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Yes, I'm sure those things will be great consolation to the babies that go home hungry!Balham31 wrote:They seem to have really upped their game, new French teacher, music class and visit from the dentist. Let's hope they keep this up!
Just as an update to this post we ended up removing our son from Grove Hall for a number of reasons but in part because the parents evening didn't satisfy us that things would change adequately or quickly. Perhaps they will - it would be great to be proved wrong as the remaining children deserve the high level of care that should be expected but has been recently lacking. There are some good carers there and I wish them all well and hope that they can help turn it around.sixfootredhead wrote:I would also like to add my two cents worth as I have a toddler who has been at Grove Hall for over a year now and who seems to really enjoy his time there.
Of course, the OFSTED report is very concerning and like other parents who have posted on here I will be interested to hear what they say for themselves at the parents meeting. The note about the ratio of staff to children is a worry - as parents our primary concern is that our children are properly and adequately supervised.
While I don't see what goes on at the nursery day to day I know my son is happy to be dropped off and he regularly enjoys activities which he doesn't have at home on a regular basis. The Bora Bora beach party looked like such fun for the kids - the photos on display are evidence of them having a great time. They also go on outings to the zoo, the library etc and have regular access to outside space and they are sent home with some of their artwork for parents to keep so they are certainly being stimulated on a creativity front. Whether it is as often as OFSTED requires, I cannot know.
As regards the staff, my son has had some wonderful key workers while in the baby room who have taken a real interest in him and who he outwardly loves - one in particular he adores. I have never found the management to be rude or difficult - but perhaps to English parents some of the dialogue gets a bit lost in translation. As a French speaker it is perhaps easier to have a conversation.
My only 'criticisms' of the nursery are:
(1) nappy changing could be more frequent - even though 4-5 nappy changes are logged on the daily report I have turned up a couple of times where my son has had a soiled nappy and it has not been changed - it could be a coincidence. Also, he has had severe nappy rash on a couple of occasions while in the baby room which he never had at home.
(2) There seems to be quite a high turnover of staff. There are some stalwarts who have been there a long time but beyond them there seems to be a fair bit of movement. This may be the case in many nurseries - I am sure the salaries are not particularly motivating given the responsibilities nursery assistants are charged with.
(3) Hand-washing - my son on a number of occasions has come home with filthy hands - perhaps from playing outdoors.
(4) He has also come home on a number of occasions very thirsty so I wondered if they were offering water frequently enough. This hasn't happened in a while so it could have been a few isolated incidents.
But overall we have been really pleased with Grove Hall and feel that this report does not accurately reflect the level of service and care provided.
Improvements will hopefully be made and retained in order to bring it back to it's former rating - obviously we will all benefit from this but it would be sad if all the positive effort that is put in was not acknowledged.
Over and out.
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