What would you do?

[Pennies]

My friend has two sons very close together and she sends them to the same nursery.

Recently whilst she was picking them up she got talking to a member of staff whilst holding one of them and a few minutes later she suddenly realised that her other DS wasn't in the room. She looked in the loos and he wasn't there and then went outside to find him in the car park! She told me was was pretty p'd off about this but let it go because she assumed that because she was there they must have assumed she was looking after him and knew where he was.

Then last week she dropped them off and after leaving them there was outside chatting to a mate when her friend noticed one of her DS's was in the car park crying and wanting to go home.

She said she had words with them and that later when she came back they were all singing and dancing with their new security but she's really not sure what (if anything) to do next.

Any thoughts?

I wouldn't be happy at all.
The one time i could forgive (my ds has whixzzed out of the door while I was chatting with staff) but not the second.

Move them!!!That's disgraceful.

Mimizan - that's been my advice (plus a strongly worded letter to Ofsted) but it's taken a whilst for the boys to settle there and she's worried about unsettling them and also whether she can get them in anywhere else at such short notice.

She interested in the collective wisdom of MN so I said I'd start this thread.

once is unfortunate and just about forgiveable

twice indicates some worrying lapses in security

very slack IMO

I really think that security is a basic and fairly easy requirement to get right. If they can't even get that right what else is going wrong?

how can they open the doors?

all doors should be locked and handles out of reach

there is no way DS could open the front door at his nursery ...

She said it was something to do with a stair gate and someone standing there "watching" who comes and goes. This lead to a main hallway with a normal door I think. Not too sure on details.

That was my thoughts re. what else is going wrong.

i think this would undermine my confidence a lot in the nursery

your friend needs to start looking at alternatives i think

That sounds like my old nursery I mentioned to the manager that the older preschoolers could open the front door and could get out if they put their mind o it - they did nothing so called OFSTED there were other issues too - I would move them.

Agree- call OFSTED & move them.

That is scary - there is no way the children should be able to open the doors. It makes me shudder to think of them wandering around outside - IN A CAR PARK!!

Safety of the children should (and does for your friend I'm sure)come first of course, but the practicalities of childcare make this is a tough one for your friend. Not an enviable situation. I suppose she's got to go with her gut instinct. I would have to act on this by removing my dses and/or approaching Ofsted like other posters have said.

Message withdrawn

Exactly what I was going to say milliec.

OFSTED defintely should be made aware, and I would keep the children out of nursery until something had been done if I wasn't going to move them (which would honestly be what I would do, but can understand why your friend is reluctant).