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Original poster

bad experience at creche - what would you do

19 replies

ifeelsoooguilty · 29/10/2004 09:20

Sorry, very long....

A friend asked me to go along with her to try a new gym which has just opened in our area, it's a very posh gym with a lovely pool for adults and a wonderful pool for kids.

They also have a creche and so we decided to give ourselves an hour to work out at the gym and then take the children for a swim afterwards.

She booked our DSs, 16 and 18 months old, in the creche and off we went.
My ds is used to be with other children as he goes to a childminder during the week when I am at work, and he looked very happy to be joining in. I felt a pang of guilt as I didn't really know the people I was leaving him with and it seemed strange just to up and go, as it took me ages to find the right childminder I could really trust.

Anyway, I'll carry on with what happened.
We were 10 minutes in the class when a very alarmed creche member came to get me out telling me ds was bleeding and crying!
I left the class in a rush and when I arrived at the creche DS was crying his eyes out and was bleeding from the nose.

I know that kids are due to get hurt at these age and when this has happened with the childminder she has normally given me a detailed report of how and when it happened and what kind of first aid she did, BUT what I found distressing at this creche is the following:

1)DS was crying on his own sitting on the floor, other kids that were fine were being held and read to, whereas he was left on his own.

2)The blood was still running from his nose, no wet cloth had been applied to stop the bleeding, his nose had not even been wiped.

When I asked what had happened I was confronted with surprised stares, one of the creche staff told me that they didn't know and that he had started crying suddenly - maybe he had picked his nose?

Last night I found a bump on his forehead, so I believe he might have collided with another kid's head, but of course I will never know.

So now I 'm feeling ever soooo guilty for leaving him there! Needless to say he didn't want to stay a minute longer, when I picked him he held me for dear life and didn't want me to leave, and he's normally such an independent happy soul!

I didn't know if to complain or not with the club manager as I am not a member there and my friend might have wanted to join as her ds was fine and I didn't want to create hard feelings with the creche staff.
I was planning to join too, but this is now out of question, as I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving him there.

What do you think: am I being overprotective and my childminder is spoiling me?
I don't have any other experience of childcare so your input would be appreciated.

OP posts:

Angeliz · 29/10/2004 09:23

Definatley complain.!!!

Accidents happen but their attitude stinks!

childmindersam · 29/10/2004 09:24

This is awful! There should be routines in place so that someone should know what happened. An incident report should have been made and there should always be someone who is dedicated first aider available! Id ring OFSTED and make a complaint as all creches should be checked via ofsted and social services. Then ring the center and speak to creche manager! Ask about qualified staff and why the procedures had not been followed!

gothicmama · 29/10/2004 09:24

I would possible write to say you weren't happy - I would be fuming maybe they are nit able to administe first aid - did you sign a consent form before you left him giving permission - atthe end of teh day he is ok now so maybe put it down to experience I left dd at a creche once for an hour whilst i did a course and came back she was strpped in buggy and they said she wante to go in it - she was 18 months and hated her buggy att the time

maretta · 29/10/2004 09:24

No.

I've recently left my gym because I didn't like the creche. I found the staff drinking cups of tea sat at the kiddie table.

There was also an incident similar to your own but not as severe. I think ds had hurt his hand and I'm sure they were lying about it. Like you say, small children get bumps and cuts and really you just want to know exaclty what happened.

I told the gym I wasn't happy with the childcare but they've never bothered to ask me why.

childmindersam · 29/10/2004 09:25

CAT me if you want oFSTED number!

whimsy · 29/10/2004 09:38

I joined a gym and went for a phase in session at the crèche. I left him for 15 minutes while I had a coffee, came back and he had been sat on a chair crying no staff interaction, he was 18mths. Have now cancelled gym membership and it's taken 4mths for me to be able to leave him with family without him getting upset

Original poster

ifeelsoooguilty · 29/10/2004 11:08

Thanks ladies, your replies makes me think:
are gym creches visited by ofsted or are they nobody's land?
I was talking to my neighbour just now and she said she remembers that this gym was advertising for creche staff last summer in the local newspaper and the ad said that no experience or training were necessary!

So I really wonder if this is an isolated case (which doesn't seem so seen your posts) or if gym creches are dangerous.
I don't want to generalize and I am sure that there are people out there working in creches for gyms that really do their jobs properly, however I would like to know how much is this regulated if anybody can work as a creche member.

OP posts:

jane313 · 29/10/2004 11:19

My gym creche has an ofsted report. Any place that offers childcare has to but I suppose it must take time to visit them all.

Mine is great. I have had written reports if he bumped his head and verbal ones too. I presumed they all have some sort of qualifications because recently two women that worked there have left to work for a local nursery.

Original poster

ifeelsoooguilty · 29/10/2004 11:21

Thanks Jane 313
feeling even more guilty now, should have checked this before handing ds in

OP posts:

jane313 · 29/10/2004 11:24

If its newly opened it probably hasn't had one yet. I don't think mine did when I first started using it!

myermay · 29/10/2004 11:29

Message withdrawn

crunchie · 29/10/2004 11:35

I wouldn't feel guilty, you should be able to assume the creche would be safe. I would complain in very strong language.

I have used 2 gym creches and they have been great, no complaints at all. So you shouldn't need to worry

Original poster

ifeelsoooguilty · 29/10/2004 16:04

got a call from club manager checking if I liked the gym and would I like to join, so I told her what happened.

She was very apologetic, they have just been inspected by Ofsted and passed with flying colours, and their staff is nearly all qualified and registered, the ad in the paper from last summer was for temporary workers who are never left alone with the children.
She also added that yesterday 3 (qualified) members of the creche called in off sick and the manager stayed in all day, apparently she only took 15 minutes break for lunch and it seems that it is when the accident happened. This had ever happened before and this was really a one off.

So now I don't know what to think... Should I risk another session as she asked me to have another try or just leave it?

My instinct says to leave it....

OP posts:

Uwila · 29/10/2004 16:29

I would give it another try. All creches / nurseries / childminders have bad days. You just caught them on theirs. Also, I would give them credit for their willingness to try and make up for it. But, if all goes pare shaped again, then I'd write a formal complaint to OFSTED and give them what they deserve.

I would also probably hang out for five minutes or so talking to them before I went off to work out. See how ds get on with other kids, etc.

Original poster

ifeelsoooguilty · 30/10/2004 13:27

thanks Uwila, however I would have been much more impressed if they had turned me down because they didn't have enough staff.

I don't like the fact that they took risk by leaving untrained staff to attend the children.

But that's me, maybe I am overprotective, but this is how I feel about it....

childmindersam, just noticed your posts, sorry.

I am not sure I should contact Ofsted about this now.. the manager did apologize and said it would never happen again

OP posts:

sponge · 30/10/2004 13:42

I would probably give them another chance if you feel the manager sounded trustworthy. You can look up the report on the Ofsted website.
Of course kids do sometimes get hurt in creches, at nursery etc, as they do at home, and occasionally the staff will not know exactly what happened as two kids could bump into each other or one could fall over in seconds and however good they are there will be moments in the day when their back is turned. However they should at the very least be leaping staright to the rescue with appropriate first aid and cuddles. That's the part of the story that I would find unacceptable.
At the end of the day you have to trust how you feel about the place. If you believe that this was a one off bad day then give them another go but if you think it's just an excuse then find another gym.

Aero · 30/10/2004 14:03

I'm a childminder too and am with Sam on this one. I was recently inspected and was telling my inspector why I didn't choose a particular pre-school nursery for my ds1 a few years ago - it was along all the lines of things mentioned here - basically, staff not paying attention and busy gossiping while kids ran riot. She pointed out to me that I should have contacted them about that at the time as they aren't always aware of these things and people complaining can only help to make the playgroup/creche etc better for all the children who attend. They have so many inspections to do and if this playgroup had passed, then wouldn't be inspected again for up to two years, but if something was drawn to their attention, then they would always follow it up.
I would go with my instincts though, regardless of what the manager said. Mother's instincts are usually right.

polkadot · 01/11/2004 09:22

You need to raise this with OFSTED. You may never know but other parents may well have contacted them in the past and it is through people letting them know about these kinds of incidents that they get all the pieces of the jigsaw. Don't feel guilty as you're acting for the right reason which is the safety of the children.

Demented · 01/11/2004 09:43

I think you do need to complain. I attend the local leisure centre (council run) and the creche is fantastic, if they don't have enough staff they turn you away, they are inspected every year and users of the creche have the opportunity to submit an anonymous survey which goes straight to the relevant authorities and their inspection report is distributed to creche users after it is published.

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