"Stay and Play" at nursery...?

[WibbleWobbleWomble]

Hi, just after hearing if this is normal at nursery...

My child goes to a nursery that has "stay and play". This stay and play happens whenever any parent wants and it seems to allow a (non drb checked) parent free access to all children in that class - preschool/toddlers/babies. There are nursery staff present but obviously aren't able to watch the parent throughout so it is possible that inappropriate things (touching/ photos / swearing) occur. I know of photos of the kids being taken during the stay and play.

A parent could do this weekly and is expected to play with all the children, not just her/his own.

Is this standard practice at Nurseries? I feel very uncomfortable with random parents (strangers to me and my child) being encouraged to take part in activities with my child where physical contact or unsupervised contact occurs.

Does anyone else have this experience?

Weird

There should definitely be no unsupervised contact or photos allowed.

Photos I'd find odd, most nurseries have a no camera rule.
Stay and play sounds fine as it's supervised, there's only a problem if the parents are unsupervised. Do you have specific concerns or is this hypothetical? I would expect the parent to mostly play with their own child but if another child came over to talk/play along, as a parent it would be weird not to engage with the other child as well.
Have you broached the subject with the nursery yet?

Thanks for the replies...

I haven't spoken to the nursery, I wanted to see whether other parents had experience of this and if this is normal. The previous nursery we used did not allow stay and play except for the first 2 settling in sessions. These were structured sessions that only lasted 1hour and obviously no phones/ cameras. You only really interacted with your own child except if at a shared table and even then there was a staff member involved.

I am very protective of my kid but don't think it's right that other parents are hugging/holding hands/allowing other kids to sit on their laps/ being near the toilets if another kid is in there... Obviously it would be weird and wrong to blank a child but surely there is a limit to how close other parents should be.

It's a bit like a free for all at this nursery - some parents get 1 hour, some get 5 hours, some stay for lunch, some prepare snacks..

I know not everyone in the world is out to harm kids but if you don't know the other parents, is it right that they have this close contact with your child? I know staff are in the room but they may have another 20 kids to care for so cannot closely watch a parent for hours at a time..
My child has had an experience where words were repeated that were inappropriate for a kid. This was denied and dismissed by the nursery as "surprising and would not have happened in their classroom"

Am I being overly concerned?

Things like hugging and holding hands I wouldn't have a problem with, but photos and unsupervised is a big no.

I run a nursery and we do stay and play sessions occasionally
Our risk assessment says they must all sign in so I know who is present and I must have contact details IE phone number and address
All parents are supervised and they are not allowed in the toilets ( this is standards procedure for our nursery any away no and!t has access to the toilets except staff with full dbs)
No mobiles are allowed also standard everyday policy
Only staff can enter the kitchen and prepare food, for food hygiene reasons
Every parent would be supervised discretely by a member of staff with activities organised to make this possible
Your nursery op does sound quite laid back

I'm a teacher in Early Years. We encourage parents to come and join us for sessions as often as possible. We know that parents really appreciate the opportunity to find out more about how the nursery runs, and the children absolutely love having their parents in nursery. However, they let us know before they come and are signed in at the front office. Mobile phones are banned from all staff and visitors. Only staff are allowed in the toilets and kitchen. Parents are asked to support particular activities. They are never left unsupervised with the children.

I go in to a LOT of Nurseries. There is ALWAYS a notice on the door reminding you to not use phones. Some say turn off phones. When you are being shown round, then phones must remain in bag / pocket. When you are going in for more than drop off, or a show round then phones usually have to be locked away in the office so not even on you.

The fact you have seen a photo presumably means you have evidence to go to the Nursery and ask them about their safeguarding policy.

However, the other parents being in the room I wouldn't have an issue with, as room staff are in there at all times, in effect 'supervising' them. The parents don't have lone access to any of the children, and, presumably - as you mention swearing - they would be reminded not to if this were heard. It's good that the Nursery have such an open policy. There are a lot of good reasons to get parents into the room occasionally, and no, they don't need DBS checks for this.