Nursery Problems ?!

BiBlinky

Hi everyone long time lurker first time poster however I need some advice about my daughters nursery ...

She is 2 and a half years old and is currently transitioning from the toddler room to pre school room. When she first started in the toddler room I was picking her up most days and she would have bites, scratches, bumps, incident reports etc from one child only (they couldnt tell me who) they then moved this child into the pre school room and the issues stopped. However it would appear my little girl has now 'caught up' with this little toe rag and is now in the same room !

She has had 2 visits so far first visit she came home with a very small scratch between her lip and nose - the nursery staff didnt mention it therefore hadnt noticed it/known how it had happened. The second visit she came home with a very large purple red scratch bruise between her eyebrows I pointed this out to the staff and they said they had no idea how it had happened, one of them asked the staff in her normal room if the bump had happened whist with them in the morning they said it hadnt.

I then got a 5 minute patronising 'talk' from one of them basically saying my daughter will probably get some bumps n bruises in this room as the children are older and more active ?! I went straight from her room to the managers office showed her and discussed it with her and gave her a run down of what had been said ... the manager said it wasnt acceptable, I should have got an accident form regardless of whether they knew what happened or not and that she would speak to the staff.

I phoned her this afternoon and she said she spoke to the staff and this one member of staff (the one that gave me the 5 minute 'talk') said that he definitely saw my little one bump her head on the table however I am finding this hard to believe as he had no knowledge of it, had to ask others about it and didnt have a accident form filled out :huh:

I now feel like my little girl wasnt being watched properly and that the member of staff is now lying about it ! Since being in nursery she has atleast 30 or so accident/incident forms ... looking at all of this together I'm genuinely thinking of moving her to a different nursery they say they require 1 months notice however I feel as if they have left me no choice

Sorry for the rant any advice ?

caevans

Hmmm, hard to know if the nursery worker was lying or perhaps they put two and two together later on and thought that was probably how your child got the bruise? You will know yourself if you are happy for your child to remain in the nursery.
My toddler goes to nursery 2 days a week and I can 100% guarantee that I will have at least one accident form to complete! She is quite clumsy though..... For a while, probably as much as a few months my daughter was being bitten by another child. The child's parents were informed and after a few incidences I know the childs parents were pulled into the office to discuss. I was happy with the nursery staffs response to the biting.
I guess what I am saying is, your child will have lots of accidents in nursery, but you have to trust your own instincts as to whether you think the staff are dealing with any problems correctly.
Also, you might have felt patronised by the staff member regarding accidents, but let's be honest - some parents are real numptys and need things spelt out to them, to maybe they just thought they were being helpful?

ajaney

I have my 22 month old in a Nursery 2 days a week & he has been going since 14 months old.

He's a clumsy little lad at home, always rushing about, throwing himself around like a manic so he does get bumps at Nursery just like he does at home, especially since he transitioned to the Toddler room.

I am regularly 'accosted' by staff with the accident book! I have confidence in the staff & the nursery to look after my LO but I feel you have lost this confidence which is making you worry. You can only really trust your instincts as caevans said. I would start looking at alternative provision & maybe request a meeting with a member of staff from the new room along with a manager to see if they can address your concerns. If they wont do this or you feel patronised then this could be a sign it's time to leave. Has your daughter made any comments about Nursery regarding if she is happy?

Hope it works out for you.

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

What is the staff / child ratio?

My DD was getting bullied by 2 twin boys and they was so crafty - The teachers never saw them actually "do" anything so couldnt actually tell the children off. It got really bad to the point where I put in an official complaint and informed the nursery if they never sorted it I was calling ofsted and having my own words with the boys parent (she was never informed they was bullying DD)

Thankfully - since I threatened with Ofsted they took notice and have bucked up watching the kids - Well I assume thats why the bullying stopped - Or it might be because DD picked up a heavy toy and whacked them one day after they gave her a black eye..... never did touch her again lol

mrcow

BiBlinky wrote: »

I now feel like my little girl wasnt being watched properly and that the member of staff is now lying about it ! Since being in nursery she has atleast 30 or so accident/incident forms ... looking at all of this together I'm genuinely thinking of moving her to a different nursery they say they require 1 months notice however I feel as if they have left me no choice

Sorry for the rant any advice ?

Do it.

Tell them that for the 1 month notice, you want her back in the other room.

I had a similar thing when my son was 3. Moving to another nursery was the best thing I did for him at that age.

mrcow

BiBlinky wrote: »

I then got a 5 minute patronising 'talk' from one of them basically saying my daughter will probably get some bumps n bruises in this room as the children are older and more active ?!

And that's a load of old cobblers by the way.

BiBlinky

Thank you for your responces my little girl says she loves nursery (but she also said she bumped her head on the floor, slide then a monkey bit her so its hard to tell to be honest !) Caevans I think your totally right I've lost the confidence that allow mums/dads to leave their child and walk away without worrying and I thought that was all over until now

I will ask for the exact child to staff ratio in the room she is going to but I think its say 1 staff to 5 children ? I dont know whether to ask if they could maybe wait a little while longer before moving her because this has really distressed me (bad memories from when she moved into the middle room and that little bizzim scratched her face so deep it scarred and Ive been putting bio oil on it ever since)

I am so tempted to gather up every single accident form and produce them to the manager tomorrow dont get me wrong I'm telling myself its irrational but its almost as if it would prove my point (however I do acknowledge that kids can be clumsy little creatures at times)

BiBlinky

mrcow wrote: »

Do it.

Tell them that for the 1 month notice, you want her back in the other room.

I had a similar thing when my son was 3. Moving to another nursery was the best thing I did for him at that age.

I think I will definitely look at alternative nurserys in the area and see what my options are at the end of the day all I care about is her welfare although I think its making me a bit loopy :rotfl:

mrcow

You're not loopy at all. 30 accident forms is absolute madness. You'll look back and wonder why you put up with it.

I think changing a nursery is very difficult because it's hard to admit that you've made a mistake by putting up with something that wasn't right for so long. Do go in with the forms and ask the manger if they think it's excessive or whether it's the norm for the other children in their care.

After I moved my son, he stayed in the new nursery for about 1 1/2 years. How many incident forms/bruises did he have in that time? (it was a much bigger nursery btw). Answer =0.

Looking back I feel so angry with myself for letting it continue. The problem was that he liked nursery so much that I was reluctant to change. There are alternatives out there. You should not leave your child in the care of someone you don't have 100% confidence in.

caevans

30 accident forms over what period of time? Just so we can get an idea of how many accidents are happening a week. Also, how many days is your kid in nursery?
I think mrcow is jumping to a conclusion based upon their nursery experience, so I would again reiterate that you are the only person that can make a decision regarding the nursery.
Do you feel that the manager took your concerns seriously?
Am not sure what the ratio is for that age but they will have to adhere to regulations.
I know it's incredibly hard when your child is being bitten/scratched etc, so I really do sympathise

minimoneysaver

If you have doubt, do something about it. I made the mistake of not acting right away and it ended in a serious accident. My daughter went 'missing' at nursery and was finally found after a sweep of the building in the cleaning cupboard at about 18 months old!!!