little boy up a drainpipe at nursery.....

[maisystar]

on monday i walked past a nearby nursery (not ds's) and saw a little boy of 3 1/2-4yrs old up a drainpipe at the side of the building. it is a big old victorian house and the kids (one up the drainpipe and 3 or 4 at the bottom watching him) were out of sight of the nursery staff who were all stood together(ie not spread out watching the kids). he was at least 4 or 5 feet up. there is rubble (big stones) at the bottom of the drainpipe.

at the time i walked round to the front of the nursery and told the group of staff. when i walked back 5 mins later the kids were still round there playing and one pissed off looking member of staff was 'watching' them.

keep thinking about it and wondering whether to report it, and if so, who to??

When I saw the title I thought you meant he was inside the drainpipe, maisystar!

Maybe you should ring the head (? principal? whoever's in charge anyway) and see what reaction you get? "Inadequate supervision" doesn't begin to cover this!

I would either ring or wirte to the owner of the nursery about his, and mention that you expect some form of reply as to what they are going to do to ensure it doesn't happen again.

If it was my DD I would want to know that she wasn't able to attempt something like this, and that staff were watching them properly!

Was it a private nursery maisystar, or a state run one? Just in terms of who to write to/complain, etc. Not sure myself but might make a difference - some other MNetter may know.

it's a private nursery. i went to look round it when i first moved here and was not impressed at all.

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Uh Oh! I can almost see DS doing this.
Don't they climb on climbing frames to that height?
TBH doesn't sound that bad to me.

You need to report them to Ofsted and the Local Education Authority (On your council website there should be a link to them - they will have something like an Early Years Partnership that looks after pre-school settings and it's them you need). Also are you an area for Sure Start?? You might want to consider telling them too.

Sorry Blu, but I do think this is an issue. Climbing frames have special flooring underneath so that children are less likely to hurt themselves if they fall, this drainpipe had rubble. The children were also unsupervised doing this. My DD is at nursery and my DS is at school if they were allowed to climb something unsupervised at nursery and fell onto rubble whilst I was paying for them to be looked after I would be absolutely furious and probably sue.

have phoned and spoken to the mananger. she sounded partly gutted and partly furious!! she asked me to put it in writing which i will do today.

she let something slip about 'parents not being happy'. ???

i also mentioned that i pass the nursery at least twice a day and have NEVER seen the staff playing/interacting with the children. she sort of sounded as though she agreed with me!

should i leave her to deal with it or contact local LEA and/or ofsted as well?

he would have been hurt quite badly if he had fallen. they are big stones at the bottom and quite alot of them, he must of had to climb over them to reach the drainpipe.

she 'sort of' agreed with you? why doesnt she have a stern word with her staff then ffs! you did the right thing complaining maisystar, it would turn my stomach if it was one of my kids

Give them a week and if they haven't at least cleared the rubble away, get on to the LEA about it.

Good for you maisystar - I wonder how many other people walked past and saw what was going on but didn't want to get involved.

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Yes, sorry - I'm notoriously blase about climbing etc!
Maisystar: the fact that she actually asked you to put it in writing suggests tome that she is intending to do something about it - like use your letter to confront / discipline the staff concerned. Otherwise, I would have thought the last thing she would have wanted was to have it down in the records.
So see if the rubble etc is fenced off and made inaccessible, and if not - report them higher up.

when i went to pick ds up from his nursery i asked their advice and learnt a few more things about the nursery....

apparently they are having problems with their staff, not sure what exactly but parents have complained and staff have left. they are now short staffed and are using untrained, unqualified administative staff to 'help out'!?

the mind boggles..........

i did actually report a nursery a few years ago to the lea and they were brilliant. we had gone to look around the nursery, and not only were the staffing levels illegal, but several children were causing mayhen and more were asleep in pushchairs facing the wall. the children were in no way occupied. i phoned and wrote to them to say that of course this could have been an unusual event (not in my view but i wanted to be fair) but that i thought it should be looked at. An inspection took place without warning, and they found all the same problems, but wrote back to me and not only told me, but then explained their action plan. it was a very positive experience and i understand the nursery has since improved. i think you should report it, personally, and if it was my child in the nursery i would be extremely grateful.

If i was you I would report the nursery to OFSTED
That Nursery sounds terrible.

Definately have a word with Ofsted - you can ring up & voice your concern without making a formal complaint. I think they keep things like that on file & can use them at next inspection. They must sort this out before a child gets hurt

have reported it to ofsted. they are investigating it and will let me know what happens.

amazingly the rubble is still there!

feel a bit guilty cos i walk past to take ds to pre school and see mums dropping their kids off who are obivously unaware and i know that if i were them i would want to know.

Well, you've done all you can Maisystar - well done. Don't see what you can do about the mums not knowing - apart from fly-posting a message on the gate! Lets hope ofsted work quickly.