AIBU? Hygiene Practices, or lack of.....

[DecisionsDecisions21]

Hi all,

I have some concerns with the nursery that my daughter starts at next week. We went for a settling in day yesterday (where parents stay too) and I noticed somethings that raised alarm bells.

They had a notice on the door to say that they had confirmed outbreaks of HFM and impetigo in the nursery, fair enough. But then when I observed some of the practices I was shocked.

1. The babies didn't have their hands cleaned before snack time (not wiped even) is this the norm?

1. The same cloth was used on every child after snack time to wipe the children's hands and faces? Surely this is not right? I wouldnt use my husbands towel or my childs towel, let alone a snotty rag another child has used.

Surely, every child should be given their own flannel to wash with or am I being unrealistic

1. Also, the room leader said, that sometimes after messy play, they use a bath to bathe the children if they get too messy....is this normal practice?

1. I have emailed the manager to see if I can go and meet her to discuss my concerns. That's another thing, the manager is often part of the numbers...is this right, normal practice?

1. I know the child ratio to practitioner is 3:1 but what about the space available to play in, it did seem over subscribed and almost chaotic.

1. The children were exploring things like hair brushes and toothbrushes, and the toothbrush was being chewed and slobbered over, and carried in the mouth of a toddling 1year old....whilst walking around, what if they fell over with it in?

I only question these things because my son went tot a different nursery and their practices were like as I described.

Please help me realise that I'm a wingey, protective mother, or I need to go to a different nursery, what would you do?

TIA

1 & 2 - nope, really poor practice! I personally prefer washing every child's hands at a sink with water and soap but I know some nurseries will cut corners a bit and just wipe babies hands with flannels or wet wipes. Better than nothing though! There should be a cloth/wipe per child too.
Ofsted would certainly pull them up for this. And if they're doing it in front of a new parent this is obviously their best practice.

3 is just weird.

4 is perfectly acceptable, in an ideal world the manager would be extra to numbers but they are probably very tight on staffing. I would wonder what they do if someone is off sick.

5 children under 2 should have 3.5m2 floor space (play space) per child, not including kitchens, bathrooms, offices etc

6 poor risk assessment by staff.

1. 2. Not normal and I wouldn't be happy

1. Weird never heard of it

1. Happens but not acceptable as manager will be doing paper work and staff things so remove her from the numbers. Then add sickness. Big no no from me

1. And that's when they know parents are coming. Imagine a normal day

1. Dodgy and poor risk assessment

Find another nursery

Report to OFSTED/ Local authority... find another nursery

Thank you @ChildminderMum @Nancyjuice7 @sunshine5997 for your input. Its confirmed and I'll be contacting another nursery asap. I'm so disheartened.

Not at all over cautious. I think it is a good thing the manager is in the room as they get to see what is happening and staff practice. Sometimes the only way this can happen is for them to be included in numbers

The same cloth was used on every child after snack time to wipe the children's hands and faces? Surely this is not right? I wouldnt use my husbands towel or my childs towel, let alone a snotty rag another child has used.

That's gross I couldn't send my child there if I knew they did that.

All of that sounds revolting no handwashing same cloth no wonder they have HFM of course you should be concerned .

The only positive is the manager working with children. Iused to work in nurseries years ago and we had a shower head and a deep sink if the children got very messy or had poop explosions, but it is whatever you feel comfy with.

The manager should not be needed to work with the children. (Unless there's an emergency going on).

Find a different nursery for the flannels alone!

It’s totally normal to use a baby bath to bathe children if they get messy 🥴 they keep their nappies on. I have done this in past 3 nurseries.
Using the same cloth to wash hands and faces etc is gross and you should definitely say something, however most nurseries use water wipes to wipe hands as it’s easier.