to be suspicious of nursery manager? (bit long ...)

[anotherbadnight]

totally willing to accept I may be being neurotic but here goes ... dcs go to a day nursery in a private house. The owners have a swimming pool in their garden. There is no fence around the pool but there is a very high fence with a gate in it (which kids could not open) separating their private garden and pool from the kids' areas. Three times now the gate in that high fence has been open when I've dropped dcs off. I have mentioned it to staff members who have closed it and today I told the owner herself that I was very concerned about it. She said that it was done deliberately as part of her health and safety risk assessment.

Every morning they carry out a boundary check (I think that's what she called it) and leaving the gate open from time to time was part of this risk assessment. She said it was to see whether children would go through the gate. Sometimes, she said, they leave the front door open for the same reason. Then she said it was to see whether parents noticed this sort of thing, and I had so well done! Now this all sounds insane to me but I know h&s can be insane. Could this possibly be true?

I don't get on with her very well anyway and have come close to moving them out before but as one is settled and the other is settling I don't want to fly off the handle.

just called ofsted and they said I should complain ... feel all shaky, not what I planned when I called!

bonkers (and dangerous). i would report this

thats the sort of thing you do in a controlled enviroment, not where there are small children, how irresponsible and dangerous.

Agree that it would be crazy for the nursery to contest you if you were to leave the nursery without notice on alleged safety issues.

One thing to check - did you have to leave a deposit with the nursery when your dcs first joined? If so, bear in mind the nursery, if they wanted to be difficult, could deduct it to cover the lack of notice.

So while they are waiting for a parent to notice the open gate, children can go and drown in the swimming pool? I would report it and remove DCs from there.

when was the last OFSTED inspection ,what did it say about the pool area etc .

Now that you have complained to OFSTED she MAY have an unannoucned visit - ha ha ha !

Manager is talking absolute bollocks !

She may as well say ' We leave th gate open to see if the children go into the pool and see if they can swim '

Inth meantime time ask to see her policy documents on health & safety and how their boundary check should be carried out - it should all be documented.

argh this is so not my style! complaint anonymous but they'll obviously know. have to take them out which is probably a good thing but feels horrible. feel like having a little cry!

The woman's clearly a nutter.

You've done the right thing by complaining, and you're right to take your children out of her care.

Well done anotherbadnight!! I know how it can feel if you're 'not usually a complainer', but you know you're absolutely doing the right thing by your dcs (and hopefully other peoples) by complaining and moving.

anotherbadnight, please don't feel bad. I don't think Ofsted will necessarily shut down the nursery. They will need further evidence. But your complaint will be the kick up the arse the nursery manager sorely needs.

I would call ofstead at once... this woman is mad as a box of frogs.... it takes so little time for a child to drown, then what opps faild the safty test!!!!!!

move them out. shes a freak

It sounds absolutely insane. What if a child did go through and no one saw them? I would be reporting her.

I would remove instantly.

She sounds like the just the kind of mad person who should not be responsible for the safety and welfare of children.

Yes and the Management in the company I work for often leaves valves open on full tanks to see if any the operators will spot it and prevent a leak before the HSE does.

She is talking out of her arse.
I would definitely be looking for another nursery if I were you.

thanks for all these comments. my dp has read and did point out in my op that the fence doesn't separate the play areas as such, but the courtyard that leads from the main nursery building to the second nursery building - but children pass through here all the time - although usually with parents - and the door to the courtyard is often open in warm weather.

Still feeling very uncomfortable about all this but I think somehow if she had apologised profusely and said it would never happen again, rather than saying all that, it would have been better. DP pointed out if she believes it's true it's terrible and if she's lying it's awful too.

So, are you removing your children?

yes notabanana - tricky as I have only just gone back to work so am trying to juggle everything to find them something else.

kazbeth - to be honest I've always thought she was a slippery sort, but worried it was a personality clash more than anything else. We have thought about leaving several times but ds is so settled, he's been there 2 years, it's been tough to make a decision. A lot of her staff are great, and he has been happy most of the time. But i think we've made a decision now.

Good on you for calling ofsted and for making such a tricky decision. Let us know how it pans out...

will do - the children didn't go today and we're considering how to approach leaving without notice

good luck x