Nursery key worker worries

[LuckyBrickPombear]

Hi all,

First time poster and desperate for advice.

DS is starting nursery in a few weeks and we attended our first settling in session today and I have left feeling so deflated and worried.

He is 13 months so attending the baby room, we met our key worker and he had a little play. When we were there all the babies seemed very unsettled and didn’t seem happy. Our key worker informed us she had only just started and our DS is her only key child. She also informed us that she had not had DBS clearence yet as the paperwork takes a long time (she had only been there a month). I overall didn’t warm to her and don’t feel reassured leaving my baby with her. The other girls in the room also seemed quite miserable and didn’t want to be there.

I have been a much more anxious first time mum than I ever thought I’d be and the thought of leaving him there is making me feel so guilty and sad.

AIBU? Or would you feel the same?

I’ve voiced my concerns with DH, he says give it a chance and if DS doesn’t settle after a month we can have a word about changing key workers or even looking at other nurseries.

i would worry about the safeguarding policies of a setting that allowed someone to work before their DBS is through. Although the DBS system is in no way a guarantee of safety it should be a minimum before starting - her start date should have been delayed until after it was through.

I would be concerned about not having DBS, I'd question this with the nursery.

Always go with your gut instinct on these things, I find.

I’m guessing the keyworker is having to work under supervision until her dbs comes thru? Not great tho ….I wouldn’t be very happy

It doesn't sound great.

Does he need to go to nursery for childcare? If so, I'd look for another nursery or better still a childminder (or if you can afford it a nanny).

If he doesn't need to be there, just don't send him.

Staff can work before their DBS comes through so long as they're always supervised.
It's not always possible to wait as it can take weeks.

I wouldn't worry particularly about clicking with the key person or choosing another one - all the staff in the room will care for your child, they key person is mostly just to do the admin related to a particular child.
If you want to be able to choose the actual person caring for your baby you'd need to go down the childminder route.

The babies being unsettled and staff looking miserable is more of a worry.

When I took my daughter for her first settling in sessions, I wasn't happy with the nursery at all. There were so many things that didn't seem right, I was worried if I was being an over the top first time parent. We had a second settling in session and I just knew I couldn't leave my daughter there so I told them she wouldn't be starting.

Nursery manager here. Its actually quite common for nursery nurses to work without their DBS as it can take months to come through. However, they are not to be left alone with the children until they have it nor do any intimate changing or toileting. If the other babies have not long started that could explain why they were not happy. I have had three or four babies start around the same time which can be challenging but they are well cared for. It can take up to six weeks for a child to settle and then its like they have been here forever and their faces light up when they see their key worker, don't give up yet.

Go with your gut feeling with nurseries. We saw our preferred one for DD (preferred because of convenience) but I just didn't like it. We saw another one just to be sure and I just instantly felt more comfortable with it- so she went there

She should not be allowed to work here until her DBS has come through. This is worrying.

This is awful. I'm a teacher and safeguarding lead and we wouldn't let any member of staff onsite until enhanced DBS has come back.

Actually they can, I am a nursery manager and its common that a DBS can take a while to come (up to three months) they are never left alone with the children and don't do nappies or toileting until it comes through.

Absolutely THIS!

Schools might be different to nurseries but its the norm and completely fine with Ofsted we had our inspection in February and got good in all areas there is always 4 staff in our baby room so they are never left alone.

Generally shocked by this. We don't even let parent volunteers help on a trip without a DBS check and they are never left alone.

The babies being unsettled and staff looking miserable is more of a worry

And there's a parent in the room so you'll be seeing the room when staff are likely to be on their best behaviour

This doesn't sound great to me. For a child that young, have you considered either a nanny share or a childminder?

With a childminder you meet them, vet them, see their Ofsted reports, know exactly who will be minding your baby each day. Childminders have more checks than either nursery workers or nannies.

Could you interview some local childminders and see if you prefer one?

Its always been the norm in nurseries, even when I was working as an apprentice about 12 years ago. My DBS didn't come back for around 6 weeks as it was my first one but I wasn't allowed to be alone with them or do any nappies or take any of them to the toilet. In general, there is only one may be two new staff members starting at the same time so there is always other staff in the room who have their DBS and is fully qualified.

Jesus no.

Staff looking uninterested and bored? Recipe for disaster. And this is when they're showing someone around as a potential client???

Go with a childminder if you can find one.

There's a massive shortage in early years staff. Also consider that every new job, requires a new dbs. You can't take your old one with you (regardless of being on the Update service). So this key worker may have had a dbs from a previous nursery and the new one isn't through yet, as it takes time.

The general vibe you describe, though, doesn't sound amazing. Enquire around your area now, even if you don't end up moving, because spaces are sparse in a lot of England.

Hope it works out

I think it's important to trust your gut on these things op. Have you viewed any other nurseries in your area that you could go back and look at or any you haven't explored?

That's true, I wouldn't be happy if my staff were looking miserable but if some babies have started at the same time and they are unsettled, they have been dealing with that all day. In my nursery though I would send more staff to support or just go in and support myself.

Honestly sounds like a shit nursery. Sorry. But it really does.

This is how we do it. Or for example I started with a paper DBS but nothing on the update service, so I had to go through getting a new one to put on the update service. So I wasn’t shadowed as I had a paper one only 6 months old. But other staff members are shadowed, and never left alone.

Our baby room is horribly unsettled right now, because our have moved up and we’re full of new starters and settles. It could also just be that.

I’m new too, I still have a first class honours degree and years of experience lol! Being new isn’t always a bad thing.

There is absolutely no way I'd leave my child in a nursery where they had someone with no DBS working with children. Is that even legal?!

I have a DBS for my job and don't recall it taking long to come back.

In your shoes I would be looking for another nursery asap. Trust your intuition.