AIBU to worry about nursery staff turnover and consider moving DS?

[Worriedforson1]

This week we learned my DS's Keyworker at nursery is leaving. She has been there from the beginning and although it is a small business this will be staff number 5 or 6 leave his room now. He has been upset and nervous about going in and we are worried something bad is going on behind the scenes. Why are so many staff leaving? He is our first so we dont know if this is a reason to look at another nursery or usual for nurseries everywhere She is so lovely and has done so much to help him we are worried she is leaving like other staff because of problems we do not see. We are discussing moving him out to another setting - so many leaving is not a good sign, right? Wwyd?

It could just be coincidence that people leave for a variety of reasons or a problem with the owners/management. Eg are they all young starting out and then looking at other options or have these people been there a while with a new manager who’s maybe causing an issue?

I would say have a word with them and try to suss it out but then if it gets awkward and you don’t have an alternative setting lined up that could be difficult - have you got any friends that use the nursery? What do they feel about it all?!

It is a fair mixture of young and old - some in their 20's some more mature (bit rude to guess their ages but over 30!) I have a niggling feeling something is going on which my son is picking up on as he is really sensitive anyway. I dont know if so many staff leaving is normal or if we need to seriously look at somewhere more calm.

Always go with your gut instinct and if you feel dynamics aren’t right then I’d get an alternative lined up especially if DS is noticing.
sorry you have this to deal with it sounds stressful 😩 hopefully another setting would be calmer or have you considered a childminder? I use one for my younger ones and it’s great as they can they stay for the wraparound/holiday provision.

Friends think the staff leaving is worrying. A few left theirs but retirement or maternity leave not 20 year olds or 30 year olds who presumably still need employment?

For a lot of people working in a nursery isn't the job that they want to do for the rest of their lives. The pay is not great and parents can be awful at times to work with. You can't expect someone to stay in a job that doesn't pay the bills or that their unhappy at just so your child can have stability.

It’s hard work for little reward. There are easier jobs. It’s probably as simple as that.

If staff are leaving it could be a sign that it's not necessarily a good place to work/ they aren't offering the best wages/ there are bad working practices /maybe some of the staff who are left behind aren't nice to work with.

The reasons i have left nurseries are due to management and the other staff.

If you like a job and all the working conditions are good (not perfect) then why would you leave?

I understand and agree
Hats off to them I could never do it and I say as much every time I drop him off almost. I would not want anyone to stay if they were unhappy but this woman who is leaving is always so happy to see us and happy in general. It doesnt add up.

IME (two DC at two nurseries, but going back 10+ years now), high staff turnover is very common. DS1 had three keyworkers and DS2 had several as well. The pay is shit, the staff are young and often nurseries aren't great places to work. The hours are long and the work isn't exactly exciting - you're changing nappies, putting/on taking off coats and wellies, setting up and clearing up activities, snacks and meals, dealing with tantrums and crying children - it's my idea of hell tbh!

I work in early years, high staff turnover is never a good sign. I’d be concerned too.

ive found that staff turnover in a private nursery is much higher than turnover in Local Authority nursery due to pay and conditions,

I worked in a private school for two years as a TA and the staff turnover was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. We had TAs leaving after two days in the job. They were (and still are) desperate for TAs at all times due to the high staff turnover.

I’m not surprised this is happening in nursery settings too. I’d consider a child minder instead. I’d imagine that would provide more consistency for your DC.

We asked her why she was leaving and it was a family reason but I am not sure I believed her. I had a feeling she was hiding something as her face and voice changed and she looked very awkward. DS not wanting to go in and being clingy will get worse after she leaves. I dont know who will replace her as we havent been told anything. It all stinks to be honest.

High staff turnover is very common especially for the amazing staff… they are chasing a unicorn an amazing workplace…. Aren’t we all

For me My DD has this and it has also been management so I’d rather the same location and environment for stability rather than a complete change but as someone else says trust your instincts

When I was battling depression not even my close family members could tell and were surprised when I decided to get treatment. Not saying that she's depressed, but she's not your friend or family member. She's someone hired to be friendly and nice with the kids and parents. She may not even be dissatisfied with her job, but just got an opportunity to make more money or get better hours.

Pay is disgusting for nursery staff.
But someone who has years and years of experience do they really just decide the pay is rubbish and all of a sudden and leave? After years and years? Why now?

Stop with the questions. She doesn't owe you an explanation. You are being prying and overbearing. She was acting uncomfortable because you were probably making her uncomfortable. She could be quiting for any reason she wants to and none of them are your business. Leave the poor woman alone.

Im a NNEB nursery nurse with many many years of experience. In 2018 I decided I just couldn't take any more, working for minimum wage with young girls who really didn’t have the same training and left for a cleaning job in a care home. Obviously that was only minimum wage but alot less stressful. A year later I set up my own cleaning business and it was such a success. I retired last year.
I missed the children when I left but I can't believe anyone works in childcare these days. Only ONE of my former colleagues is still in childcare and she hates it.

We had this situation for my son. Lots of staff leaving coincided with him no longer being happy to go in. We found another nursery where staff situation seemed more stable and moved him - even though it was only for about ten months until he went to preschool nursery. Was the right decision and he was much more settled in new one with predictable staff.

His nursery is not large and is small, private, rural. If so many new faces keep popping up and leaving then does the other good stuff matter? The number of people leaving is strange for such a small nursery.

Its football time so we will check back later for replies. We are reading them all so 🙏all.

Day nurseries are awful places to work. Staff turnover is often high even is nice nurseries. The pay is rubbish, the hours are long, everyone one has their own different agendas. Look for a childminder if you need long days, and preschool if you just want social development.

The nursery we had had very little turnover. Was run by a daughter of one of the key workers and 'manned' essentially by a group of grans.

I've heard horror stories about the child minders locally so I don't think you can apply blanket rules about these things.

TBH I work in a nursery and the turnover is crazy everyone seems to leave in big groups all one after the other. The class I work in currently seems to have this happen kinda every 6 months. Yeah often it's due to changes being made behind the scenes some that may be affecting the children and others like reducing lunch breaks for staff, management pressue and things like that making staff unhappy causing them to leave. If there are other things you are unhappy with then maybe it's something to look at but consider how long your child would he in the new nursery if they are a school leaver I wouldn't bother but if they are younger it could be something to consider.

I worked in private nurseries for 20 years and I would never ever go back. The cliques of staff are awful, favouritism is alive and well, the pay is low (although so is that of a TA wage, I'm much happier working in a school) you're expected to be giving 100% all of the time with next to no resources (the amount of stuff I've bought for those places from my own pocket adds up to so much over the years, and then they have the audacity to search your bag on the way out in case you've stolen anything of theirs!) Expected to start your shift 10 minutes early yet god forbid you get back off your lunch 30 seconds late, having to hold your pee in because someone has decided to go and have a skive talking to the management and if YOU leave the room you're out of ratio.... being blamed for children falling over a sometimes they do, the list goes on. I think the final straw for me was having to empty the bins in the room to look for a pair of socks for a child that had barely just turned 1 had lost a few days before, because they were her absolute favourite pair, and she couldn't rest until we found them. Never did come across them, but she came in with them on a few days later, no apology from the parent, and we had all been given a stern talking to by management because 'if we hadn't seen her taking them off and losing them, clearly we weren't watching the children closely enough'.
I've had parents complain I'm too happy, not happy enough, I didn't greet them quickly enough, I put nursery clothes on their child when they didn't have any spares in their bag, I didn't wash heavily soiled underwear (who wants someone's poo spraying up in their face as you rinse them in the basin you use to wash your hands!) Oh, and then the parent lets slip that they don't wash them either, they just bin them!

Many more examples, too many to mention, but I hope this gives you an insight into what it's like to work in childcare!

@Hattermadness sorry to hear this.
I could not do it. Mind you, I'm a cleaner and most people say they couldn't do my job either! We all need to work somehow. Thats what I grew up with hearing. I am still sad she is leaving but don't blame her if she has had similar experiences to yours.