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Find nursery advice from other Mumsnetters on our Nursery forum.

Nurseries

Unsympathetic nursery manager

14 replies

FuzzyWuzzyFuzzFuzz · 26/04/2006 22:59

went to discuss some concerns with the nursery manager today about DD's routine and change of rooms/staff.

The manager kept trying to talk over me all the time and just disregarded my concerns and my child's welfare.

Left her office at the point where her last comment to me being 'if you don't like it you know what you can do'. Nice. And no there are no other local Nurseries.

It's not the first time I've been met with the barrier response from her either.

There was me thinking the whole point of a nursery manager is to understand concerns, sympathise and then offer to look into it and maybe offer a resolution, or am I asking too much?

OP posts:

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bossykate · 26/04/2006 23:10

no you're not. this doesn't sound good to me (happy nursery user for the last 4yrs). what are your concerns and how serious are they? i think your next steps will depend on how serious your concerns are, e.g:

concerns so serious you want to take your daughter out straightaway if they're not resolved
moderate concerns - you will leave dd there while you find another childcarer (e.g. cm, nanny)
low level concerns - you don't like the nursery manager's attitude but overall you are happy enough to let dd remain there.

i don't think her attitude is at all appropriate and would give me cause for concern in your shoes.

hth.

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Moomin · 26/04/2006 23:10

what sort of concerns did you have? if they are regarding the welfare of your child then she is obliged to listen to you and offer some response. if you are not happy with her response (or lack of it) then you can ring ofsted to complain. just because it's the only nursery in the area does not mean she can hold you to ransom over the way she runs the nursery or fials to meet your needs.

it's really not worth your dd being at a place you're not happy with. if there really are no other nurseries have you considered a childminder?

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sparklemagic · 26/04/2006 23:10

no fuzzy, you are not expecting too much. Her approach sounds awful and does not bode well for the standard of care being given to the children, surely!

Has your DD settled ok there, does she seem to have a relationship with anyone there?

Could you try a childminder locally instead??!!??

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bubble99 · 26/04/2006 23:11

How old is your DD?

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bubble99 · 26/04/2006 23:13

I would be inclined to look for a local childminder.

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studentmum1 · 26/04/2006 23:16

this nursery sounds like the one my DD goes to!!!! wouldn't be in leicestershire would it?! ha ha

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edam · 26/04/2006 23:18

I'd find a childminder PDQ if I were you. Manager's attitude stinks.

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edam · 26/04/2006 23:19

Oh, and I'd complain to Ofsted. An attitude like that is potentially a symptom of something very worrying indeed.

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FuzzyWuzzyFuzzFuzz · 26/04/2006 23:22

DD is nearly 2.

My concerns are they keep shuffling the room she's is in and who looks after her. I never know which room to goto or who is her primary carer and if that's changed with the room shuffle.

I don't mind the odd day if numbers are high but it's getting very regular over the past 4 weeks that's she's in a different room and other carers. It's like swapsies all the time and cos she's the youngest she gets moved to the other room.

DD does really well at nursery it appears however these constant changes I feel are affecting midday naps and she seems distant when dropping off in the morning. Also they've commented how she doesn't say much yet in her normal room and at home she's fine.

Hence I raised my concerns to the manager.

OP posts:

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bubble99 · 26/04/2006 23:24

It sounds to me as though the nursery needsto employ more staff. By the sounds of it they are shuffling your DD between rooms to stay in ratio.

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bossykate · 26/04/2006 23:25

hmm. that does not sound good at all - especially since when you raised it you got such an awful response. imho it is worth reporting to ofsted and looking for another form of childcare.

hth and good luck.

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edam · 26/04/2006 23:25

I'd shift her if I were you. Seriously, took ds out of nursery due to similar concerns. And talking to other parents and staff later am glad I did. A good nursery can go downhill.

Lack of routine and consistency is bad for children. Like you say, odd day is fine, but any more than that is really destabilising. And if they are the only nursery in town, how come they find it so difficult to attract and retain enough staff to keep the rooms running properly?

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nurseryvoice · 01/05/2006 12:37

the manager is obviously in the wrong job. maybe the huge responsibility is a bit much for her.
she should firstly acknowledge your concern/complaint, then say she will look into it and try to resolve.
she should then come back to you with the problem solved.
her attitude stinks, is she the owner as well? maybe you could go above her?
good luck...