It is an unprecedented weather event, lots of people have made adjustments to deal with it, yet you seem determined to be inflexible. You are being ridiculous to suggest that they should be spending so much money on air conditioning for what is not even two days a year, it is two days in my lifetime, so that is two days in 52 years for a start. Airconditioning does not cost a couple of hundred pounds from Argos.

@WinterMusings thanks for your reply made me feel 100 times better! When I asked if she would be the only person in this afternoon she said 'well there is one other child but we don't know whether their parents will be coming at 1pm to pick them up yet.' If that was me, I would say 'there is one other child, but don't worry we'll make sure Your daughter is taken care of and kept cool today. Please don't worry.'

And you have a Duty of Care to your Daughter, you are sending the poor bairn in in this?

@Aprilx I am prepared I've blacked out all my windows, have fans and frozen water bottles in each room to make sure it's as comfortable as possible for my daughter! Or do you mean I should prebook time off work every time the weather is bad, as my nursery can't be bothered to look after my child but still expect the money?

They're fully trying to get out of working. I have sympathy for the workers if all reasonable measures have been taken to remain open. In these circumstances I'd be fuming. Our nursery used to have a very casual attitude to being open. Loads of the parents eventually kicked off and they've sorted themselves out now.

@KalvinPhillipsBoots it's cooler than my house! Even when I went and picked her up at 5pm yesterday!

Part of the mother’s ‘duty of care’ is to work so she can provide the ‘poor bairn’ with such luxuries as food and a home to live in. She pays a nursery to provide appropriate care for her child, and regardless of all the hand wringing it is perfectly possible to provide acceptable care indoors to a small child regardless of the fact that it is hot outside.

That’s a crap nursery- even if not 38 degrees, summer can still be hot, zero provisions, I wouldn’t have chosen that nursery

If your lifesaving surgery was cancelled because the surgeon took the day off to look after their child “because it was a bit hot and the nursery staff want to finish early”, would you be happy with that?

You are right that air conditioners aren’t “a couple of hundred quid from Argos” though - they are £75 quid from Argos.

www.argos.co.uk/product/4565826?clickPR=plp:1:13

Ah we actually don't anymore. We've literally just moved and both sets of parents are an hour away now whereas they were 15 minutes away before so I do feel your struggle to a lesser degree!

Ultimately, don't feel guilty about your little one being in nursery! It's what you pay them for. They need to sort out some cooling system for today but at least temperatures are dropping tomorrow x

@Changechangychange you're the kind of friend everyone needs! Thank you ☺️

Our reception has multiple water tables and buckets out, extra sheets strung up to provide shade, a gazebo and did water games at lunch. It's not rocket science.

@HairyScaryMonster this is what I am talking about! Xx

I'm in a Victorian semi and it's reasonably cool downstairs. I've got the curtains closed. Sounds like nursery is the best place for her.

What are parents supposed to do? Take preschoolers to air conditioned places. It's too hot at home too hot outside. It's too hot. Absolutely inexcusable they are making you feel guilty and to be honest it's the oldest trick in the book.

Everyone in the UK is angling on getting out of work dueto the heat.

My nursery always used to do it around Christmas and the school summer holidays. They would say that not many children would be in and encouraged parents to collect early as possible. Often there'd still be plenty of children if I ever came to pick up early.

They also used to make you feel guilty about putting them in under the weather. If I ever said he's had calpol in the night but he's fine now they'd start on about perhaps he should be at home. It would be a bit more convincing but for the fact that every single one of them just was so blatant in every circumstance about wanting at least one less child.

That's nursery for you. Don't feel bad. My dc are 8 and 12 and loved nursery and never any problems with going there.

@Changechangychange the unit you linked to doesn't do much in the way if cooling for any room above tiny. It's also not safe to just set up a load of random electrical devices in a preschool/nursery space, things need to be fixed in place so topple proof, fiddle proof or out of reach.

I agree that not having blinds is surprising and not great, but I do also think that it's not really fair to compare to other nurseries - not all buildings are made equal in terms of how easy they are to keep cool. I work on a university campus with buildings of varying ages and designs and some were absolutely fine yesterday, some were pretty horrible and a couple were unbearable to the point it was unsafe and people working in them were sent elsewhere, despite all available mitigations being taken. The nursery I use was ok yesterday but their building seems to work quite well for heat.

From having worked in a nursery - yes, we’d have had gazebos up, sourced fans, had paddling pools out, ice lollies etc. There should definitely be a sense that the nursery are prepared/making an effort to support the children. If it felt like conditions were no longer safe for the children AND staff - we would ask to pick up early/so all can travel home safely. I can understand that this is unprecedented heat - and a risk assessment may not cover all bases.

The nursery has a duty of care to the children - but also to the staff.