Nursery expectations

[EvieBear]

Hi

I just want to know what to expect from nursery as I am a little disappointed with my LO's nursery...

1. When we arrive, no one greets us, I just go in and plonk LO on the carpet and hang her changing bag up. I really wish someone would say hi to me and my LO, and make us feel welcome/ feel a bit of warmth towards the place. How is it at other nurseries?

1. Should bottles be washed that she has had and put back in her bag?

1. When I go to pick LO up, she's on the carpet playing but there aren't often staff on the floor with the kids playing, there normally standing up doing other stuff, talking... I just go in, pick her up and take her away and yesterday I was the one to say bye but otherwise we would've walked off without words exchanged apart from handing me her report of what she ate.

Is it wrong to expect a little warmth from staff or is this the way it is? It'sjust hard knowing whether to accept it or look elsewhere.

Thanks

THat sounds awful. DS2 is 2.8 and I still want somebody to greet him at nursery and take him from me.

We are always greeted in a friendly manner, and I'm given a rundown of his day when I collect him.

It sounds like you may need a new nursery. Does your child have a key worker? I'm sure all children are meant to these day.

I can't help on the bottles as my DC didn't go to nursery that young.

Sorry you're finding your nursery disappointing.

Not sure how old your DD is, but this sounds a bit off if she's just little (am guessing from the fact she still has bottles) - do they come and pick her up and take her into the group etc? Or encourage her to say bye to you?

Pick up times are generally a bit hectic at nursery IME, but I'd certainly expect a quick chat about how she's been, what they ate, if she slept etc, as well as the daily report.

The nursery my DS went to was very warm (one of the reasons we loved it) - imagine Norm from Cheers style greetings every morning, and hugs and kisses goodbye, but I think this might be the exception rather than rule.

I tend to be quite pushy about talking to staff as well - asking them their names, about partners, what they're up to etc so that we have more of a 'relationship'. I certainly wouldn't just leave until you'd had some kind of feedback on the day.

Is there a manager or room leader you can mention it too? Or maybe see if any other parents feel the same?

Hi

I just want to know what to expect from nursery as I am a little disappointed with my LO's nursery...

1. When we arrive, no one greets us, I just go in and plonk LO on the carpet and hang her changing bag up. I really wish someone would say hi to me and my LO, and make us feel welcome/ feel a bit of warmth towards the place. How is it at other nurseries?

Some mornings we arrive and I have to hang about a bit before we're greeted as the staff are chatting,busy with other kids, or doing other jobs and some mornings we're greeted as we arrive - we are usually made to feel very welcome but I find 1 member of the 5 member team a bit hard to communicate with.

1. Should bottles be washed that she has had and put back in her bag?

Depends on the nursery, some will rinse them out and others will leave them finished in the bag.

1. When I go to pick LO up, she's on the carpet playing but there aren't often staff on the floor with the kids playing, there normally standing up doing other stuff, talking... I just go in, pick her up and take her away and yesterday I was the one to say bye but otherwise we would've walked off without words exchanged apart from handing me her report of what she ate.

Again depends on what time I pick up - anytime from 20-2 minutes before the end of the session sometimes staff will be busy and I will have to wait to be spoken to, sometimes they chat to me as I arrive and a couple of times I have left without being spoken to - and often wonder what they think when they realise DC has left.

Hi - even here in little old Greece my dd gets a big welcome on arrival and gets handed into a teachers' arms (but then she's always crying!). On departure I get a very brief rundown of her mood/behaviour eg "she's been a bit better, played with another child, we changed her nappy cos she did a poo" that kind of thing.
Don't know about bottles but would expect at least a rinse then you could do them properly at home, they get a bit yuk don't they.
As Sparky mentioned, I make an effort with the staff too, asking names, if they have kids, one of them is preg and so am I so we can chat about that. Maybe you could try being more pushy with the staff and forcing a chat?! I make Lily kiss her teachers but there are only 3 and I am trying to settle her in!

How old is your DD?

1. We (me and DD, and DS when he used to go) are always greeted by name when we arrive by whoever's on duty in reception, and then again by the staff in her room.

1. Nursery supplies all bottles and cups so I have no experience of this.

1. There are generally staff on the floor playing with the children. Sometimes the children have split into small groups and not every child will be playing with a member of staff, but the staff are almost all playing with one or more children. If they are in the garden then there's probably less direct involvement with the staff (as the children are generally riding trikes or scooters or on the climbing frame or just running around in circles at top speed) but there is still a good amount of involvement (and often there will be children who have fallen off a trike/scooter/climbing frame, or over while running around in circles, and who are getting 1:1 attention, so the staff aren't just standing around)

My DD has been to 2 nurseries and both have welcomed us in the morning and spoken to me at pick up time.

Where she is now parents have to sign the children in and out, so a member of staff will always come over with the register as soon as you go into the room. They are always very chatty both ends of the day, even if they are busy. The only time they aren't is if 3 or 4 parents arrive at exactly the same time, then you have to wait but that's fair enough.

Have you spoken to the nursery manager or her keyworker about this? I would approach them first and ask why you aren't being spoken to. See what they say. If they can't give you a reasonable explanation then I would move her TBH.

Thanks everyone.

Maybe it's a good idea for me to engage more with the staff then... It's hard leaving her, even if they were amazing, but this adds to the pressure/guilt.

She is 11 months for those that asked so still young.

Thanks again for all your replies! It's never going to be easy I guess.

this is appalling practice. You are quite right to be concerned. I would speak to the manager about your concerns and ask to see their policy on working with parents (they should definitely have one). Bottom line is that the staff have no interest and this is unlikely to change. If at all possible I would look elsewhere.

My LO is 10 months and I'd be really unhappy about this if I were you. LO is always taken from my arms, and I always have a chat at the beginning and end of the day. Our bottles are always washed, but TBH I wash them again when we get home, so I wouldn't mind if they didn't wash them.

Sounds awful to be honest! The bottles wouldn't bother me so much, but they should definitely be greeting you on arrival, you should be able to hand your child over to someone, and someone should be able the chat to you briefly at pick-up (even if you have to wait if they're busy).

I would give them notice and find somewhere else. They clearly have no interest in the children and that is not going to change just because you start asking them about the private lives.

If they have no interest they will not be looking after her, talking to her, cuddling her and taking the sort of interest they need to to get to know her needs and meet them effectively.

Start looking round new nurseries on Monday and tell them why you are giving notice when you do it.

Yeah I don't think this is good esp you noticing noone is on the floor with her they are just talking to each other.
Look for somewhere else- my LO's changed a couple of times especially as they grew- their needs changed.

This shouldn't be normal for a nursery - there should be a proper handover at the beginning of that day, to see how the child is, whether there are any issues (e.g teething, feeding etc) and at pick up time a quick run through on anything significant that has happened. This is especially important for a young child.

I would expect bottles to be rinsed and returned.

The nursery staff should be engaging with the children - not each other, to the exclusion of the children. Obviously the nursery has to run but some staff will do that and others will take primary care of the children.

My DS (10 months) is at nursery too. On arrival at nursery we are greeted by his keyworker and have hugs and kisses (DS and the keyworker - not me and the keyworker)and a run down on how he has been overnight, whether he has slept before coming to nursery, what he has eaten etc. We might have a chat about blw or an activity and then a goodbye.

When I turn up at nursery the staff are usually on the floor with groups of children engaging in an activity.

On collection, DS is with his keyworker, usually engaging in an activity with other children. She'll let me know how he's been, whether he's eaten and slept well and what they have done during the time he has been there. She will also say goodbye to him with a kiss and a wave.

TBH I would be very unhappy with the standard of care being given. It's hardly a nuturing environment IYKWIM? You know there's something not quite right - move her to somewhere you feel totally comfortable with. As you say, it's hard enough to leave them at nursery as it is but a caring setting makes a big difference.

Eviebear, the nursery does sound dreadful.
I work in a nursery and it is pretty basic stuff to get up and greet parents in the morning. It is essential to talk to parents at pick-up too. You are experiencing dreadful customer service and you should complain to the manager.
Do you know who your child's key person is? That person is responsible for welcomimg you and your childin to nursery each day and for sharing information with you at pick-up time. Your child should also have a second key person to take over if your key person is not there.
The only time that I don't do long conversations at pick-up time is if a parent arrives at 5.30, because that's when I go home. So then it would just be a quick 'They've been fine, eaten all their dinner, see you tomorrow' type conversation. Please complain to the manager, as nurseries like this one give us all a bad name. If the manager does not take you seriously, and tries to fob you off, then you definitely need to look elsewhere.