by: Tara4 - 17-04-07 21:44
I have just read Jo Hills post and yes I am sat here with my mouth wide open too, wondering how on earth someone can be so concerned about their childcare provider YET still send their child there. Surely a child's welfare and happiness should come before a job.
If I had serious concerns about my childs nursery care that wasnt being resolved to my satisfaction, then im sorry but they would be out of their immediately.
by: JoHill
FYI, I am an excellent parent, it’s the thing I do best in life, something I excel in and put all my effort into. The reason Im taking action now instead of sooner is that I’ve been fobbed off with false promises time after time, maybe Im too trusting, and have now taken the decision to lose my faith in them completely. The problems have gradually built up from minor ones, all of a sudden into major ones, hence why I am now taking action and getting her somewhere I consider safe and happy. I do not understand why somebody would try to bring me down for trying to do the right thing and for venting my upset and frustration on a website. I am the first parent at Nursery to have taken action to move my daughter even though all the other parents have these same problems, because we have all been lied to for so long, I can only hope that the other parents will follow suit. I take on board your point that I should have done something sooner, but please do not question my parenting abilities as I can assure you it is something I put 100% into and I am working on making sure that this move is a happy and un stressful one for her.
On a happier note, I’ve taken Bella for her pre-school boosters this morning (she was very brave) and she’s gone to the childminders this afternoon and pre-warned the other children to expect ‘sharp scratches and a bit of blood’. I’ve never seen so many faces turn white lol, although they sighed relief when she informed them that they get sweets and cuddles for being brave, bless.
leapfrog employees - 18-04-07 18:36by: baby_girl
Well done Jo!
I completely agree with you!!
Just because you've left your daughter at a nursery (that she obviously knows and loves to prevent disruption to her life) where you and others have been promised that things will be sorted and will get better DOES NOT(!) make you a bad parent. Instead, it shows that you care enough for your daughter's welfare to keep her in a familiar place with all of her friends and things she knows!
leapfrog employees - 18-04-07 18:53by: janny
I agree.Being a working parent is very hard and a MAJOR balancing act. Jo is right when she says small things build up into bigger things, thats life, and of course she's going to believe managment when they say things will be done. Obviously Bella was happy there and from what I can gather from reading the messages on this site its not the staff at the coal face who cause the problems, in fact I read that they are very caring and Bella has obviously formed a bond with them. However there does come a time when you won't be fobbed off and you have to say enough is enough. I think you've done the right thing Jo, you trusted your instincts and tried to strike a balance, all in Bella's interests. If I were you now though I would complain to OfSTED so that they can check the nursery out too, otherwise nothing will ever get done. Good luck to Bella with her childminder!! Jan
leapfrog employees - 18-04-07 20:45by: joshuajones
Hi Jo,
I agree well done to you. You have tried to do the right thing by approaching the management to sort out your problems BEFORE taking the very difficult decision to disrupt your daughter. You have met with nothing but stalling tactics and inaction. I hope Bella settles well with her new carer, and I agree, you should complain to Ofsted and let them take up the challenge. Good luck to you both.
leapfrog employees - 18-04-07 20:50by: space
First I must say sorry as I had name confusion, I'm so sorry. Jo I hope that you didint think I was having a dig at you. From what you have written I can see where you are coming from and I worked for this company.On a regular basis I was sent to cover various nurseries during holidays and sickness and everyone has the same feelings about the company.As a middle aged QUALIFIED member of staff (THIS IS WHAT THE COMPANY LACKS) I have seen so many young girls join the company because they think it is easy money. I know that everyone deserves a chance but when some of the manager/deputies very little experience of life, how can they expect their staff to educate children. How can staff improve their skills when their NVQ Assesors dont come out to visit on a regular basis, but ther again staff just thing that when they are sent on NVQ time they can just sit about texting and chatting whist other staff members are left with unqualified staff and agency staff who are QUALIFIED BUT DONT KNOW THE NURSERY OR THE CHILDREN) things have to change.Glad to read parents are putting comments on here. Its what people need to read. I wished I had done more research into the compnay before I stared to work for them. Good luck Bellla
PS I am not having a dig at all of you young staff who work for Leapforg either.
Room for thought........ I have always looked after children as I would like my own to be cared for. A child is the most precious thing that any Mum/Dad will have together and when they go out to work they want you to love and care for them.
It takes alot to be a good nursery nurse so think before you leap into this career
leapfrog employees - 19-04-07 12:28by: JoHill
Thank you to those of you who have offered me words of support and encouragement, and to those of you who think that I waited too long before taking action, I take on board your comments but also stress that I am a very good parent, who unfortunately put faith in the business who eventually has come up with false promises and I do not feel like I have let my daughter down in the least. I think that ive made the right decision to do this for my daughter and I will keep you updated on how she gets on in her new surroundings and also I will report on the progress with my complaint. Ive heard that Ofsted will unfortunately give the nursery time to prepare if they take the action to visit. Is this true? Surely this would not give a true picture of what is going on and will give management time to 'spruce things up' for the day and gives them time to prepare? Surely not?? I can only hope that the other parents will take note of my actions and get their children moved too. Its such a shame it finished like this as Bella was happy there, the carers are lovely and adore her and things were fine in the beginning and up until the problems started. I wouldnt trust Leapfrog nursereries to care for any further children I have in the future.
Take care
Thanks =-)
leapfrog employees - 19-04-07 14:26by: janny
Hi Jo, If you make a complaint to OfSTED they won't inform the nursery that they are coming they will just turn up. If you check the OfSTED website www.ofsted.gov.uk it explains how to make a complaint and who to contact etc. Good luck and do please keep us informed!!
leapfrog employees - 19-04-07 18:48by: joshuajones
Jo
rest assured Ofsted will give no notice at all of a visit, so the nursery will be caught off guard and operating as they normally do, badly !!
leapfrog employees - 21-04-07 11:07by: sexy gal
bunch of vile dogs working in the company
leapfrog employees - 22-04-07 17:53by: rohan
I have never been so happy to know that I made the right decision to leave Leapfrog. I only wish that one day those managers get old and they get the same treatment when they retire to their retirement home. Now seriously, they should be forced to work full time for one month in one of their nurseries and get paid as an unqualified n. assistant. They would learn a lesson!
leapfrog employees - 22-04-07 21:55by: grooveygirl
I am suprised by all of the negitive comments on here. There are many leapfrog nurseries doing an excellent job looking after children and parents, I have friends who use other leapfrog nurseries and all are very happy. This is always going to be a very subjective issue and can only be dealt with by us parents commenting via the right routes, eg the nursery manager and then the head office. I know that we waited for a while for our refurbishment but when it came, wow -and the children benefitted even more from being in the nursery with caring, kind, loving staff who work hard to meet my children's needs. If staff are so unhappy about their work place they should write to head office too. Nursery work is hard and tiring, people don't realise and I agree with the mature lady's comments about thinking carefully brfore they join. With regard to johill who has commented about her daughter I think she should have been more vocal with the manager and written to head office before letting it get to this point. My nursery has links with early years and they were involved when another child was hurting my daughter. the nursery took their advice and they worked it out. Maybe johill should've checked if this had happened and were nursery doing as much as they could. I know they can't just ban other children without following a process. Please don't be so damning about all leapfrogs as most are doing a good job with the children and all of these comments have a bad effect on those staff who are working well looking after my children doing a fantastic job! Keep up the great work - thank you!!
leapfrog employees - 23-04-07 12:21by: JoHill
Hi All
Ive submitted my complaint to Ofsed now, so im just waiting to hear a response from them.....
Im really glad that you find the nursery your child goes to excellent grooveygirl I only wish that mine had been the same. I couldn’t keep on waiting for the refurb to happen. Believe me, I was EXTREMELY vocal with the nursery manager on plenty of occasions and have always been fobbed off. I have also tried head office, but it didn’t work so I have resorted to complaining to Ofsted and informing the other parents of the problems (not one parent I have spoken to is happy or satisfied with this particular nursery anyway and most have said they will be following my lead). Im just so glad to have taken my daughter away. However if you are happy with your child's nursery then great, the staff are generally lovely people. I think you would be surprised though at the shocking level of standards within this company if you put your child in the Rotherham branch =-)
leapfrog employees - 30-04-07 17:41by: Stephy
I am so sad to see this still going on!
Grooveygirl if you look at the very begining of this thread you will see it was me who started. 2years ago i started to complain to my manager, area manager then head office until i reached the top, I was dealing with the MD. Yet still nothing was done I was made to fell like i was a trouble maker and it left me with no choice but to find another job. I cried and cried when i left I loved the children in my care and was worried about what would happen if people who cared for them wouldnt speak out.
I have been banned from entering the premises as i am seen as a trouble maker, apart from bringing it up on here i did everything correctly and to the book but no one was intersted in helping to resolve the problems.
I feel so sad to see that people are still having probelms with the nurseries and i kind of hoped it would all be sorted.
Like I have said before i am pleased if you work or your children go to a good nursery you are very lucky. And i feel very much for those of you who dont.
All i can say though is that the care given to the chicldren on the whole by the girls (and boys) looking after then is fantastic well it was in my nursery.
Jo Hill i hope you daughter is now settled at her childminders and enjoying childcare again.
At the end of the day whatever is going on the children should be coming 1st and its sad to think in some places they are not!
leapfrog employees - 02-05-07 13:08by: JoHill
Hi Everyone
Ive had a reply from Ofsted saying that they are taking this matter VERY seriously and are informing their Compliance, Investigation and Enforcement(CIE)team to make an official investigation, so some progress at last.
Just to keep you up to date, Bella is settling in brilliantly with her new Childminder and is her happy and bubbly self and looking forward to starting 'big school' in September. Its working out great as she's getting to know the Childminder who will be picking her up from school and having her through the school holidays before she starts, so it should be a smooth proccess for her now. Her happiness is my main job in life =-)
leapfrog employees - 11-05-07 18:05by: deeya
Hi,
My child attend leapfrog nursery at Kettering. I have a feeling that things are not quite right. I have had a few problems with the teh care of my children and i am not sure if i am making too much of it. Please could you let me know if any of you have worked or are working there and if you are a parent if you ahve any advice. Thanks Deeya
leapfrog employees - 23-05-07 12:04by: nickster
Hi Deeya,
Its easy to over react to these things sometimes.Its probably nothing but what sort of things are you worried about.
A problem shared and all that..
leapfrog employees - 24-05-07 12:19by: JoHill
Hi All
Its been a while! Just to let you know that Ofsted are still investigating and have ensured me that it will be a very thorough investigation. Bella is very settled and never been happier with her childminder. I feel childminding is better now as they go out on day trips all the time which was very rare at nursery, I wish I had done this sooner.
Deeya, I cant comment on the other leapfrog nurseries standards in the UK, but for the sake of your child, please read through my posts, particularly my first one (im a parent too), and if you have these concerns, ive found its not worth waiting because Leapfrog will not sort it out and things are just getting worse. I suggest that you look elsewhere for quality childcare if there are problems. I wish you and your child well =-)
leapfrog employees - 25-05-07 10:44by: scarlett
I know this is going on and on, but there are obviously some concerns.
I said this a while ago, but basically a nursery is good or bad dependant on the way it is managed.
If you have a young inexperienced or old inexperienced Manager with no acutal "proper" managment experience from the real world then this is when problems arise.
People do not know how to "manage" people.
I am confidant that I could go into any Nursery and sort it out. Even if sorting it out meant telling head office that they are running illegally or telling them how I will be running it.
I think it is an easy way out to blame "head office".
Thats just the way I feel and I am entitled to my opinion.
leapfrog employees - 26-05-07 17:15by: AngelHelp
Hi to everyone,
Wow i carn't believe that this topic is still going on... I just like to say that i was once Jigsaw and now i'm leapfrog and i started as an assistant and worked my way up after 6 years i'm now base room manager of babies in Bute gardens, hammersmith.
What some people on here don't realise is that not all nurseries are bad we all have our problems and parents do complain. I love my job and treat my children as they were my own, with love and care.
I've followed this thread for so long and read everyones moans, groans and complaints but a nursery is what the staff make it. If you have a bad day then so will everyone else and the parents see this!
Childcare is a demanding career and is not for those who think that it is an easy ride, we are under paid and work long hours sometimes more than we should!!
Sorry for going on but i have to say this again...
NOT ALL LEAPFROG NURSERIES ARE BAD.
Love to all Angelhelp XxX
leapfrog employees - 29-05-07 22:57by: veb
Wow! What a debate! I'm afraid after about an hour of reading I skipped to the more recent posts as I figured I'd be here till midnight. I am an ex Jigsaw, I was senior Nursery Nurse and loved my 21/2yrs there although towards the end I did get somewhat disheartened by the decline. Can I just state that Tom Shea was FANTASTIC. When I joined he knew the name of every staff member and every child and his vision was inspiring. I believe that the company grew too quickly and the accountants started having far more input than is healthy in a day nursery. That man worked so hard and it was so sad it all moved away from its roots.
A few years on I have worked in business management and have a better understanding of budgets than i did then however essentials are essentials and that includes staffing levels. (I'm now back in childcare!)
Nursery Nurses are replacable (even if not by particularly high quality - sorry but its true!) and people will move on and everything will remain the same...or will it? The individual manager will make a huge difference but they need support too and they should make use of the support available, i know our local authority has a great team of professionals that are available to offer all sorts of support on all sorts of levels that is there free of charge to be used to thier full advantage, unfortunatly i'm not sure many do.
Frustrations will always exist no matter what industry you are in, the trick is to find a workplace in which those frustrations are outweighed by the general job satisfaction. Easier said than done i hear you cry!
The children's welfare is paramount! Not the bottom line.
leapfrog employees - 07-06-07 09:44by: pjpinchin
Does anyone know the real reason for the closure of the Millbrook Day Nursery operated by Leapfrog in Kettering? I am looking for a placement in that area and I am having difficulty finding a suitable place.
leapfrog employees - 18-07-07 00:38by: Concerned_parent
Hi all, I'm considering leaving my 4 month old baby at a Leapfrog nursery in the City and the comments on this site have worried me immensely. Have things improved? Can someone tell me if the problems Leapfrog are facing apply to the Clifton Street nursery? I wish I didn't have to leave my gorgeous baby, but as I don't have a choice I want to know I'm choosing the right nursery. Many thanks.
leapfrog employees - 18-07-07 10:50by: JoHill
Hi everyone! Just a final update for you. An inspector visited the nursery last month and has ensured me that things will improve for the future at this nursery. It may be too late by now though as I bumped into another parent who’s daughter goes there in B&Q a couple of weeks ago and she said that she’s removing her daughter due to similar problems and she’s not at all happy and other parents seem to be doing the same thing now. Good I say, a loss of profit is the only thing that’s going to make Leapfrog take notice! Concerned parent, my comments are about the Rotherham branch, but Im sure other nurseries are ok, so giving it a try for a couple of months or so is probably your best bet. However, if you do have any problems, for the sake of your child, don’t leave it like I did on false promises, if these things start to bother you, take immediate action and move. But you will never know until you try. Its horrible having to leave your child while you go to work, I know the feeling of guilt and longing, but I had to tell myself that its for Bella’s best interest if I work to provide a comfortable life for her and also to set her the right example that many do not these days which is to work for a living to encourage them to do the same. At first you will feel bad for leaving your baby, but in the long term, it’s for the best and you will find that you make the very most of your evenings and weekends and holidays together. It also does them good to mix with other children for their social skills, so I hope that you get on ok and wish you the best, well done for researching things before putting your child in nursery!!
leapfrog employees - 02-08-07 16:29by: MikeyEarlyYears
Hi there, "Concerned parent" I have worked in many early years settings advising them and preparing them for Ofsted inspections I have also worked with parents through teaching their little ones at their homes, plus i have been a college lecturer training Nursery nurses... My advice to you is to look around as many nurseries as possible see how you feel about the atmosphere and and environment, check out the other childrens faces too ... are they smiling? do they look like they enjoy spending all day in the nursery? ask yourself these questions as you look around... also all nurseries have a parental comments and complaints book that according to Ofsted requirements should be open and avaiable for any parents/ prospective parents to view... If your feeling good about the Leapfrog nursery after you've looked round everywhere else then give it a whirl if not then go elsewhere like a smaller nursery centre. Good luck but i always say parents know deep down in their heart what is the right thing to do for their Cherubs :-) take care.
leapfrog employees - 05-08-07 14:09by: yummy mummy
hi there 'concerned parent' just to let you know city nursery is doing really great and passed ofsted with flying colours,the staff are excellent.there is another leapfrog just 10 mins away from city who are not doing so great due to that they are loosing alot of children.
RE: leapfrog employees - 21-08-07 20:21by: robin12
hi if you wont your child to recieve basic care then go ahead and leave them at leapfrog. if you wont them to recieve extra care, like one to one, being lookied after by happy staff, nice toys and nice food etc them do not leave them at leapfrog. i am currently working at leapfrog and see what parents do not see!Head office dont care about staff, witch gives staff a low staff moral witch affects the way they care for the children, if head office carnt be bothard then why should staff etc. leapfrog employ young girls with no children of their own, and they dont have a clue! children are served cheap food at meal times that is poor quallity. new equipment is rare. the nurserys are dirty. the list goes on!!!
RE: leapfrog employees - 25-08-07 16:19by: Tom shea
Dear Veb, thank you for the compliments, I was told it was here and looked. Indeed I believe much of your analysis is correct and time has aged but not changed me. I am now involved in a very small group of five nurseries which are working to change the acceptable to the exceptional in every way. They are working under the name 'child first' - for hopefully obvious reasons... You can see more on www.childfirst.co.uk. These are all working nurseries in a small geographic area and all very very different - from a purpose built unit in Solihull to a Georgian listed building in 3 acres where I hope we will have children and childcarers growing, harvesting and cooking (with a better growing season).
I know most staff names, a lot of the children and more and more parents - my philosphies have developed but not changed and the staff teams are growing in both confidence and confidence. Not sure what the acronym VEB stands for but if you email me fromt eh child first site I will get it. Tom Shea
