Keyworker changing again

[calilark]

DD (16 months) has been at nursery since June, doing 3 days per week. She took a while to settle, but quickly got very attached to her keyworker which helped enormously.

Said keyworker was then moved into a different section of the nursery to separate her from her best friend, as they were working together in the same area and the management weren't keen - felt they were too cliquey.

So DD was assigned a new keyworker in Oct. She seems ok but definitely ia unsettled - not happy at drop off, needs a lot of reassurance. This keyworker is now leaving in a couple of weeks, so DD will be assigned her 3rd keyworker in 7 months.

I have asked whether the nursery are planning to shuffle staff around and move her original keyworker back into DD's area, but they haven't organised any shuffle or replacement yet.

I appreciate that the nursery wouldn't have known that keyworker 2 would leave for another job, but I just feel for DD. She will continue getting more attached to her over the next few weeks, only for her to then have to start all over again with another person - cue more unsettledness, more tears at drop off etc.

Am I being a bit pfb or is 3 keyworkers in 7 months for a baby quite excessive? Should I voice my worries to the nursery manager or am I worrying needlessly?

Thanks

Gosh sorry, that was long!

Speak to the manager and express your concerns. You have valid reasons to feel unhappy and your right it's not great to have so many key workers in such a short space of time.
Can I ask how you knew that management weren't keen and felt they were cliquey? It's not something that is usually spoken about to parents.

Thanks for the reply Alex.

It was the 2nd keyworker who told me about the management decision - she was quite open about it as she felt that it wasn't really needed and was detrimental to the baby area.

The nursery itself it brilliant and perfect for DD, but the management of it (the site, rather than the chain) is quite informal, and I have v good parent-carer relationships with both the 1st and 2nd keyworker.

I think perhaps I will speak to the area manager rather than the site manager, as she is temporary cover whilst the normal manager is on maternity leave, and doesn't seem as clued up/capable. She is dual manager/room worker in the 2years+ area so often run ragged!

It does seem like rather a lot of change, but I have to say i think this sort of thing is quite common in nurseries.

In DS nursery the key worker thing is a bit of a nominal idea anyway - he goes 4 days per week and his key worker isn't in 1.5 of those days, so instead he has close relationships with all the other ladies that work in his room.

His favourite is leaving next week though, so I know what you mean. He will be gutted. But i think this is one of the things that you have to accept when you choose a nursery over a childminder: you won't get that 1:1 personal care from a chosen special person. the staff WILL change and your LO will have to adapt. This is one of the cons of a nursery setting. But in my mind it was outweighed by all the many positives of a nursery setting.

Also, in a funny way I feel like for DS, the nursery and it's routine itself, is often the constant thing that makes him feel secure. Whether it's Zoe, or Lucy, or Claire who's working in his room that day: everything always happens in the same way, at the same time, and I think children take a lot of comfort from that routine, no matter who's delivering it (within reason! i am not saying a strange face in the room every day would be a good thing! But if there's 3 or 4 familiar staff who alternate in and out of the room, I don't think that matters as long as the room routine is constant, familiar and reassuring to the children).

Your DD will have security from the other member of staff in the room being the same. My DD cried buckets when a member of staff left her pre school and it wasn't her key worker who left. Hopefully all the staff in the room work with your DD at some point and will provide the continuity she needs.