Staff at pre-school/daycare smoking?

[miche8]

i recently saw a member of staff hop the fence and have a cigarette, i then watched her hop back over into the garden and start playing with the children without washing her hands, she also picked up a baby. This horrifies me, i would have though staff shouldn't smoke during the working day or while in their uniform. I had only looked around the setting a few days earlier and was sat in the park opposite with my 1yr. Am i over reacting?

No, they should not be smoking in uniform and certainly not while looking after the children.
If they have to smoke, they should do it on a break, away from the premises and in their own clothes.

| work in a nursery and our policy is the same as the purepurple.

No you are not being precious at all.

There is a nursery round the corner from me where the staff come out into the street to have a cigarette. I think it looks awful, and it would put me off using the nursery to be honest.

Like the others, we have a smoking policy at our Preschool. Not meant to d o it in uniform and certainly not during your working day (lunch break is 'ok' I think but discouraged). None of us smoke now, but hand washing is a must. It is frowned on because even after washing hands you still breathe out chemicals for a while.

No, not precious at all. I was going to go & visit a nursery for our DD who is now 4. I saw a member of staff popping round the back for a smoke when I passed by a few days previous to the visit & to cut a long story short, we never sent either of our kids to any nursery partly because of this.

Now DD is at pre-school & although I don't think the teachers smoke, loads of the parents do. A few weeks ago the pre-school which is attached to a primary sent home a letter asking parents to stop smoking outside the school gate & to stop dropping their fag butts in the garden of the flats opposite. Last week when I was on the way to pick up DD one of the Mums was smoking outside the gate & when she'd finished, she flicked the butt as far as possible into the garden of the flats whilst saying,'they can have that one' & laughing. I am keeping every possible bit of my body crossed that we find out next Monday that she's got a place at a different school.

It's bad enough to smoke & work in a nursery etc. but what really got up my nose was when my DS was born & one of the helpers (not sure of official title) on the maternity ward came in & picked him up from the cot for a snuggle. It was only when she handed him back to me that I realised she reeked of smoke. and . He was less than 1 day old.