Sure Start nursery backed down on offer of place over money?

andyrules

Hi GR, This does sound odd from a nursery provider designed to help families, but this isn't the first grumble I've heard about surestart recently.

Do you think it could be one person at the nursery with a sense of self importance ifswim? If she has just dealt with the nursery thus far, maybe she could escalate this into appealing at a higher level? Maybe to the surestart service, or even Children's Services? Even if there is no official route, she has nothing to lose now by trying to override the nursery.

How lucky to have a friend like you helping her!:A

Savvy_Sue

They must have an official complaints procedure, and I'd suggest she starts by asking for that.

Yorkshire-Lady_3

Can your friend look for a childminder instead?

We tend to be much more flexible with regards to payment. Nurseries often want a month in advance, whereas I am happy to take a week in advance payment if that helps parents, particularly those who receive child tax credits.

It may not be an option, but worth thinking about anyway.

Sally x

Gingham_Ribbon

Thanks. I'll pass on the suggestions to her later today.

I don't think a childminder is going to be what she's looking for as she doesn't need childcare. (She's a stay home mum.) She just wants her son to have a place in the preschool environment for when he turns 3 in a few months for the benefit of his education and social development.

Yes, I think there is a 'self importance' issue going on at the nursery. I think someone may well be throwing her weight around as a 'punishment' to my friend for making a complaint last year. It was upheld and nursery had to back down. I don't think she was popular for finding out what her child's rights were and getting help.

Mips

Surely they should have given her advance warning that if she didn't pay her place could be withdrawn?

I think that is awful.

Gingham_Ribbon

Dippychick wrote: »

Surely they should have given her advance warning that if she didn't pay her place could be withdrawn?

I think that is awful.

No warning. It does seem to be deliberate because they just don't like her.

I'm really annoyed about it.

butterflylady

Nothing surestart do surprises me, when my DS was 5 months old we did baby massage which was good.

We were then offered a baby and parent course thing, it had a free breakfast with it so we went. However I had to complain as DS key worker didn't want anything to do with him when the cute smaller baby girls were there. DS was a big baby!!

After that was sorted out my DS was sick in the baby room, now DS was a reflux baby on medication for it but was still regulally sick. They knew all about this but still asked us to leave!!! We've never been back since!! DS is almost 13 months now!!!

Mips

Gingham_Ribbon wrote: »

No warning. It does seem to be deliberate because they just don't like her.

I'm really annoyed about it.

Is it a chain of Nurseries? Like Leapfrog? Perhaps you could contact another branch to find out the procedure - or head office?

I wouldn't settle for this treatment - I flipped when similar happened to me and didn't have to pay for the child care!

Titch89

butterflylady wrote: »

I had to complain as DS key worker didn't want anything to do with him when the cute smaller baby girls were there. DS was a big baby!!

Which they're not allowed to do. Ok, when I was on work placement, it was hard not to have favourites, (ie, the one that was always happy and rarely cried) but we were never allowed favourite children.

Gingham_Ribbon

butterflylady wrote: »

After that was sorted out my DS was sick in the baby room, now DS was a reflux baby on medication for it but was still regulally sick. They knew all about this but still asked us to leave!!! We've never been back since!! DS is almost 13 months now!!!

They asked you to leave because your baby was sick?! Good grief! :mad: