Nursery shock report

[needmorecoffee]

anyone see this

Excellent - another scaremongering story.

Don't get me wrong, I don't believe for one second that 100% of nurseries are perfect, but these stories lead one to be believe that 95% of them are plain dangerous.

This stories are unhelpful.

is there any alternative suggested? apart from scraping years of education and experience to give up work and live in a caravan?

Its a well known theory in quantum physics that observation affects reality and changes the behaviour of the observed. I have noticed this in ny childrens' school and nursery. When I am there the staff are less relaxed and the children more tense than when I casually observe through the window. I guess what I am saying is that a lot of these observers create the unfavourable environment that they expect to see.

this story implies that the vast majority of nurseries play the OFSTED system and the reports are meaningless and that parents are being duped on a regular basis.. i am sure some nurseries are as awful as described, and many, many others are fantastic, safe, loving environments for children

more guilt for working parents.....

how long will it take for Xenia come on and tell us the answer is to get a high paid job and have a live-in nanny

The local nursery here is featured on that programme and I've heard all sorts about it.

There have been articles in the local papers about it over the years and last year (I think it was last year) one poor little girl died there.

. But this isn't the first time this has happened is it? I remember a programme a few years back where someone worked under cover in nurseries and many of the children were left to cry/were shouted at/even one little girl who had only just started there wasn't given any attention at all and she was filmed following a childcare assistant around for half an hour before she was picked up .

I have to say that having seen what I've seen of childminders I would never use one, which is sad really as I'm sure they're not all bad, but I do think the good ones are in the minority.

the photo subtitle should be 'Imogen Willcocks decided to kickstart her career by playing on the fears of parents'

or alternative subtitle "what's the betting Imogen starts to eat her words about using childcare if/when she has children"

[high fives tc]

Well I think knowing that some of them are bad and poorly staffed is better than thinking they're all wonderful just to allay any guilt over putting your child in there in the first place.

No can can make anyone feel guilty, you do that yourself. I'd much rather know and make informed decisions than turn a blind eye.

Isn't just the same old stories: lots of nurseries are very good but sometimes you get some who are not as good, and the odd one that is shockingly bad. Same as with childminders, nannies and other forms f childcare.

I hink when choosing chldcare for your child you just need to be on the lookout and if there is anything at all that cncerns you you need to speak out and get answers. If you are not happy still report to OFSTED and move your child.

i don't think one hysterical program about a nursery that already has quite a bad reputation is informing anyone. i am v. awarea that not all private nurseries are ideal and chose one that i saw was well run by caring women.

Agree Jodie. Is it only acceptable to publish results that say 'nurseries are fantastic', then?

I was shocked when I tried my DS2 in a nursery for just one day: when I came back to collect him he was sobbing unattended in the middle of the floor, while the nursery staff completely ignored him.

Obviously the nursery I tried was a bit shite (although it has a good reputation locally), and some nurseries are brilliant. But in my experience (have used two nurseries for my boys) there are a number of nursery workers who don't seem very compassionate towards young children.

"No can can make anyone feel guilty, you do that yourself."

Sorry but personally I think that statement is not true. There is so much pressure on people these days, and so much angst that parents do feel guilt AS A RESULT OF other people. It takes a strong person to be able to rise above it and ignore it, not manay people can all of the time.TBH in my experience in RL the people who say commenst like that above are the ones who are doling out the criticisms. Not saying this is the case here, but it often is the cas and it is just an excuse from those to stpop them taking on the responsibility or blame for making somone feel bad.

oh, here we go. These stupid articles make me so MAD.

"She told me that Ofsted inspection reports - the only thing parents have to go on when choosing a nursery - aren't worth the paper they're printed on"

The only thing parents have to go on????

What about local recommendations?
What about actually visiting the nursery?
What about actually meeting the staff, seeing the children, asking the parents?
What about popping in to pick up children at random hours, unannounced?

Flipping eck, do they think we are thick? Oh, yes, here is £1100 a month to look after my child, i have read the ofsted report on the internet, that is good enough for me. NOT.

"But now I worry about the children of my friends. And having seen what I've seen, I can't imagine I'll ever have my own babies and put them into childcare."

Why is she worried about her friend's children if they are happy with their childcare arrangements?

Trust me, as soon as she has her own children, she'll be using childcare and no doubt subject the public to a plethora of articles about "The Importance of Me Time".

My DTS have been attending nursery since they were 7 months old and they love it. Of course there are some bad ones out there but that does not detract from the fact that there are a lot of good nurseries providing parents with a valuable service.

I agree with SheGoat (may I shorten your name a bit?)

The journalist specifically chose a nursery that already had a bad reputation. If she had been in 10 or 20 different nurseries around the country, then it might have been a completely different story.

The only thing you can do when searching for a nursery is research as much as possible, ask around your friends/neighbours, spend as much time in the nursery, dropping in at unexpected times and trust your instincts. I would never rely on Ofsted reports alone.

agree with hulababy

working parents will read stuff like this and feel guilty.....

of course parents deserve to know about substandard and dangerous nurseries

all childcare providers receive criticism at some point, it can be a no win situation for parents and the providers

how many parents do you thikn will have read this and be worrying , most likely needlessly, about the care their children are receiving whislt they work

policywonk do you honestly think this woman undercover filming in a shitty nursery is doing a public good. where are the programs undercover filming in teh good nurseries where teh children are playing, making friends and preparing for school?

but I think the artacle is right - predominantly the ofsted reports aren't worth the paper they're written on.

A nursery fairly near here received a bad ofsted report a couple of years ago. It was part of a chain so the owners ploughed lots of money into it to get the ofsted report back up, and at the same time they closed one of the better nurseries in the area. As soon as ofsted had been back, the nursery went back down to its former standard of crap, but because the ofsted said it had improved, many parents put their children in there because of the closure of the sister nursery.

yThe conditions were awful.

the preschoolers were in a room up two flights of stairs with no access to outside, the menu claimed they were getting fresh ingredients when in actual fact they were getting things like spaghetti hoops three/four times a week, the manager's 9 yo daughter would come out of school and go into the baby room to play with the babies . But because the ofsted report says it's ok now they won't be back for another 4 years or so.

IMO ofsted should do surprise inspections - there shouldn't be any warning of it happening - an ofsted inspector should be able to walk in and say "I'm here to inspect your nursery", and if the nursery/childminder is up to scratch then that won't be an issue. And if the nursery/childminder gets a bad report it should be closed until it has proven to have put steps in place to rectify the problems.

Well said Amidaiwish. I don't know anyone who uses childcare who solely relies on Ofsted report.

Word of mouth, recommendations, personal preference and to some extent, rapport with the carers are usually the main factors influencing decisions.

wannabe - did the parents not notice any of this?