Comparisons

So... I'm registered with two agencies who supply support staff to nurseries and schools.

Today I worked a morning shift at a nursery in the Rhondda. This nursery is a community nursery connected to a primary school and caters for up to 27 children, they are open from 7.30am-6pm and run in an open plan room with separate kitchen, office, sleep and toilet/nappy change room. The staff who I met today are lovely and very welcoming. I felt instantly a part of the team and felt that my presence was valued as more than just an extra body in the room. While I was at the nursery I observed really great interaction between the staff, parents/carers and the children, they all seemed to genuinely like each other. The children were all calm and happy, they were all content to spend time with me, a new face, which shows how secure they felt in their environment. Only one of the children cried when her mother left and she was only 15 months old. The other children happily went off to play as soon as they walked through the door. There were barely any tears or tantrums the whole time I was there. The children had free access to various toys, activities and books around the room and all the staff were vigilant, engaged and cheerful. There were lots of opportunities for 'free-play' but also the option for the children to engage in more structured activities with the adults like painting and singing. Nappies were changed when needed, the children had access to beakers of water all the time, the adults never refused a child a toy or activity, they simply warned the children to be careful, told them to sit properly on chairs or not to eat chalk. When the weather cleared and the children were told we could go outside they were asked to tidy up, all the children did this without argument, they all got ready and were happy to line up by the door and wait for the adults to open the door. All the children seemed very independent and mature for their age, children were encouraged to be mobile for themselves. Babies crawled and were helped and encouraged to cruise and walk. Toddlers and older children were encouraged to get things out and put them away for themselves. All the children were able to express what they wanted clearly, whether they were talking or not, and obviously knew the adults would respond quickly to their needs. All the children were feeding themselves, some with a little support but most completely independently (except the babies). The children happily sat together at a table and ate their food. When the children were told it was time to sleep they all came and lay down on their beds, and were patted to sleep with two self soothing completely. The babies had slept earlier in the day and were engaged with another staff member in play in a different part of the room. All the toys, equipment and books were in good condition and stored in labeled boxes. The labels are photos of the items as well as wording and all the boxes are at child height to enable the children to get out their own toys.

Although this nursery is not the wealthiest, with a daily fee of £36 (including meals), nor does it have the most modern up to date facilities, it is a brilliant nursery. In my opinion. The children are clearly happy. Which is the clearest indication of a good nursery.

The nursery I went to on my baby placement is another story. In a beautiful converted house with large gardens and a number of rooms where the children are divided by age and ability this nursery is very expensive. At £50 a day (including meals), it is one of the more expensive nurseries around. I did not enjoy this nursery placement. With a bigger space there was obviously room for more children. I was in with the babies and toddlers. The staff all seemed to be more concerned with appearance than the actual experience for the children. If a visit was scheduled or the manager was in and popping in to different rooms the staff ensured that the rooms were kept tidy, limiting the children to specific toys rather than giving them a choice. I was not impressed by the state of the toys and resources within the rooms. All the books were damaged in some way, some ripped beyond recognition and others ripped so that the pop-ups or lift-the-flap parts were unusable. Many of the toys were missing parts or were broken. Although they were not dangerous (no sharp edges or anything) they weren't really fit for purpose. Many of the children cried when they were dropped off at nursery and some cried when being collected too. If I were being very emotive and biased, I'd say they were crying tears of relief. Not something I think children should experience, children should be collected from nursery pleased to see their carer and excited to share the experiences of the day, not so emotionally strained that they burst into tears on seeing their parent. All messy activities were based in a separate room (the wet room) and therefore had to be scheduled in and planned, children could not draw or paint when they wanted to, it had to be part of a planned activity. One particular child took a staff member's pen and scribbled on the back of the day charts (and was told off for this), rather than being given crayons and paper to draw, which she clearly wanted to, the pen was put out of her reach. Free choice was limited and children were only allowed to play with the toys which were set out for them. Children were frustrated and bored, meaning that they got irritated with one another and there was lots of hair pulling, biting and screaming. Young babies were left to sit on the floor propped against cushions or in Bumbo seats while staff filled in paperwork, rather than being helped to sit independently, roll or crawl. Babies were left to cry and described as being 'whingy' and 'moany'. At least one staff member expressed amazement when I got a baby to stop crying and go to sleep by holding and rocking him. This nursery seemed much more about ideas and rules than about practicalities. The rule was that you don't mollycoddle the babies, which the staff took to mean you don't hold them unless it is practically necessary (to take them to another room or move them etc), rather than understanding that babies sometimes need some contact and interaction. No wonder they were screaming if they were being ignored, they were bored, or scared or uncomfortable or any number of other things! Nappies were done at scheduled times even if the nappy was dry, unless a staff member noticed that a child was soiled. Sometimes, if a child was soiled or wet they were left until the next nappy or 'until the activity is finished'. The staff were negative about each other, about the children and about the parents. No wonder the children were unhappy, there was such a negative atmosphere in this nursery, I felt uncomfortable as an adult in this environment.

I would never like to be in the position where I have to send my child to a nursery, but if I had to choose, I would definitely choose a nursery where the children were happy and relaxed, not one which looked the best from the outside. Appearances can be deceptive and it's easy to put on an act for the 15 minutes parents are looking round but you can't make the children act; if a child is unhappy they will cry, if a child is relaxed and happy they will be engaged and curious. You can't disguise that.