Is this normal?

[Mrscouldron]

This is my first time post so please bear with me.

My DC has been attending a nursery for the past 11 months, they are 4 years old. Over the past couple of months the nursery setting has become very chaotic. They have received a bad ofstead report and after only previously taking on 3-5 year olds they now have taken on a 3 month old baby. They are woefully understaffed and my DC tells me that a member of staff has to carry around the baby at all times in case it gets trodden on by one of the older ones. They say the baby cries constantly and when doing activities with the key worker the baby is in her arms.

This past couple of weeks there has been a lot of cases of hand foot and mouth. My DC caught it last week and has been off for 7 days and has recovered. The nursery manager now says DC cannot come in for another 7 days as they have to protect the baby? AlBU to think this is really over the top and my DC should be allowed back in?

Also in the past 11 months I have only received 4 updates via the family app they use.

My DC has been very happy there but I am starting to feel very uneasy about the situation and how chaotic the nursery seems at pick up and drop off. Should I look for another nursery? I’m just worried about how my DC would cope with the change as they have made a lot of friends and is settled there.

Thank you for reading!

Do they not have separate rooms for ages?

Ah that’s a really tough decision. What was and about their ofsted inspection? Sounds bizarrre about the baby being carried everywhere! Do your DC start school next year?

It doesn't sound great. Children can go to nursery with hand foot and mouth as long as they feel well, no need to exclude for 14 days.
The situation with the baby is strange too - are they a staff members child or a younger sibling of a nursery child?
It's a difficult one - if they were younger I would move them but uprooting them for two terms and then starting school is a fair bit of upheaval for a four year old.

Complain to offsted. Baby being carried everywhere but also being approached by the older kids is a red flag they only have 1 key worker for the whole lot.

That sounds chaotic. Are they adhering to the proper ratios?

DD's nursery is very small, but they still have a baby section for the under 2s that is separated by a stairgate from the main nursery and key workers just for the under 2s. Why on earth do they have one 3mo-old baby and the rest 3-5 yos? It sounds like a really odd set-up.

-14 days exclusion for HFM is ridiculous.
-If they’re taking babies then there should be a dedicated baby room - is there? I don’t know that I would trust a 4YO’s account of what’s going on with the baby because they’re not the most factual narrators.

-Updates via the app, I would not be worried about with a 4YO since they can tell you what’s going on, mine when to a school nursery at that age and we got next to nothing.
-Woefully understaffed - are they keeping to legal ratios?
-Bad ofstead - why?

It’s hard to say without more information but I agree I would be worried.

Thank you for your replies. My DC will be starting school in September.

There is no separate room for babies and this 3 month old is the only child under 3 in the entire nursery. I think from what my DC says there is no where safe to put the baby that the older ones wouldn't run into it. I think of the 4 members of staff they take it in turns to carry the baby around. From what I can see it's not a staff members child. The manager does seem very over friendly though with the mother.

The staff are lovely but can be a bit unprofessional as a couple of weeks ago one of them posted on Facebook about what a hard day it had been at the nursery? The ofstead report highlighted the fact that the recruitment process wasn't good and that not all of the staff members had the right qualifications. The report also spoke about the learning being coincidental rather than intentional.

If my DC was younger I would definitely move them but like pp said it's only for 2 more terms. I am more afraid that when the next bug goes around my DC will be made to stay away for a long time again. I also worry that the staff are so preoccupied with the baby my DC isn't getting enough attention.

@LakeShoreD

-14 days exclusion for HFM is ridiculous. -If they’re taking babies then there should be a dedicated baby room - is there? I don’t know that I would trust a 4YO’s account of what’s going on with the baby because they’re not the most factual narrators. -Updates via the app, I would not be worried about with a 4YO since they can tell you what’s going on, mine when to a school nursery at that age and we got next to nothing. -Woefully understaffed - are they keeping to legal ratios? -Bad ofstead - why?

It’s hard to say without more information but I agree I would be worried.

There is definitely no baby room. I have witnessed at pick up and drop off the baby constantly in someone's arms that's why I do tend to believe my DC.

I'm not convinced they are adhering to the ratio requirements but I couldn't be certain as I'm not sure how many kids are in at any one time.

The Ofsted report should say how many children they are registered for and how many staff

It will also tell you the age range they are registered for

Ok so after checking the report again. They have lost staff since the report was completed. They are definitely not complying with the ratio requirement.

Can I anonymously report them? I don't want to really muddy the waters since one of the staffs older DC goes to school with my older DC.

Also only registered for 2-5 year olds not babies!

I wouldn't definitely report and be moving my child. I find it odd that a mother of a 3 month old baby would want her child looked after in those circumstances, is childcare really hard to come by in your area?

My kids go to a big nursery, so it's quite different (my daughter is in the 'under 3s' building where there are four rooms depending on age) but I thought that they had to have dedicated facilities for young babies?