Nursery collection/drop off

[Joybell]

I have a meeting tomorrow morning with the principal teacher at my sons nursery. It's the nursery attached to the primary school. My son is 4 and has been there for over a year now.

I've never been very happy with the collection/ drop off routine there but recently it's come to a head and I've put in a complaint.

It's a nursery on a busy road which is accessed via 2 gates with high bolts and one gate with a low latch. Entry to nursery is via a secure door with a buzzer. The buzzer system is always faulty and rarely works. They also turn it off and leave door unlocked for the 10-20min period for collection/drop off. This means the door is opened by turning one handle no codes or anything needed and no staff at the door.

Parents arrive, open the door, no buzzer required and walk in to the corridor which gives access to main room, quiet room and gym hall. You change shoes and coat in corridor then take the child into the main room. The register is lying out for you to sign in.
The issue is that there is normally one one staff member in the room who is busy doing other things, like getting the snacks ready for later. There is no one to 'take' your child. I have to try to settle him and leave. Children seem to be allowed to leave the main room and go into the corridor, gym hall and quiet room during collection and drop off times unsupervised which really freaks me out. Especially with various unchecked adults coming in and out and a broken unsecured door.

We frequently see kids who were dropped earlier standing in the corridor watching me get my son ready for drop off and no one Is minding them. I just feel it would be more normal and safe for them to be held in a group and a register taken until the drop off time is over.

Today I did the usual and settled my son in the main room. Returned to the corridor and faffed with his bag and coat peg etc for a few mins before opening the main door to the outside. Something caught my eye and I turned to find my son grinning at me hiding behind me back trying to come outdoors with me. He had left the main nursery room to come find me. Unsurprisingly the lone teacher hadn't noticed or just assumed he was going to the other room. It frightened the life out of me.

Same at collection time. I go in the unsecured door and wander from room to room til I find my son. Frequently he is playing with other kids with no teacher in sight or one teacher engaged in doing something else. I can arrive and lead him out without actually speaking to anyone. Kids are allowed to roam free between rooms and in the corridor at collection time too.

Last year I witnessed two young boys with no coats tagging onto the back of a mum leaving with her child and going out from the corridor Into the playground. Thier parents weren't there yet. I informed nursery staff who quickly took them back in.

It just terrifies me that kids are allowed to wander freely when there are loads of people coming in and out and they currently have access to an unsecured door. Anyone, a non parent could wander in or they could be let our accidently as I previously saw.

The nursery has had very good ratings with care Inspectorate and I've had no issues other than this building and getting worse.
I remember around the time they were inspected a year ago we got a letter saying that they were changing procedures and all kids would be held in a room by staff for parents to collect directly. This sounded fantastic to me but it lasted only a few weeks before falling into the normal routine of kids roaming everywhere.

What does your school nursery do? Does this sound normal?

Thanks

 

[broodymrs]

Wow. No, that sounds bad. At my son's nursery you have to press a buzzer and they check who you are on the camera before letting you in. If they don't recognise you, you have to give your full name and the name of the child you're collecting. I got asked tonight actually, happens every so often. You can't let anyone 'tailgate' you in. I've shut the door on other parents and had it shut on me because everyone knows they're really strict. We frequently get letters reminding us about the entry procedure. When you arrive babies go upstairs and toddlers are downstairs. They have the required number of adults per child and a designated adult doing greeting during the first hour. They have a quick chat with you about how the child is, any messages etc then you leave. At pick up a designated adult speaks to you, normally the key worker and says how the day has gone, anything they need to take home etc. They get your child's bag and coat then you leave with child. It's completely secure and there's always someone who knows you've arrived or are leaving. I think they tick you in and out actually too now thinking about it.

 

[Joybell]

Hi broody. Thanks-yes this sounds similar to my sons private nursery he goes to one day a week which we pay for. Secure camera entry into a foyer then you tap in a code to get in. Staff waiting for you and keeping kids together until most are arrived.

That feels safe secure and normal- his school nursery feels like a disaster waiting to happen. I had in my head as it was connected to the school it would be more rigorously checked and have procedures but seemingly not!

 

[JumpingIn]

That's a horrendous news story waiting to happen I'm sorry to sound so dramatic but I would not feel secure at all. Something has to be done. It is absolutely not normal and not acceptable.

Our son's nursery has an open door to reception but after that you have to get buzzed in 100% of the time to access any of the rooms at all. You're buzzed by a reception member face to face. Once inside your child is greeted by a staff member, normally the key worker.

You're absolutely right to be very concerned about this. I think what you are describing is enough to get a place investigated and possibly shut down, to be entirely honest. There are strict regulations about security.

I'm so sorry

 

[Joybell]

Thank you. I believe outwith the drop off times the door is locked and secure so access is only allowed with a staff member present. But those 20min twice a day where it's a free for all seems a recipie for disaster.

Will update after my meeting tomorrow, surely I can't be the only parent anxious?
X

 

[catty]

My sons nursery has 15 mins at drop off and pick up where the door is open and people dont need to buzz to get in. BUT there is always always a teacher standing on the door and her only job at that time is to make sure no child leaves and isnt preoccupied with anything else.
I wouldnt like it if the door wasnt supervised as kids could probably leave quite easily otherwise

 

[Joybell]

Exactly catty. Someone monitoring in and outs sounds reasonable at minimum to me.
I was worried I was getting over wrought or overly annoyed but sounds like I'm spot on

 

[Moominmummy1]

My child's preschool was the same the outer door was open for about 10 mins at the start and end of the session.During this time the inner door is shut and a staff member makes sure no child escapes.The children usually were all ready and they were called one by one to be sent home with their carer.
That set up sounds really bad.

 

[Joybell]

Thanks everyone. I'm glad of the validation. I'd love for the outer door to be buzzer only but if other nurseries operate an open door for the collection and drop off then I'm guessing that's acceptable. What's definitely not is allowing kids to wander freely during that time

 

[MindUtopia]

That does not sound normal at all and would be a huge red flag. There should always be a staff member managing the register (otherwise, how do they know anyone is there?) even if you sign yourselves in, someone should be checking it, and there should not be unsecured, unstaffed doors. In fact, a nursery near us had a major Ofsted violation and nearly got shut down because a building contractor didn't lock the door when leaving and a child got out and was found walking down the road!

At our nursery, the door is always locked with a deadbolt lock and then secured with a chain, at all times unless a parent is literally walking through it. We come into the gated garden through a latched gate and have to ring the buzzer at the door. A staff person comes, unlocks it, opens it for us to come in, and then immediately behind us, closes it, locked it with the deadbolt and secures the chain. They also let you back out when you go and then lock the door behind you and secure the chain again. There is also a locking stair gate at the door before the actual outside door, which is always shut, so when I go out, I let myself through the stair gate and shut it and then a teacher is waiting and lets me out the outside door and locks behind me.

It's only one room with a bathroom, kitchen and a few smaller play rooms down the hall, so all the kids are in the main room as are all the staff. I don't always really hand my daughter off to someone anymore because she's been there 3 years and is confident just going and playing, but if she needs reassurance, there is always someone to hand her off to. They also complete the register for us with a staff person initialing when she arrives and when I collect her and the time.

They also have cctv in the car park and any visitors have to provide ID. A couple times when we had grandparents pick up our daughter, we had to provide them in advance with a photo of them, plus the make and model of their car and the reg number.

I would NOT be happy with the arrangements you are describing and I would inclined to raise it with Ofsted if you feel your concerns aren't being taken seriously. It sounds like a serious safeguarding issue to me.

 

[minties]

It doesn't sound too bad to me? When Thomas was at daycare, they had a we fenced area around the front door with a pool gate and then a regular door, that was it. I've never seen any other sort of security at a school.

Some primary schools aren't even fully fenced here, which I'm not keen on, Thomas's one is but there are just gates that even the kids could open.

 

[broodymrs]

How did it go? Reading what a pp has said it reminded me of anyone other than me or dh picks ds up I have to let them know in advance

 

[Babybump87]

I wouldn't ley my child attend that nursery. My nerves would be gone every time I left them.

DDs nursery has a locked gate and a security door which can only be opened by a teacher. The gate is freely open from 8.30 till 9 then its locked with a bolt. The children cannot leave the nursery. The gate is then unlocked at pickup time and I am always handed my child by the teacher.

The door is always supervised by a teacher and my child is greated of a morning by one of the teachers and taken in.

 

[kirstybumx3]

That makes me nervous just reading it. We have to go through a locked fence gate (lock at the top out of children's reach) then up a path and the preschool room door is locked, we ring a bell and wait for it to be answered to collect or drop off. So if any child did 'escape' it would only be to the locked gated playground. We also have a barrier code to the car park that only nursery parents know, and have to inform them before pick up if someone other than me or oh is collecting and even then they sometimes ring to double check before releasing children. X