Is this level of disorganisation and understaffing normal at nurseries?

[BottlesAndHandcream]

I have an eight month old that started nursery nine weeks ago. Since then, we have been noticing a few things that make us uncomfortable. I was wondering if this is normal in all nurseries or if we should find another one.

Basically, most of the problems seem to be centred around them being a bit understaffed.

• Our baby hasn’t been assigned a key person, even though they told us this would happen.
• The settling in process was very weird, with the baby room manager taking care of two other babies while we briefed her. I think she barely registered what we said.
• Communication is weird. Sometimes they update the app, sometimes there are no updates at all and they can’t event tell us when he slept or had her milk.
• Always different members of staff receiving him and handing him over. The nursery has about six members of staff looking over the children, and they rotate days. They don’t always seem to pass our messages between each other.
• They don’t always manage to get LO to sleep, because there’s always different people trying to get her to sleep. Some are good at it, others can’t be bothered.
• They keep swapping our bottles with other babies’ bottles, and often misplace them, even though they’re labelled. The other day, we were giving LO a bottle and the teat collapsed. They had given us a lower flow teat from a different baby.
• They don’t follow certain instructions. For example, we told them our baby is learning to drink from an open cup and provided the cup. DH went there today and found them giving him water from a sippy cup. They never seem to take out cup out of the backpack, even though we mentioned it a few times.
• Sometimes he comes home with food all over her face.
• I ask them to top up my breast milk with formula if he finishes the bottle, but I’m almost sure that they’re not doing it.

Now, our LO doesn’t tend to cry when we leave him with them, which is a positive aspect. They often send a daily update at the end of the day, with photos and a summary of what the babies did. He’s usually content when we pick her up, but very tired and hungry.

I have other nursery in mind, but am afraid to put my baby through a settling in process again only to find out that it’s the same.

Is it normal for nurseries to be like this?

No not normal in the baby room. Normal by the preschool year.

Ask them on the door but I would move if you think you’re baby isn’t being fed enough.

Whether it's normal or not, do you think that's good care for your baby?

If everyone comes on and tells you, yes all nurseries are shit, are you going to leave your baby in shit childcare for the next few years because it's 'normal'?

(The cup one is ridiculous though, a sippy cup at nursery is fine, teach her to drink from an open cup at home).

Sounds crap in general, though your expectations on the open cup are unreasonable. They're understaffed with loads of babies to look after, they're not going to be giving one an open cup!

An 8 month old will probably settle easily anywhere though, if you leave it much longer separation anxiety will really kick in.

Is there a reason that you keep switching from baby being a him to a her? Something about this post feels off to me, I’m really sorry if I’m mistaken

I unfortunately do not have the luxury to not be able to work or to afford a nanny, so I do need to put him in either a nursery or in a childminder. I’m asking this because if everywhere is going to be like this, I’d be moving my child into the unknown again just so that it will end up being the same.

Just trying not to reveal the gender, probably was a bit silly of me. 😂

No not normal. But I don’t think you can expect them to use a brought in cup.

I can no longer edit the post, but yes, I acknowledge the bit about the cup was silly.

I'm a childminder and I can assure you that all the babies I look after are put to sleep properly, faces are cleaned and they're given the right bottle. I communicate daily with parents and there's no one to lose messages.
I work with parents so I won't necessarily 'follow instructions' but I will usually accommodate parent's preferences if it works for my setting.
So not all settings are disorganised etc and I know my babies are getting excellent care from one key person.

The cup thing is ridiculous, obviously they're not going to give an 8 month old an open cup at nursery. But mixing up bottles is borderline dangerous, what if a child has an allergy or a communicable disease.

Yeah I was massively distracted by that! Just pick one even if its the opposite. Fine to switch yoiur identifying info between threads but to change even in the same sentence is confusing.

This is good to hear. Thank you. I’ll try to gauge the other nursery better and will look for other alternatives.

Fully agreed. Fried brain due to slack of sleep. 😂

• EYFS states all children must have a key worker so this is very poor.

• Not weird, she's clearly in ratio. Maybe a shame she couldn't concentrate though.

• The apps take time to upload which is obviously scarce but they should be communicating somehow.

• The sleep thing is annoying but I dont rhink they can guarantee the same person puts him down, that't the down side to group care.

• Bottles and milk thing is poor care

• Dirty face, small worry. Let that slide.

As a former nursery worker I can give you feedback on what was 'normal' at the nurseries I worked at

• Our baby hasn’t been assigned a key person, even though they told us this would happen.

This should be done, enquire again.

• The settling in process was very weird, with the baby room manager taking care of two other babies while we briefed her. I think she barely registered what we said

Not ideal but not always avoidable due to ratios

• Communication is weird. Sometimes they update the app, sometimes there are no updates at all and they can’t event tell us when he slept or had her milk.

Updating the app isn't priority but staff should be able to give feedback or a daily diary

• Always different members of staff receiving him and handing him over. The nursery has about six members of staff looking over the children, and they rotate days. They don’t always seem to pass our messages between each other.

Staff rotaion is fine, your paying for a nursery not a specific practitioner, they should be passing on info though

• They don’t always manage to get LO to sleep, because there’s always different people trying to get her to sleep. Some are good at it, others can’t be bothered.

How do you know they can't be bothered?
Some babies just dont always sleep well.

• They keep swapping our bottles with other babies’ bottles, and often misplace them, even though they’re labelled. The other day, we were giving LO a bottle and the teat collapsed. They had given us a lower flow teat from a different baby.

This isn't acceptable

• They don’t follow certain instructions. For example, we told them our baby is learning to drink from an open cup and provided the cup. DH went there today and found them giving him water from a sippy cup. They never seem to take out cup out of the backpack, even though we mentioned it a few times.

Completely ridiculous to ask this. Staff are on a 1:3 ratio and cannot sit with your child one to one to ensure they dont spill/drown in their cup. Dont be that parent.

• Sometimes he comes home with food all over her face.

Not ideal but not unknown in a busy nursery

• I ask them to top up my breast milk with formula if he finishes the bottle, but I’m almost sure that they’re not doing it.

How are you sure?

Unfortunately having worked in a nursery for many years none of this sounds surprising- not having a keyperson is especially bad though.They are not a great place for babies- hectic, busy and noisy with different staff in and out all the time.At that age children need consistent caregivers to build secure attachments, gentle care rather than stressed, rushed interactions, and individualised high levels of attention and care.
I would look for a good childminder instead if I was you.

Thank you all for your replies, and apologies for the brain fart with the cup thing. I know it’s unreasonable.

We’re going to look for childminders in the area before committing to a different nursery.

Most nurseries I have worked at prefer to use the same brand of sippy cup for all the babies because its quicker when giving drinks out to multiple babies multiple times a day. My ds4 had to have a specific open cup due to his disabilities when he was a baby but he had 1-1 care at nursery so they could do that with him.

It’s crap but having worked in nurseries it’s very common.

It may be common, but there are definitely good nurseries that aren't like this! Mixing up bottles is unacceptable and an allergy risk. A keyworker also needs to be assigned – that's not optional.

At this age, I would prioritise a nursery with small groups and stable staffing (as far as possible – it's tricky to get and keep good staff in the sector, but some do manage it). Ours has 2-3 staff members per room until the preschool room, and they rotate amongst themselves, so the vast, vast majority of the time it is one of those 2-3 people doing handover. The rooms do come together for some things and mix in the garden, so the wee ones are familiar with some of the other staff if they do need to cover.

No, that's not normal in my recent experience. The open cup thing, as you admitted, was a silly expectation. Also mine often comes out with food on her face because I pick her up right after their tea, that doesn't bother me. Why do you think certain staff ' can't be bothered' to get her to sleep? Surely they want her to sleep? Maybe baby just isn't tired at that point? It's very common for babies to sleep less at nursery as more distraction.
Ours are a bit patchy with app use but always tell you everything at pick up, but I don't mind as I'd rather they were with the children than putting everything on an app.
I do think you should look elsewhere but maybe adjust your expectations around mess/naps. And of course he'll be very tired at the end of the day!

They are in breach of their statutory duty under the EYFS not assigning a key worker. For this alone I would look elsewhere as if they can't be arsed to follow the law it implies they may be lapse in other areas.

Your child should not be coming home tired and hungry all the time. It does sound a bit chaotic but a lot of settings struggle finding good staff or have a high turnover of staff.

The lack of communication is worrying as if they don't know then someone is not recording such information and what happens if a child has an allergic reaction to a food type, is given the wrong medication or given medication without telling parents or has a bump to the head and parents aren't informed? It simply isn't good enough.