To think nurseries are not safe for young babies

[Luxell934]

I've read about two very young babies dying in nurseries recently. One who choked after being given inappropriate food and one who was left to smother to death.

As a new mother it's absolutely terrifying to think about, I have also worked myself in nurseries for a number of years. It was a very well respected chain of nurseries and we were always understaffed and over ratio, I remember caring for up to 9 babies with just two staff and were told team leaders were "in the office, if needed" which basically meant get on with it and don't bother us. I also remember feeding 4/5 babies at a time. Looking back I was so young that I didn't speak up.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13438725/Nursery-nurse-Kate-Roughley-manslaughter-convicted.html

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqennjjllpqo

I didn't say they are in the workforce. I said it's to encourage them to continue to work. That's why free or cheaper childcare exists as far as I know.

I really hope that the reason you gave isn't why poor families are offered more childcare. Support from services such as Health Visitors and Social Care, sure. But encouraging uneducated/poor parents to outsource some of their childcare to someone who must be better at it because they're more educated (although that isn't always true) is pretty sinister.

I really hope that the reason you gave isn't why poor families are offered more childcare. Support from services such as Health Visitors and Social Care, sure. But encouraging uneducated/poor parents to outsource some of their childcare to someone who must be better at it because they're more educated (although that isn't always true) is pretty sinister.

It’s always been my assumption that this was certainly one of the implicit aims of offering extended free childcare to those in receipt of certain benefits.

It's not sinister at all. It's been identified that children of unemployed parents who have not attended nursery or preschool are starting school with significantly less life experience than children who have attended preschool or have more affluent parents. Providing those parents with access to funded childcare means that the child is getting access to experiences they are likely not to have had at home.

In the example above of an illiterate parent, at the very least they will have the experience of someone sitting with them to read a story.

How is providing childcare to someone not in work "encouraging them to continue" work? You can't continue something you're not doing. As far as I'm aware, the govt has never argued that funded hours for 2 yos for parents in receipt of benefits has ever been for any other purpose than to ensure the child has more chance of starting school on a more equal footing to children of parents who are not on benefits.

That’s correct.

15 hours isn’t about getting the parents to work because 15 hours wouldn’t be enough, it would be 30 hours like the childcare assistance for those with both parents in work.

The 15 hours for 2 year olds is to provide early childhood education to children who are statistically disadvantaged compared to their peers and often start school behind their peers.

You seem to be missing an extremely important point here...the majority of children who go to nursery DO have loving and caring parents AS WELL AS a nursery key worker who they will also be attached to for the hours they attend nursery. Do you honestly believe that my children and thousands of other children who have attended nursery before age 2 do not have "healthy wired up brains" to use your words? It's so strange given my eldest is top of his class, lots of friends, plays piano, sports, excels in maths, still loves a cuddle...yet according to you he should have an unhealthy brain given he attended nursery 3 days a week from age 6 months? You are absolutely kidding yourself! Maybe I was just lucky though eh? Or maybe he will be a disaffected adult eh? Ha! The kids are harmed by childcare is a myth used to keep women in domestic servitude... And it is very very effective because it plays on women's biggest fears. Funny how you don't see many male SAHP isn't it!

Exactly.

Their network just also includes nursery. Who are far from ‘strangers’.

I concur! Having experience as a nursery assistant, I vowed never to send my child to one. The environment can be negative and neglectful, especially among the staff. While it is true that accidents can happen at home, they are usually unintentional. When someone else is looking after your child, the level of care may not be the same as that of a parent. Nursery assistants often face pressure and may lack genuine enthusiasm, as they are there out of necessity rather than choice.

How many nurseries have you worked in?

Maybe your attitude was all wrong!

It does really make me anxious, there’s more on the news as well recently that sounds similar.

Horrific documentary on bbc1 now about it

Ofsted used to do unannounced inspections but that was scrapped in 2015. Now with a pre arranged inspection you get nurseries calling in members of staff who are off sick and laying on fake activities where they're normally just left in Thier chairs, to dupe the inspector

What use is this post for the parents who have no choice but to use childcare?

I dunno. To prompt government to properly find inspection regimes and enforce child safeguarding rules?

Do you know what it’s called please

@SprinkleofSpringShowers it's "How safe are our nurseries?"

How Safe Are Our Nurseries?: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0029vnd via @bbciplayer

Trigger warning etc

We had two similar ones jn Ireland around 2013/14. First one particularly horrific called A Breach of Trust. Better to know than have heads in the sand surely. Parents are paying huge sums and should have their babies looked after properly. I will never forget the night I watched that, they had an uncover reporter in as a worker with a hidden camera and microphone across 3 different chains. My friend's child was in one of them. She was devastated.

Totally agree