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!

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?

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.

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?

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.

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

"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.