New nursery - am I being a bit precious?

[carolinexiao]

Hi all, DD has just changed nursery as we've relocated. She's 16 mo now and was happy and settled at her old one so I'm obviously comparing the new one to that. However she's only been there a week and there are a few things I'm not sure about. Firstly it's big - they have up to 24 under 2s all in one room and quite often when I've picked her up there have only been a couple of staff visible and a few kids crying. There are often "bits" on the floor, broken toys etc, and while the staff are pleasant enough, I don't the impression they can really get to know that many kids and maybe don't care much...
Today was the second time I picked her up, took her home, changed her nappy and saw that whoever changed her nappy last hadnt done a great job of wiping if you know what I mean...
Any thoughts? It's stressful for her to change nursery again so I don't know about looking for a new one, but do you think anything would actually change if I spoke to them? Would like a childminder really but don't know anyone at all in the area and I'd prefer a personal recommendation..
Thanks!

[NameChange30]

"Can you take time off work (paid or unpaid) for a week or two while you look?"

Sorry, I've just seen that you've just started a new job so not ideal to take time off, but your DH could still, or if that's tricky as well then you could always talk to your boss, you might be surprised. Decent employers are usually pretty accommodating.

[LovingLola]

Take her out. That sounds very very difficult for her.

[glow1984]

I didn’t know about the ratios!

My nursery certainly has it right then. There might about 9 kids in the room with 3 members of staff. If anyone needs to leave, they usually ring the office and ask for someone else to cover for a few minutes.

It definitely does not sound as if your LO is settling in or enjoying :( if it were me, I’d try to get somewhere sooner or cut her hours.

[NameChange30]

I would take her out straight away if I were you. Keep looking for a better nursery or a childminder with availability now. Personal recommendation is best but it sounds as if most options would better than the nursery she's at now. You could literally work your way through the list of childcare providers on your local council website. You could also check childcare.co.uk for reviews. But I think you can get a lot from the Ofsted report and your gut feeling when you visit.

Can you take time off work (paid or unpaid) for a week or two while you look?

[HamSandWitches]

DC 1 went to a nursery like this. When you went in it was bedlam, kids running wild, it lòoked a mess, workers standing talking instead of looking after the kid's. This was years ago, she was my first and there wasn't as many nurseries as what there are now to choose from. She got hit in the face with a shovel, was always dirty then ended up knocking both her front teeth ending up with her in surgery to have them removed. She couldn't walk but managed to drag herself up the slide steps somehow and fall off, she had 4 accidents whilst there. There was no where else to go so she had to stay for a few months after that but I ended up giving up work and staying home with her. DC 2 and 3 went to different nurseries and both were well run, immaculate and we'll staffed, kids were always clean at handover. I would change again if I was you.

[PandorasXbox]

Oh no I’m sorry to read that OP. Is there a different nursery you could use till after Christmas in that case? Do you know anyone that could recommend somewhere?

[Ttbb]

Definitely change. That is no place for a small child.

[carolinexiao]

Hi pandorasxbox,
No she's not herself at the moment and I think it's stress. She doesn't eat much at nursery, barely sleeps (20 mins most days), sobs when I drop her off and sleeps really badly at night too 😞 X

[ladystarkers]

Take her out

[Oliversmumsarmy]

think they do have the "correct" staff-child ratio in the nursery, but it seems like people are always getting deployed to do other stuff (tidy up, bins, nappies etc) so for most of the time the number of staff watching the kids is lower

In dd and ds's nursery they had a floater who covered when some one was doing a nappy change or was called away. The person couldn't leave the room till this person appeared so there was always coverage

[PandorasXbox]

Sorry she not he.

[PandorasXbox]

It might be wise to wait till Christmas to move him if you can so he doesn’t have too many disruptions. Does he seem happy going atm?

[carolinexiao]

Hello again, as I now appear to be incapable of making a decision by myself, I'm asking for your thoughts 😊 Have potentially found a childminder and a smaller nursery but neither has availability til after Christmas. Do I hang on in the current nursery until then? Unfortunately we don't have any family etc nearby who could cover the interim and DH and I both work full time (and I just started a new job so can't really take time off) x x

[wobblywonderwoman]

You can find a better place. Hope all works out well.

[carolinexiao]

Thanks everyone, we're starting to look around. Hope we find something nice... x x

[Alexindisguise]

I changed my sons nursery when he moved in to a large room like that. As he's quiet he just got lost in there and barely any adult interaction. I kept hoping things would improve, they didn't.

Move her now whilst it's all still new. Always listen to your gut instinct.

[Hellywelly10]

You sound very reasonable. Look at Some nurseries and childminders. Good luck I'm sure you'll find something perfect.

[wineandcheeseplease]

As someone said 24 under 2s should have 8 members of staff

[Melabela10]

I would leave. 24 toddlers in one room is a lot. I visited about 10 nurseries so far and never heard of that.

[MiniAlphaBravo]

That doesn't sound good at all, I've never experienced that with my dd's nursery. If change her, stressful as it is, will be better in the long run.

[Goldenbug]

24 babies? Leave. You can't look after 24 little individuals. You end up herding them. Never more than 12 babies and 16 toddlers should be in a room in my opinion (Which is right).

[Whoopsiveovershared]

With 24 under 2s you need 8 staff (ratio is 1:3). So if bins need emptying, you should still see 7 staff as an absolute minimum. 2 is completely unacceptable.

[Glumglowworm]

Nappy changing is so very basic as far as childcare goes that if they're repeatedly getting that wrong I wouldn't trust them to get anything else right either.

[carolinexiao]

Thanks all! I dropped her off this morning feeling like an evil person...
I think they do have the "correct" staff-child ratio in the nursery, but it seems like people are always getting deployed to do other stuff (tidy up, bins, nappies etc) so for most of the time the number of staff watching the kids is lower...

[glow1984]

You’re not being precious. I would not accept that from my nursery at all. If they have 24 kids in one room, there will be at least 4 members of staff in there!