Nursery no longer lets parents in..

[MaryWhy]

I've just been to collect my DD from nursery early as she has a doctors appointment. When I arrive I'm told she's sleeping and I'll have to wait outside for a while whilst they wake her up, take her to the toilet and what not. She's 4 for reference and has long since dropped the naps at home but anyhow.

I was hoping to be able to use the loo quickly (i'm pregnant and was bursting!) so feel mildly annoyed by the new "rules" and lack of hospitality for parents.

No idea why the new rules exist, nursery employee was in a rush to close the door.

AIBU to find this odd?

Ours won't let us in during the day, we drop off at the door and if you collect early, they bring your child down. We do go in at the end of the day though, from about 4.30pm.

Different schools have different rules but handover at the door (no going into school) is by no means uncommon.
In your case I assume you would be allowed to look at their classroom by arrangement or when it was empty.
You couldn't turn up at the school at a random time and expect to go and see what your child was doing.

Yes, schools are all different, just like nurseries. If this nursery had a closed door policy that should surely have been made clear to parents when signing up. It’s a service people are paying for. They have the right to have clarity and choice. If you’ve specifically chosen a nursery that allows parental access then the nursery changes that, it is not unreasonable to be unhappy with this.

Did you ask why?

Just ask why they've changed the rules.

We weren't allowed in during covid but now we are.

Why have they changed it? I've never worked in a nursery with this policy but I can absolutely see why it would be useful in some. We had parents bring the whole family along blocking hallways, spending forever in the loos, wandering into the wrong rooms..

Parents wouldn't be disturbing the children by coming into the entrance, they're always in other areas IE the big hall and the nap room, neither of which you'd be able to see the entrance hall from.

The toilets are also in the entrance hall.

I didn't get chance to ask but I'll find out tomorrow what it's about.

Sorry, totally missing the point of the thread, but … what on earth time does your DD go to bed on a nursery day if she’s 4 and has a nap when she’s there?! It would be the nursery’s failure to cater properly for older children who don’t need a nap, combined with your having another child on the way (you’re going to need a decent bedtime!) that would bother me the most here. My 4yo hasn’t napped for 2 years except when ill, and even then it messes with bedtime a lot.

Presumably, if they let you in the entrance they would then have to go and get your little one. Perhaps it’s a safeguarding issue of an unaccompanied adult in the building.

all you can do is ask, it may be just because you collected early

This is surely to do with safeguarding?

Adults having access to all the children not just their own?

I had a job where I had to visit nurseries. Any that kept me waiting on the doorstep, made me sit in a porch or entrance hall for ages before being shown around always raised suspicions. Usually wrong ratios of staff. In one very large nursery I saw the same two staff members in nearly every room on one visit. Adding a Cardigan, taking off a sweatshirt does not mean I don’t recognise you.
Maybe look for another nursery.

I went to visit a highly recommended nursery, was let in but then had to wait to be shown around as no nursery staff on the ground floor….was confronted by a teeny child wandering around covered in poo with no staff to be seen…..needless to say I didn’t send my child there! I presume it’s a staffing issue and to do with safe guarding at your nursery but likewise I always think maybe there’s something they don’t want to to see?!

But equally if you are arriving out of normal pick up time I can see why they wouldn’t want you in,if it might prove disruptive to all the other napping kids??

when I was looking for nurseries, I immediately discounted any that tried to control when parents could come pick up kids. My daughter’s nursery was always locked for safety and there was a key code for parents. You had to enter it to come in and leave. The number changed regularly. It would disturb me if I was not allowed in the building. What are they hiding.

Suppose you know better do you?

Could it just be that parents aren't allowed in during the day when kids are roaming and you misunderstood?

No parents allowed in at our nursery. We only started using them in February so no idea if this was the case before Covid or not.
I suppose it's due to it being a very small building. The entrance hall is full of wrap around care pupils after school too so there'd be no room for parents to go in or out.

Parents going in are very disruptive. You don't go in to a school to collect so I understand it.

Like others, DC’s nursery stopped parents coming in during COVID but have in the last few weeks opened up.

They have recently stopped pregnant women coming into the building however in line with the Local Authority’s infection control policy, as there has been a massive outbreak of chickenpox in the area. I’m pregnant myself and was a bit put out at no longer being allowed in but understand why and the risks are such that it seems sensible. However the nursery manager called me and DH to explain - it didn’t just happen.

A nursery not far from us has / had the child of a very high net worth individual in their care. They stopped allowing parents in shortly after he started, to protect the child from gawping and also I guess for his physical safety. Not my DC’s nursery so I don’t know how it was communicated.

I would ask.

Was it over lunchtime? Perhaps some staff were on their lunch, and there weren't many staff free to do a handover at an unexpected time. Visitors won't be left alone in the building, but also it wouldn't really suit for you to stumble into the sleep room either. Better all round for the staff member to go and get your child and bring them to the door. But if you're confused or anxious about it, ask.

Could also be to do with children who are looked after or have come from very abusive backgrounds - maybe concerns about them being recognised and their whereabouts reported to family members. It’s a common reason why some kids photos aren’t put online or in communications.

So basically: I wouldn’t be put out, even as a heavily pregnant lady, but I would definitely want to know why the policy is in place and why it has changed from previously

This is outrageous!!

I think it's a good thing - just let the nursery staff concentrate on the children. I would prefer my children to be in a space without random grown ups turning up. Also while nursery staff are chatting to you, showing you the toilet etc they aren't focusing on the children properly.

I work in a secondary school & we aren't allowed to have visitors in and out the building.

It's also more hygienic. I feel the same about hospitals. Lots of random visitors when you're feeling unwell isn't a good thing.

So even though your child goes to this nursery and may well bring home chicken pox, you can't go in because you're pregnant. Even though chicken pox is not really a risk to a pregnant woman who has already had it.

I mean, I understand what they're trying to achieve (although I think it should be your decision) but it seems a bit pointless.