AIBU to want more photos from my child’s nursery

[HelloWorld2577]

To keep it brief. I’ve had multiple children attend this nursery over the past 5 years. My daughter is now there and has been for the past two years.

When my other children attended the nursery they would do daily posts which included a mixture of individual posts with photos of just my child and group posts where you could see what all the class were doing. Either way they were updating the app (tapestry) daily or at the very least 3 out of 5 days a week.

My older child left there last year and since the posts have really deteriorated. I’ve just had a look and since coming back from Christmas (my daughter attends full time) there have only been 2 group posts, one of those posts she wasn’t in it, and one you could see the back of her head.

I know it may sound trivial but I find it very frustrating that they charge £75 a day and I don’t even get to see what my daughters doing at nursery, I also have mum guilt for working full time & some mornings she struggles to go in so would put me at ease to just see what she’s doing. I raised it with management after my older child left and said I wasn’t getting many photos or updates on the app and they simply said they don’t have time to do individual posts now so they are trying to take photos of all children to post on one group post. This itself I find an issue because there are usually between 50 and 80 photos per group post and then I have to go through every photo like a detective searching for the side of my child’s head! It’s frustrating. when I raised it previously they said they were trying to do a couple of group posts a week but as I said above they’ve only done 2 posts over the last 3 weeks.

AIBU? I really want to raise it again but I don’t want to be one of those parents!! I understand they’re busy but if every other nursery do it why can’t they? It just seems lazy?!

How do I bring it up AGAIN?!

My kids are older now, so I'm probably completely out of touch. But when they were at nursery, there were no photos, no apps, and so I'm having trouble sympathising tbh.

It's not the end of the world. You've raised it once, they've explained why they no longer do it, and so if you bring it up again you will look like one of those parents.

Personally, I’d rather the staff were concentrating on the children rather than looking for photo opportunities. If your child seems settled and happy there, then that should be enough. I’m presuming that you get an update on the day at handover?

Haven’t the rules changed so they don’t need to document so much. Would rather they were interacting with my DC than spending times taking photos and uploading them into a system

I'd rather the staff focus on the children, rather than what is basically social media

I'd be worried its indicative of something else. Yes the obvious excuse is that they are focussing on the children but if it's a matter of time, have the ratios dropped? Why is there now less time?
We all know there is a crisis in childcare and nursery provisions are struggling.

This itself I find an issue because there are usually between 50 and 80 photos per group post

they’ve only done 2 posts over the last 3 weeks.

So in the last 3 weeks they've posted between 100 and 160 photos and you STILL don't think it's enough.

Personally I think that's an insane amount of photos, and if anything the nursery need to put down the Ipad and stop pandering to parents.

I seem to be in the minority here but as someone who has worked in childcare I can actually understand. The guilt of working full time is real and I have many of times ensured parents are kept updated as much as possible when specifically requested.
Personally I'd speak to her keyworker and just say you're concerned that she isn't enjoying herself as much as she once was, given the struggle of getting her in some days, and you'd appreciate the reassurance that she is indeed enjoying herself, and you'd like to see what she's getting up to. It doesn't take a moment to take a photo of a child doing an activity, from experience.

Exactly this. Looking after your children is their job not photographing everything.

She states the back of her childs head was in one photo. If her child was in more photos and you could see her face then I'd see your point.

It’s much better that the staff focus on the children than taking photos and updating an ap. I wouldn’t send my DC to a nursery where they spent time doing that every day.

I wanted my childs nursery to spend their time caring for all children not spending all their time taking photos, that is the point of nursery

My sons nursery doesn’t have an app.
each term we have a parent meeting and I can look through the photos they have in their folder.

they’re going to trial using the app but i’m a bit worried that will distract them too much tapping away at a tablet rather than interacting with the children.

his last nursery had an app- it was nice to see photos but not really necessary

a nursery that spends all day with its workers putting a phone in a child’s face just to assuage their guilt show their parent what they’re doing is not a good nursery

they should be focused on the children, not on reporting back to the parent

Disagree with all of these comments.

It's takes less than 5 mins to swoop round the room and take a photo of each child.

Most nursery rooms the teachers (understandably) look quite sleepy and lethargic, and it's not like they are rushed off their feet every moment

Data protection, information governance? ??

Ds has probably had a total of 6 pictures in the past year of attending his nursery. They don't have an app and our only communication is a chat at the door this horrifies some people. However I don't care about staged pictures or activities set up simply for a photo opportunity which so many seem to be.

We moved him from a Nursery that had a fancy app and daily photos because despite all the bells and whistles they were a crap nursery. Photos are a nice extra but if the staff are caring, focused on the children and your child is happy then that's so much more important than a few photos ever could be.

We get photos every other Friday, usually about 10-12 of them. I don't think more would be necessary really, I just like them for reassurance that he's smiling and interacting with the other children. I'd much rather the staff were spending the time interacting with the children. As a former teacher, I know what a pain it is to get photos of activities and that it means you're more focused on that than teaching or interacting.

Mine have only posted one since Xmas.. it's ok I'm happy for anything and know they are busy and post when they can

@HelloWorld2577

There has been a shift away from this - according to the last Early Years coordinator I spoke to. More time should be spent interacting with the children, rather than on a screen recording and uploading photos.

There may be a child who can't be in the photos. It may be your child plays a lot with that child.

Do you think care has decreased or just updates?

They already told you, they don't have time.

There's a staffing crisis in early years, they need to deploy the staff they have to meet the children's needs, not the parents'.

It's been recognised that they way things were done in the past - loads of observations and documentation and photos - didn't have a positive impact on children's experiences or development, so the revised curriculum stresses that practitioners shouldn't waste time on ipads.

Even if OPs daughter isn't in the photos, staff have taken well over 100 photos in 3 weeks, and then taken the time to go through those photos and uploaded them. It's a huge waste of time.

Are our kids at the same nursery?! 😂

I've had the same. Emotionally I'm disappointed as I liked seeing what they were up to by my logical brain keeps telling me it's better they spend the time with the kids rather than snapping away.

Then my emotional brain sneaks in again.

This was part of a reason we picked a CM…

the nursery explained they wanted staff to focus on the children (okay makes sense…)
so my child would have a focus day with their key worker 1 day in 8 (so pics 1 day in 8) which I found insane given:

• the cost was £2.4k pm
• surely a key worker cannot be a key worker for 8 children 😵‍💫

My dd was 12m at the time and I needed the reassurance now she is coming up 2 and more verbal I’d be less fussed…

my amazinnnng CM takes a couple of snaps on what’s app each day or sends me a little video while at play group normally of my cherub is going wild in the aisles 😅 I love it 🥰