Hello, I'm hoping to have some advice from other mums. I'm due to return to work in the next few weeks and am having major wobbles about the nursery for my 12 month old. We generally have TERRIBLE provision for under 2s in our area, with poor quality and lack of places / hours, and so I signed my baby up when I was 8 months pregnant. When I looked round the member of staff seemed very caring, experienced and a mum and grandma herself. She told me about their key person scheme, how they create a calm and caring environment and it seemed stimulating a d friendly.
I've since started settling in sessions with my baby and it feels different. My gut is telling me it's not right. A few things:
- I asked who my baby's key person would be and they said they just decide in a few weeks based on who they are drawn to. I've older kids and Never heard of this before? Surely they need one person to build an attachment with and to look out for them?
- the more experienced staff were nowhere to be seen, one girl I spoke to said she'd been there a month and kept saying 'whats the matter?' to a crying baby. I also witnessed a one year old being barked at when she was clearly very upset.
- I don't feel confident that the staff are experienced at comforting babies. When I was in the setting with my baby she was excited and pointing things out and we were playing together, but when I picked her up when I hadn't been there with her she was withdrawn.
- I met the manager for the first time and felt like she was rushing me out.
They've raised their fees significantly since I looked round ( didn't tell me so that was a nice surprise on my first invoice!) and I feel like they're trying to promote themselves on being high end with fancy equipment etc, but that the care and loving environment isn't there.
I have a really excellent nursery for when my baby is 2.5 but until then my options are limited:
- do I try and get a nanny or childminder and spend a lot more
- try and find another nursery even if it's a lot further away so she does longer days
- try and tweak my hours at work so she's not there as much
- keep her there longer and hope it improves? Perhaps speaking with manager about concerns?
It is financially impossible for me to stop work and I have no family members who will help out. Thank you in advance!!