To think tht if Nursery is open all children not just paying parents?

[silentlywondering]

A couple of weeks ago I got a call telling me that nursery was only open to paying parents as they had not hot water. A key worker told me that the council had told them that as long a they had plenty of soap they should be able to open but they didn't change their mind and stayed shut to children on free places.

This morning I called to ask if they were open to be told only to paying parents and that they would be closing early anyway due to the weather. David got upset when told no nursery today and threw a temper tantrum. I called the main office for the children's centre for clarification and one of the key workers agreed with me that it is discriminatory. She said she would look into it and get back to me. Have just had the nursery manager on the phone trying to make me feel guilty for having made a complaint and telling me it wasn't her decision and that it is all down to health and safety. "Besides most of the nurseries are not open our parents are lucky" In my mind this is not the point open for all or close for all do not discriminate against my child. I was at work till 11 last night and have been sick twice already this morning and feel like death warmed up. I made the effort and got my daughter to school and was willing to make the effort to get my son to nursery where he would get to socialise and learn instead of just wanting to veg out in front of the telly which is all he wants to do at home!

Ohh pooh title should really read Am I being unreasonable to think that if nursery is open it should be for all children not just paying parents.

If the nursery has no hot water they are not allowed to open to any child, paying or not.

YANBU. However, it sounds like they were only opening to paying parents as there would have been less staff able to get in? In which case, they should have either explained that or closed the nursery to all.

It is discrimination, because even if they can only take a certain number of children (for whatever reason) they can't decide who they're going to take on the basis of who pays and who doesn't.

Feel free to complain. A lot. And angrily.

I have got no where talking to nursery in fact she tied me in knots and made me feel like I had been daft to complain. The more I think about it the crosser I get.

Not sure what to do now. I don't want to cause a huge stir at nursery cause I want David to be happy there and in my experience if you kick up a huge fuss they can get funny with you or the kids. Actually I think I am a bit cross that they were told exactly who had made the complaint, I think they should of just been told a parent has phoned to query this decision could you please explain the policy to me. On the other hand I am sick of them discriminating against children who are there on a referral due to health or family issues or who only go for their 15 free hours a week as they are over 3. Just because I don't work in the day doesn't mean I don't need child care in the day. I work nights so it is useful for him to go to nursery a few times a week for me to catch up on my sleep.

we are cuddled up at home with hot choc and scooby doo on the telly and he seems content. I don't really want to go out in the cold again. Mum has just phoned and offered to collect DD from school for me which is marvellous.

Sounds ridiculous, and in reality surely ALL the children are paid for - just some are paid by taxpayer via nursery place scheme and some are paid by parents directly. Are the nursery returning money paid by taxpayer?

Not sure if they claim his hours or not if he is not there. Would be interesting to find out though wouldn't it!

That is terrible!

And this is a nursery in a children's centre? Isn't the point of children's centres that childcare is accessible to all families, particularly free childcare.

The complaint has been handled badly, they should not have named you! I wouldn't call the nursery back, I would call whoever you complained to again. Say you are still angry about the discrimination you have encountered, the nusery's reaction to you in their phone call after the complaint, and their breach of confiidentiality. Shocking.

YANBU - all of the children at the nursery have to have a "paid for" place or the nursery wouldn't be able to run.
Whether that place is paid for by the parent or some other organisation is irrelevant and I for one would simply ignore that comment and take my child into nursery anyway.

When are they going to let you have the sessions that have been paid for (even if it is not by you, SOMEONE has paid for them)?

Sounds like they don't want to refund "paying" parents, but are quite happy to pocket the funding they have been given for your place.

Very Poor Show on their part. Ring back the childrens' centre and complain (about the phone call) if I were you. And complain about the confidentiality issue too.

They don't offer alternative sessions due to staffing levels apparently.

At DD's nursery (attached to a school) there is one staff for children who get LEA funding and additional staff for children who pay for the sessions. (although in practice the children are unaware which staff is which). The 2 parts are run entirely separately from a business point of view (although as an onlooker you would not realise this).

Could this be something similar? I know on teacher training days the nursery is shut to children who get LEA funding but (sometimes) remains open to those who pay as this is effectively a separate "business".

Not sure Redsky. It's a surestart nursery but they take paying customers as well.

At DD's school they run a private nursery which I cannot afford they also run what they call playcare which is where the children who get a free place go they are two separate buildings and then they have the preschool nursery attached to the infant school as well, all of these are open today as is the school. If they close school they close the whole site private nursery included.

There are no free places for ds to go to playcare atm which is why he is at the surestart nursery.