Tuesday 17 January 2012

Nursery no-show

Nursery didn't work out quite like I planned last week. Long story short: she's not attending nursery at present. I had a couple of reservations about this place: the staff were nice but it seemed more like a daycare than an educational environment and there seemed to be an atmosphere that was a little too relaxed (staff not in the room, sticking children in front of toys without guidance, incomplete toys, not knowing all the children's names). I was keeping an open mind because I am happy for Charlotte to be in an environment that isn't too ordered or pressured and it did seem very friendly. When I collected her on Wednesday, she seemed quite happy but she clutched her lunch bag all the way home. I know she likes the bag but I was a little surprised. Then I got home and opened the bag and there was her lunch, untouched. I knew she had been upset when I dropped her off and the fact she didn't eat lunch isn't a dealbreaker for me. What I was surprised about was the fact that they hadn't mentioned it when I collected her. I phoned and left a message, asking them to call me and explain what had happened. I didn't hear back from them for two days. I called again on the Friday morning when she was supposed to be attending again that afternoon. My message was that I was unsure if I should bring her in or not. No answer. I finally heard back from them on Monday afternoon. They said it wasn't a big deal, she was upset, she refused her lunch, they forgot to mention it and the person who collects the phone messages was out for two days last week so they didn't get my messages. I pointed out that there seemed to be quite a breakdown in communication here and it was concerning to me. When the teacher said that normally this wouldn't happen, I pointed out that this is all the experience I have of them so this is my reality, my normal, she didn't really have an answer. I am hopeful that Charlotte will be offered a place at another nursery so I decided that it is better to keep her at home rather than send her somewhere and then move her after a few weeks or months. I wanted to keep the door open so I asked her if I could take some time to think about it and send her next term. She said no, we're either in or out so I said out. Back to filling out application forms...

2 comments:

  1. Not sure what the difference is between American per-school and English nursery but I imagine it's similar. Some here have a long wait list and I totally agree with your assessment of the situation. I would certainly expunge expected the teachers to explain the lunch issue upon your arrival. Also, not returning the call of a new parent is ridiculous. I may be picky but I expect the teachers to,know all the children by name within five minutes of meeting them and not forgetting. There are ways to remember names and that should be a priority. We were lucky that Rocco was able to attend a special preschool and also attend a typical preschool twice a week at the same time. That was before California and America got itself into serious financial difficulties. Now it would be unheard of to have a private aide attend a preschool with a special needs child.

    I'm sure a great fit for Charlotte will show up. It's important to feel good about the place we send out children. Only the best right?

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  2. Sorry for the typos. My computer crashed and my iPad is not exactly making blog commenting easy on me;)

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