Nursery keeps ringing parents to collect our daughter

[NaptimeNavigator]

(mistake in the title - nursery keeps ringing US to collect our daughter)

This topic has been discussed before, but our situation feels slightly different, so I’m starting a new thread.

Our 2‑year‑old daughter started nursery on 21 October 2025, and as of today (12 January), we’ve already been called 26 times to collect her due to a “high fever.” Their policy is: cool the child down, administer Calpol, wait 30 minutes, and if there’s no improvement, the parents must collect the child.

What feels strange is that not once has she improved after Calpol at nursery, yet at home she responds to it 9 times out of 10. Out of those 26 occasions, she was only genuinely unwell on about 4 or 5 days. The rest of the time, she was completely fine once we picked her up.

In most cases, the moment she leaves the classroom, the “fever” seems to vanish. She’s suddenly happy, energetic, singing, playing, and remains perfectly well for the rest of the day. This morning we even checked her temperature before leaving home—she was absolutely fine.

These constant calls are now affecting our job stability and mental wellbeing. Both my partner and I work in secondary schools, and we’ve exhausted our paid childcare absence allowance. Any further absences are unpaid and at the headteacher’s discretion. It’s incredibly stressful having to explain yet again that the nursery has called us.

We also don’t have family nearby, so there’s no backup support.

We’ve asked the nursery whether her temperature could be spiking due to distress or emotional upset—something we’ve read can happen in young children. They dismissed this, saying emotions only show externally and don’t affect internal temperature. But it’s hard not to feel like they simply want her collected whenever she’s tearful or unsettled. It’s difficult to understand how she can have a fever only at nursery and then be completely normal the moment she leaves.

Their policy is to send a child home if their temperature is ≥38°C and hasn’t improved after 30 minutes. Our issue is that 30 minutes isn’t long enough for Calpol to work for her—she usually needs closer to an hour. When we’ve tried to explain this, we’re told there is no flexibility because “it’s policy.” It leaves us feeling like they’re not making much effort to support her when she’s emotional, and we have no way of verifying the temperature readings they claim to take.

I’ve also read that some nurseries are stricter because they’re short‑staffed, which makes the whole situation even more concerning.

We’re now reluctantly looking into a childminder. There would be fewer children (just our daughter and two others), the environment is calmer, and childminders generally have a slightly higher threshold before asking parents to collect a child. With fewer children, there’s also less chance of constant bugs being passed around.

Sorry for the long post, but we’re genuinely at a breaking point. We’d prefer for her to stay at the nursery, but the current situation is pushing us toward choosing a childminder as the only realistic option.

Just wondering if anyone has had similar experience?

Def sounds like they are under staffed and ‘get’ rid of a child

I would say next time you can’t collect for an hour +

and say no calpol.

and take temp once there

and look for different childcare as you can’t trust them

@NaptimeNavigator do the calls tend to be at the same time of day, ie just after a shift change (when a staff member hasn’t turned up…) That in itself would be suspicious.

26 times? That's crazy. I have two boys in nursery, one 3 and one nearly 2. I can probably count a handful (or two!) of times per child we have been called over temperature, and that's over 2.5 years!

I don't think there is anything wrong with their policy, it's pretty common. Ours has the same, and they acknowledged that 30 min is sometimes not long enough for some children, but they have to draw a line somewhere.

But I can't believe your child had 26 episodes of high fever (over 38) since October, this is crazy! It's more than both my children combined in the past 2 years...
Is there any reasonable explanation for this?

Otherwise I would suspect either an issue with their thermometer (but then why would they even take her temperature if she is otherwise fine).

Or they have staffing issues and use this as an excuse to send children home when they are over ratio. It's quite a common tactic in some nurseries. I suspect they are targeting you because you are one of the parents able to pick up their child quickly (as opposed to parents like us who need at least an hour due to commute).

What's her normal temperature? Perhaps she runs a bit warmer than average anyway so a slight rise puts her over their limit. But take your time getting there and take your own thermometer and if her temperature isn't up leave her there. Is she over dressed or is the place really warm?

Hello @Ilovemychocolate , the reluctancy is due to changing to a new setting and starting all over meeting new faces and all. The appealing aspect to us about a nursery is being in a school-like environment and start getting her familiarised with that sort of environment. I have nothing against CM's and am actively looking for one.

@Anotherdayanotherdollar 4-5 days seriously ill means that she was legit ill, had obvious high fever, cough and lethargy. That could be included in two occasions or phone call incidents, 2 days off in one occasion and 2/3 days in another occasion.

During covid school realised my child was always 0.5 higher than normal (private school took temps every morning).
Some kids just run warmer, but why are they checking your dd so often.
I have been known to turn up with a thermometer when I knew dd waa absolutely fine, and said great all better mummy needs to get bsck to work. That waa the last phone call to collect.

@Walkacrossthesand Yes, they tend to be between 10:30/1130

Have they seriously given your child calpol 26 times in three months? That’s awful. Especially considering most of those occasions it’s sounds like it was totally unwarranted.

As other parents have said: "What else is happening?" Is there a shift change, is a manager present, has someone not turned up, has a member of staff had to leave the premises? I think taking a thermometer with you and child not having Calpol before you arrive is the best advice. There is obviously something that you are not aware of happening.

Is it at a specific time of the day? My DD would not nap for love nor money after 18 months old and unsurprisingly when they tried to make her nap and she probably was frustrated and upset, they took her temperature, lo and behold "a fever" and we would have to collect. When we got her home to measure there was never a fever present and she was off 2 days each time. We swapped nurseries and the fevers mysteriously vanished overnight. Strange.

Editing to add that the nursery was understaffed and underfunded, they clearly were trying to send a child home, and ours was the annoying one who didn't nap when they wanted a lunch break and peace.

I had the same issue only the other way round, it was a childminder I had the issue with, I was constantly getting phone calls during the day at work telling me my son was unwell and I needed to collect him. Due to the nature of my husband’s job, it always fell to me to do the pickups. Every time I collected him, he was totally fine.

Luckily my work were very good about the whole thing, but the frequency in which it was happening was just too much.

I took my son out and put him into a nursery and never looked back, in the following 3 years he spent there, I only got a call ONCE to collect him, and he was genuinely unwell then.

The problem with a childminder is that you are relying on one person for childcare and if they’re unwell, then you’re stuck, additionally a large chunk of your holidays aren’t your own as you need to save them for when the childminder wants to take off.

If I were you, I’d firstly raise it as a concern with them, that they are being too quick to send her home. 26 calls to go home in 12 weeks is beyond excessive, if they don’t recognise this and take steps to address it, definitely find another nursery

I think this is due to stress and that she doesn't like the nursery or feel save there, hence she is sick constantly while there. I would dicuss with a GP and take it further based on the stress level.

Next time OP I would be slower to get there, take a thermometer and do a head count when you get there to see if they’re over ratio numbers! But ultimately I’d be looking for a new setting

They’re taking the piss. I imagine they don’t have the staff. 26 days in less than 3 months, including Christmas where I guess she was off for at least a week? How many full days has she done??

Their thermometer sounds wrong! That many fevers is scary!

26 times in 3 months is a joke!

id ask for a copy of their log of temps and Calpol being given.

id also take my own thermometer to take it infront of them.

Ask them to upload a photo of the fever to their communication app, and request that she isn't given Calpol. Then take your own thermometer.

Then start looking for alternative childcare. She's only little, she'll settle somewhere else quickly enough. This nursery are not reliable.

For context, my DC was at nursery during Covid when we had to go get tested at the slightest sign of illness - cold, cough, temp, even seeming under the weather. We ended up doing around 15 tests from July 2020 to spring 2022, when we were allowed to switch to lateral flow tests.

My son was sent home ONCE in 4 years and that was with chicken pox! Why are they obsessed with taking a temperature? My daughter has only started in July and been off twice. This is wild!

Have you taken her to the GP? Having a high temperature 26 times in 3 months is concerning. If she's needing Calpol every 2/3 days she's probably building up a tolerance to it as well.

Have you been taking her temp? My DD was continually sent home with a temp but was absolutely fine.

After a few months of this I took her to the GP. Whom took her temp (she wasn't unwell when I took her, evidenced by her playing very loudly in the waiting room) and found she did have a temp. It turns out she has a high 'normal' temp. We were referred for tests and seems maybe a gastrointestinal intolarance causing it. So following this with a GP letter explaining this with her temp it was agreed she wouldn't be sent home unless she was unwell too or temp over 39.

Although the next time after this they called me it was well over 40 and she ended up in hospital!

Also calpol generally didn't bring her temp down but ibuprofen did

i have 3 kids now at primary. Not once did I ever have a call to collect one from nursery. Does she run hot generally? I’d move, there are plenty of other nurseries and childminders and you might find a smaller setting more leniant with this.

Yep. Say give up on the calpol it obviously doesn't work (!). Thermometers are very unreliable too, bring yours to 'check'.

Although I would actualy move anyway. They're obviously a bit crap and / or lazy.

Hi op the nursery sounds bloody awful tbh I would call there bluff next time say to them call an ambulance it’s obviously something major wrong with her they won’t ring for one but just test them it sounds like she would be better with cm but you could also move her to a school nursery setting when’s she’s 3 but right now you need to do what’s best for you as a family the fact it’s so early on in the day means there getting paid and might be short staffed but I would not trust them tbh they sound like unprofessional babysitters not qualified nursery nurses ask a pharmacist how long does calpol take to work and if it’s an hour there policy is crap also check out the ofsted report.