leapfrog employees

leapfrog employees

by: flopsy113 - 07-10-05 21:11

'Angry Parent'

i work for leapfrog and send my son there. things have changed but they are looking up, the things you are saying about the children drinking out of the toilet are down to the so called good team that are leaving. if they suppervised the children in the room it wouldnt happen. i have never seen dodgy food, yes it might be sandwiches. however we gave our children new food and they turned there noses up to it. you obviously have had a bad experience, but not all nurseries within leapforg are the same. you saying things like this are putting parents off which in the end will lead up to more and more people like myself who have a good job being made redundent. you need to think about your actions. how would you like it if people were being put off your company.!!!!!

by: happyfroggy

'flopsy113' - finally, someone I can totally agree with! I love my job at Leapfrog and my nursery is brilliant. I am sick of people complaining about the standards etc and worry that like you say, the good people might lose their jobs because of good nurseries being shut down. More happy people like us need to speak out!

leapfrog employees - 09-10-05 21:57

by: LittleAnna

I have spent sone considerable time reading the postings on this subject.I speak as a Nursery owner who still works in her Nursery and I cannot say how sad these postings have made me.The things that are described even if only 50% of them are the truth reflect badly on all of us that work in the sector,even if our settings are working to much higher standards than the ones descibed.I hope that I never become so detached from the reason I choose to work in childcare that I put profit before care.If the staff are sure of their facts surely they are morally bound to report the setting to Ofsted?Surely the Nursery owners -if in fact they are only interested in money as was suggested- will want to improve morale and standards to encourage families to join them?
In the mean time I have a lovely family run Nursery (with lots of toilet rolls)if anyone is looking for a new job!

leapfrog employees - 10-10-05 08:37

by: Stephy

I dontknow what part of the country you are in but i know there are girls where i work who would jump at the chance of a nice smaller family run nursery where they are cared about, and in fact many girls i have spoken and emailed to from other nurseries.
Thank you it takes people who care to make childcare better and i am sure you appericate your good staff and tell them too.

leapfrog employees - 19-10-05 21:33

by: Stepdaughter490

flopsy113
Thankyou!

All i wanted was someone to see my point of view!
Most people on here complain about the bad and never see the good of the nurseries because not all of them are the same.

leapfrog employees - 23-10-05 19:04

by: janny

wellinever, eveyone is entitled to an opinion and you have voiced yours so eloquently. My only hope is that you don't work in the childcare field as it is hardly an opinion conducive to this line of work!

leapfrog employees - 23-10-05 22:13

by: outside eyes

in the real world the mothers would probaly most like to stay at home with there children,but with mortgage to pay and bills then a house needs two in comes and i would hope that childcare providers ie nursery nurses care about the children they look after and when they need a cuddle they can have one.so yes mums would love to stay at home

leapfrog employees - 24-10-05 18:27

by: parent05

Hi all

I am thinking of sending my son to a leapfrog nursery and I am really worried by some of the postings that I have read, but I need to get my boy in somewhere by next week because I have to go back to work and I have not got any other offers.

Would appreciate some advice on this.

leapfrog employees - 24-10-05 19:38

by: joshuajones

Parent05,
reading everything on this site must have put you in a very difficult position. Leaving your child in day care is hard enough without all of the things said on this site to consider. However, like everything that you do with your child, go with your gut instinct. If you feel happy with the nursery, are happy with staff, environment, food etc then put your child in the nursery. If at any time you are not happy, then question the staff about the things that make you unsure. If you see any changes, negative changes in your child then have a re think. You and you alone know your child better than anyone else and you alone will know if he is unhappy. If you are unhappy about leaving him then that nursery is not the place for you. If you cannot concentrate at work because you are worried about your child's day care then think again. All nurseries, all companies have their down sides, only you can decide whether it's the right place. Not much help I know, but trust YOUR instincts. That's what Mums do best.

leapfrog employees - 25-10-05 16:39

by: redlisa

I am a nursery manager, not for nord anglia! I have read your comments with sadness. I feel very sorry for all the employees and managers. However uncomfortable you all feel you must inform Ofsted, after all is the welfare of the children paramount?? I agree don't give up and walk out, however easier said than done. With as many employees working for the group as you have surely you should stand up and be counted. By not challenging this lowering of standards you are by default condoning it. Ofsted will investigate and impose actions, this will help raise standards and in turn give a very clear message to head office. Finally do any of you belong to a union? Seek advice, make some noise and make it clear this is not acceptable. I wish you all the very best for the future.

leapfrog employees - 25-10-05 22:42

by: newsetting

WellInever,

I hope to god that you have made these comments in jest, hoping to provoke a reaction.

If not, then I wish you all the best in your little make believe world-thinking that life is wonderful and that we can all have everything that we want. Mums and dads at home (who the hell would pay the mortgage?!?!) You dont seem to live in the real world but your world seems lovely.

Good luck to you my dear.

leapfrog employees - 26-10-05 16:29

by: newsetting

I find it very interesting that in this day and age people still stereotype working mothers as "bad parents."

As a mother, you are guilty whatever you choose to do. If for example, you are a single mother what are your choices? (and I mean REAL choices, not airy fairy idealistic views) The choices are plain. You can either go back to work and put your child into formal childcare. This leaves you open to critisism that you are a bad parent and not doing the best for your child. The other choice? Going on benefits and live off the state, provoking critisism that you are costing taxpayers money and should be paying your own way.

The point I am trying to make is that everyone does the best that they possibly can for their child. Not many people would class working full time and putting their child in daycare as the ideal situation.

However, I also firmly believe that if a parent does admit to finding full-time parenting tough (which, from experience I know it is) then they should not have people tell them that they are a bad parent. Some parents need something else in their lives. Just because I have children, doesnt mean that I have lost my own identity! I WANT to work, but I dont love my kids any less than the next person. What a bizarre way to think?!?!?

This debate will rage on. As childcare providers, all we can do is work with the parents to provide a setting that the child feels comfortable with. I do not believe that your attitude is conducive to a "homely setting" and I do not believe you have the right attitude to be working in the industry. You must have some appreciation of the dilema faced by working families and not just believe that they all cant wait to dump their kids on you to go out and follow their own ambitions. You are sadly, very misguided.
Best regards,

leapfrog employees - 28-10-05 08:23

by: janny

Do you know what, those of us in the childcare profession should not even answer "wellinever", as this person is quite clearly deluded and living in a dream world and obviously talking rubbish! Lets all just ignore him/her!

leapfrog employees - 29-10-05 19:38

by: outside eyes

well why sponge of the state when you can have pride and work for a living i work in childcarer work a forty hour week and my husband works shifts,i have two children one comes to work with me and the other nanny looks after her after school,so we are all together me make time as a family spending quality time together and we do not get a house given to us by the council so we have to work to pay for the best place we can for our children to live in.we have holiday time of during the year so you should be spending time then with your kids.we want to show our children that there are choices out there and you should follow a dream no matter what life throws at you.live in the real world and stop dreaming.my children have lots of quality time with there mum and dad

leapfrog employees - 29-10-05 23:36

by: crusty clown

Hi to everyone how r u all ok parents NEED to work, there is alternayive childcare but some parents may enjoy their child having company with a mixed variety of children. All i can say to you parents who are unsure is leapfrog nurseries have got alot better go with what you believe in, but when i have a child my child will be going in a smaller day nursery or with a childminder. Their are so many childcare options dont jump into anything thats all i can say.

leapfrog employees - 02-11-05 10:59

by: Stepdaughter490

I have opened a new topic because I had the same feeling about whether children should be placed in daycare all day! the topic is 'Is it fair to put children in full time daycare?' This one is actually about leapfrogs, which I failed to see and as i agree with some people's points please feel free tob express your points.

leapfrog employees - 02-11-05 13:39

by: pickle

Hello Leapfrog employees I work for another nursery other than leapfrog What are your senior work packages hours money perks and so on? I am just being nosey really. Additionally I was wondering whether or not I am getting a good deal where I am

leapfrog employees - 09-11-05 22:19

by: candice

i have got an interview with leapfrog? are they a good company to work for...?

leapfrog employees - 10-11-05 07:21

by: joshuajones

Leapfrog are no better and no worse than any of the other large corporate day care companies. Terms and conditions are similar in all of these organisations. You have to remember that each nursery is individual as it is mainly the staff that make the setting. Go to your interview with an open mind, read your contract carefully and make your own mind up.
Good luck with your interview.

leapfrog employees - 19-11-05 09:48

by: guyfawkes

i recently got promoted as a base room manager at a leapfrog nursery, which i enjoy making sure the room run as it should do, BUT i find myself being put in to cover other rooms, despite a support manager coming into the nursery and telling me that i was making the room run brilliantly and that everything was great and therefore i should stay in my room and she had told the manager that as well!!
Im now getting fed up with this and im phoning in sick when i see the rota that shows me in a different room, and i am now applying for other jobs in schools and i will leave if i have to , but i dont want to and i would miss my room team, the children and my base room managers role.
Has anyone got a solution to this problem?

leapfrog employees - 19-11-05 10:33

by: joshuajones

Hi Guyfawkes
This is a tricky one for a couple of reasons. You are quite right, a base room manager should stay in her room, as you are the senior member of staff in that room. However, as a senior member of staff it is really important that you are able to demonstrate your ability to be flexible and willing to help out on other rooms when needed. Your manager will not be able to book agency if there are sufficient staff in the nursery to staff all rooms by moving people around. That said however, if she is able to move you, there must be other people in your room that she can move instead, leaving you where you are. Are the other staff in your room being moved also, or is it always you ? If it is always you, this is bad manangement. Do the others make too much fuss about being moved ? If this is being bowed down to because it's too much like hard work to ask them, it is also bad management. Have you spoken to your manager to find out why it is always you that is moved ? It would be a shame to leave a job you like for this reason, but if it is making you that unhappy and you cannot resolve it then you must leave. Life is too short to be miserable at work, and if you are phoning in sick to avoid going to another room you are letting your team mates and the children down and that is unfair. Talk to your manager and find out her reasons for moving you over other people, hopefully you can resolve it.

leapfrog employees - 19-11-05 19:21

by: guyfawkes

hi joshuajones
there are 2 other members of staff in my room, one of them tends to get moved most of the time and the other one now and again.
i still feel that i should not be moved to other rooms.I have considered phoning the leapfrog support manager who spoke to me and telling her so she can speak to my manager, or telling my manager im going to phone her and the reason why.

leapfrog employees - 19-11-05 21:57

by: joshuajones

guyfawkes,
your regional manager/support manager is in a difficult situation, she can say one thing to you, but the reality is if your room is low in numbers and staff need to be moved you have to be moved as your manager will not be allowed to get agency. Leapfrog run a very tight system of child/ staff ratios, that they do not like to deviate from. (works great on paper but lousy in real life!!) Don't necessarily think of this as a negative thing, you have been told you are doing a good job, are you needed in other rooms to help put them in order ? Are you moved because you have skills to offer in another room ? Your manager is the only one who can tell you why she is moving you. The support manager will tell you what you want to hear but not necessarily act on your behalf in this instance.
Good luck - let me know what your manager says.

leapfrog employees - 20-11-05 08:09

by: jacqui29

I hope your "regional/support manager" is more helpful to you than mine was to me, all i was told as she raised her hand in the air was "it has nothing to do with me, i'm not getting involved. So i wish you luck but i don't hold out much hope.

leapfrog employees - 20-11-05 10:36

by: guyfawkes

Im put in other rooms because we are short staffed all the while, one girl left 2 weeks ago and another leaves next friday and she s going to work in a coffee bar!
i feel strongly that as the room manager, it is not up to me to be moved.
I intend to tell my manager that im planning to leave if it isnt sorted and that i will ring the regional/support manager and explain things to her,and i will take the first job offered to me because im not going to get stressed about it.

leapfrog employees - 20-11-05 13:30

by: shellabell

guyfawkes,
This situation does sound unfair on you, but also on the children in your room! I presume you have a keyworker group. What about the continuity of care? Your key group must be missing out if you are not there to support them. Who is filling this role if you are not? I think you will be doing the right thing in talking to your manager. Remain calm but make your points clear, after all they are very valid. Good luck, let us know how you get on.

leapfrog employees - 20-11-05 17:41

by: joshuajones

guyfawkes
you have just said it, "you are short staffed all the time"
Your room is obviously the room that has the least children in, consequently you and your staff are the ones that have to move. Your manager will have been told how many hours staffing a week she can have for the numbers of children in the nursery, and unfortunately Leapfrog will not deviate from this. (it is a formula that works perfectly on paper but not unfortunatley in the real world of child care.)She will have NO choice but to put you elsewhere as this is what your support manager/head office is telling her to do. This is the down side of corporate care, HO doesn't care. Whilst I understand all your feelings of being abused, used, put on treated unfairly etc, your manager is in the same boat. This is day to day life in corporate day care. Best advice get out, go and find a small independant day care provider or move into state education/ health. Don't forget corpoprate day care is about satisfying the investors not job satisfaction or quality childcare.

leapfrog employees - 20-11-05 18:12

by: guyfawkes

joshuajones
you are probably right, its time for me to find work in a state education sector.
hours are less, pay is better, and longer holidays!!!
i would miss my role as base room manager and the staff & children in my room, having worked hard to get promoted.
A new job would seem like getting demoted having had a named badge with base room manager on it.

leapfrog employees - 20-11-05 20:00

by: joshuajones

guyfawkes

It is certainly not a demotion, it is another string to your bow, another path you have followed that will open up more opportunities, and a wider learning curve. Lets face it, what did the name badge mean, more responsibility, more reasons to be put on by your colleagues, no more respect from anyone and very little more money. In a school you will have more responsibility than in a nursery, and as you say better pay, better holidays, better hours and I can assure you alot more respect from colleagues and parents alike.
Life is all about making choices, some of them are hard, but rest assured what ever you decide to do it will open up new paths and opportunities for you. Go for it girl, you only get one shot at it, make the most of it.

leapfrog employees - 27-12-05 01:14

by: guyfawkes

My new years resolution is to leave leapfrog.
i want a job where i can learn children different things, NOT for a company that doesnt care about the children and only wants their parents money.
if the parents knew what they actually get for their money, they would be disgusted;
very small amounts of tasteless food.
no decent equipment/ materials that staff can use to learn the children anything.
heating that doesnt work properly alot of the time.
nursery not cleaned properly.

i have a friend who works in another leapfrog nursery in luton, and she tells me that the food is crap and there is very little due to budget cuts. she reckons that if the budget gets cut anymore the children will be bringing in lunchboxes.
also they had 2 cleaners, only for them to be replaced with 1 cleaner who does less hours, he only hoovers the carpets and the staff have to mop the lino area themselves.
this cleaner also brings his children into the nursery and they use all the toys NOT putting them back and leaving them everywhere except where they should be.
his kids also used the preschool room computer.

the nursery manager who is crap at her job, has booked a parents evening on the 4th january, a day after everyone goes back to work and the letters only went out during the last week before xmas.
she has no respect for her workforce and doesnt know how to talk to them or treat them properly, she spends ages with her snitch of a friend called Elisha (who is never in her room or likes to spend time with children) and they just insult and slag off and are disrespectful to other members of staff behind their backs.

i am so glad i dont work there, i thought my place was bad enough. it seems that leapfrog and SOME of its staff are rubbish and spoil it for all the hardworking staff who really make an effort under stressful circumstances.

leapfrog employees - 27-12-05 16:02

by: jakevin

Has anything changed over the last few months to the people that have put comments on this website. Has it got any better, has there been positive changes. If not why not and what can you do about it.

leapfrog employees - 27-12-05 19:13

by: Stephy

Does not sound like things have changed to me i left mid october after about 2 years at leapfrog and i can honestly say it was the best thing for me, i am in a lower position with more money and in a job i love this is the reason i trained.
You need to do what is best for you guyfawkes you will know deep down if it is right.
Good luck and i hope you find an employer who appreciates you and the dedication you have to childcare. Keep us posted
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

leapfrog employees - 27-12-05 22:05

by: newsetting

oh dear its such a shame that managers allow dedicated staff like you to become so disillusioned!
I have a fairly small nursery with just twelve employees and i understand that it is so fundamentally important for the staff to feel valued at all times. If it wasnt for my staff, then my business would not succeed. My businesses reputation is built on the back of my staff base and the fact that parents are happy to leave their children with them. I have very little to do with the reputation of my business and I know that!!! I appreciate everything that my staff do for me and find it totally unacceptable to come across a setting that does not value its workforce. I believe that giving respect to my workforce earns me respect from them in return.

Guyfawkes, i think you have made the right choice. I have no personal experience of leapfrog, but from what has been said on this forum-im glad i have no experience of them!!! best wishes for the new year and please keep us informed of your progress!!

leapfrog employees - 27-12-05 22:57

by: Stephy

Newsetting i bet you are a wonderful boss to work for and i have never met you i am basing this on your comments, you obviousley value your staff and appreciate them what we need are more settings like yours

leapfrog employees - 28-12-05 23:56

by: guyfawkes

hi newsetting
you sound wonderful to work for, its a pity leapfrog arent like you, they just want profit over everything else regardless of how staff, parents and children feel

leapfrog employees - 29-12-05 19:59

by: guyfawkes

these 3 days back to work are a complete waste of time, how can a company justify opening a nursery for under 10 children and have to staff it.
surely it would have been more cost effective to shut until the new year and give the parents a weeks money back.
my nursery is basically a dumping ground for parents who want peace and quiet from their children, because nearly all the parents said they would be at home if they were needed. i have enjoyed spending xmas with my children and would like to spend more time with them than i do at the moment.

leapfrog employees - 30-12-05 08:48

by: Kraftykook

There will never be any changes within the Leapfrog Nurseries when the company management put profits before the childrens welfare and the staff.

I have never worked for a company who will wave goodbye to experiance/qualified staff rather than fight to hold on to them.

Christmas was a fine example of what Leapfrog think of their staff,which I would think left most of us in no doubt at all.

To guyfawkes if the food being served is "crap" that is down to management because we all have the same budget to spend as each other and I do very well with mine.Get rid of these so called "cooks" and employ staff who can do the job!!

leapfrog employees - 30-12-05 14:19

by: scarlett

happy christmas everyone, havent been on here for a while, been busy running my nursery. things dont change do they? i manage my team and nursery to my very high standards, i went into this business to offer a high quality service to children and their parents. i treat my staff with respect, we work as a team, you must treat people as you would wish to be treated your self. it boils down to experience and educational levels of the management. young girls who have been promoted to mangement without the relevant experience have no idea on how to run a business or speak to staff. in this industry it is difficult to recruit intelligent, experienced managers because at the end of the day, the pay is not good enough. all my staff are paid the highest rates in the area, they have the most holidays in the area, have time off in lieu for meetings, got a good xmas bonus, and are treated with respect. new and existing customers use my nursery because of the way i run it and because of the staff i employ. bad managers wake up and smell the coffee.
you have a happy workforce you have a happy and successful business.
happy new year to all nursry and childcare workers. we love our jobs!

leapfrog employees - 31-12-05 00:54

by: guyfawkes

you dont have any jobs going do you scarlett?
it would be so nice to work as a team and treated with respect, i cant ever see it happening while leapfrog exist!!!
i have a friend in another leapfrog nursery and they employ a male worker in the preschool room. he is very experienced in childcare, the children and parents all get on very well with him.
He is thinking of leaving and it would be a real loss to the nursery if he went elsewhere but it would be someone elses gain.

leapfrog employees - 01-01-06 14:46

by: joshuajones

It is a sad reflection on leapfrog that even after all the comments on this website, and the instruction from head office for staff to be quiet on this site, that things do not seem to have changed. However, Leapfrogs attitude to staff is not unusual to corporate day care, the other big companies are the same. Good experienced staff are expensive, and at the end of the day no one is indispensible. Let expensive staff go and they can be replaced with inexperienced cheap staff, which increases profit margins. The only people that suffer then are children and parents, as they get a sub standard service, but hey who cares as long as profits are up. Bring back small independant nurseries who value their staff and treat them with the respect they deserve. But the big corporations will continue to thrive as long as we continue to work for them, we have no say in terms and conditions other than using our feet to walk out, but behind everyone that leaves there are dozens of unqualified people willing to train in poorly equipped nurseries, so the large corporations will always win. Stick to your guns girls and find small independant nurseries, local authority nurseries, hospitals etc all who value their staff for what they do and who they are, not how much money they can make.

leapfrog employees - 02-01-06 00:18

by: guyfawkes

why should leapfrog staff be told to be quiet on this website?
its a free country and everyone is entitled to their opinion, if head office dont like the comments written about their 'fantastic' (joke) nurseries then they should look into why so many staff are fed up and want to leave and do something about the issues raised, rather than telling staff to be quiet!!!

leapfrog employees - 02-01-06 19:54

by: hillika

hi eveyone,
I don't know much about leapfrog nurseries or even where they are based by the sounds of thing I'm lucky not to know. I feel very sad for all the staff who work for this company and are treated just as a number. I don't think that leapfrog will ever get their head round the fact that the most valuable resourse of any nursery is their staff. Without staff that can provide a strong support system for their colleagues and their employer the nursery may well not exsist.
My setting is not large and I do not make a vast profit. It's there because I am doing something that I take great pride in, in supporting the families that use my service and supporting my staff. I am a firm believer in, to get, you have to give.
All my staff can talk to me about anything, what they have to say is valued and any input that is offered from them is discussed as a team. There will never be a time when what anyone has to say will simply be dismissed.
By treating my staff in this manner I can rely on them to be loyal, trustworthy and most of all come to work every day. Life is hard enough why make it harded. But can I just add that my staff also understand that I am not a pushover and know their boundaries.
I offer my staff, lunch every day with the children so that when it is their break time, the whole of their break is theirs, incentives on a 6 monthly basis for completed paperwork. timekeeping and creativity. They also each have their birthday off and once a year are taken to a healthfarm for a weekend.
But most importantly I will say thank you to each of them at the end of the day.

Some may find this extreme but I never have the need to call upon agency staff which saves me a fortune and I know that when Ofsted come around, that I have complete faith in my staff in that they know what is expected of them.
Being good to your staff does not cost the earth but I can ensure you that the benefits are enormous.

I hope that you all have a better year this year. Be where you are valued not where you are ignored.

leapfrog employees - 03-01-06 00:27

by: guyfawkes

hi hillika
you must have contented, happy, loyal workforce who enjoy working for you.
this isnt the case with leapfrog who just dont care and we are not supposed to post on here on head office orders, ( have they ever heard of freedom of speech!!!!)
a male worker in a nursery is fantastic for the children, parents and other staff, yet where my friend works their male nursery nurse is thinking of leaving because he is fed up with company crap. he has many years experience in childcare and will definately go on to a much better career and some lucky nursery will recognise that and it will be their gain.
there is no point in dreading going to work, if you have a job you like and work for a good company then work is fun and enjoyable.

leapfrog employees - 03-01-06 00:52

by: guyfawkes

oh well a new year, same old crap we will all have to endure unless we are lucky enough to find another job.
another year of the managers favourites doing bugger all and leaving the nursery as soon as their room children have gone home despite them being on the stay late list.
well this year is going to be different, i am going to cause such a bloody fuss and make a note of everything that shouldnt be happening in the nursery, and report it to the area manager.
enough is enough!!

leapfrog employees - 03-01-06 14:08

by: Stephy

Part of me wants to laugh part of me wants to cry that all these problems continue.
I left leapfrog in october and was told it was all going to change.
I have been informed by my friends that still work there i am often talked about and as a trouble maker and liar, by this i assume they are refering to when i questioned inadequate supplies and asked for answers to minor things which turned out to be major problems. I was also told to keep quiet from the top personally and through the email everyone recieved.
Your are all better off looking for new jobs if you are unhappy. Life is to short to hate your job, if you are happy in your nursery well done and keep it up it is only the staff in the rooms that make these nurseries sucessful and that was my biggest upset with leaving was that i would be leaving these children who needed our care

leapfrog employees - 03-01-06 20:12

by: guyfawkes

well this year im gonna question everything i feel is not right, and will want answers and not fobbed off with the usual rubbish.
therefore i can assume that i am likely to be labelled a troublemaker and become public enemy no1 for leapfrog.

leapfrog employees - 15-01-06 23:49

by: guyfawkes

hi
has anyone got any tips or tricks that can be used on staff that think they r better than the rest and that always suck up to management and tell tales. a group of us r fed up with a certain person.

leapfrog employees - 19-01-06 22:37

by: Stephy

BE VERY CAREFUL GUY FAWKES
I know it is tempting to go in all guns blazzing but i have learnt the hard way you need to know exactly where you stand and who to talk to or your life could be made very difficult(see some of my earlier postings) I know exactly what you are going through but please think about what you are doing before you act. If you are really that unhappy then i really recommend you look for another job.
My email address is on an earlier posting within this topic if you feel like you need to shout off email me it might help so you dont get yourself in trouble or breech your contract. Please let me help or at least listen i wish i had someone to ask advice of when i went through it. Good luck
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

leapfrog employees - 21-01-06 16:16

by: rohan

Hi everyone!

So staff going home early when their room children are gone... Yes, that same thing happens in my Leapfrog nursery. If the favourites go home early it is okay but if some of the less fortunates try to leave ten minutes earlier there is always laundry to finish, doors and windows to close, etc. Some days at 5.50 pm there are only 1 staff in the office (guess doing nothing and chatting on the phone to her friend as always) and 3 upstairs with the rest of the children.
Some girls can have certain afternoons off to go to college, gym but others can't have it if they are doing language lessons. They (managers) make a decision and some nursery nurses feel they can decide over them and accept / refuse to have certain children /staff in their room.
I left Leapfrog some months ago. The last straw was to know that a nursery nurse with much less expecience and education than I have is earning more money than anybody else, even senio nn. I wonder what secret skill I should have had.

leapfrog employees - 22-01-06 17:38

by: guyfawkes

ive been writing down issues that r not right in nursery. ive got 2 A4 sides already!!!
the final straw is that as a base room manager ive been in a different room 3 times in 3 weeks and ive noticed that my room doesnt operate as correctly when im not in there.
what chance have i got of passing an ofsted report as they r due any day now.
im going to have a showdown with my manager this week and explain that i should be in my room and one of the other qualified girls should be used as cover as i need to get my room sorted.
the funny thing is we took on 2 supply staff, why cant they be called in to cover?

leapfrog employees - 23-01-06 21:20

by: guyfawkes

hi fazz
while there people who suck up to management and spend lots of time slagging off to them about others, things will always be crap.
i agree all breaktimes r rubbish but hey thats leapfrog 4 ya!!!!
our manager says that there must be at least 2 people in a room at all times, but when there r 2 of us in there and its lunchbreak, does anyone come in to cover?
NO!!!!! this means that one member of staff is left alone with 12 children until both of us have finished lunch.
its different when it suits them esp when someone visits like ofsted or the preschool learning alliance, but forget it any other time.
just u wait one of these days the world willl know!!

leapfrog employees - 25-01-06 16:41

by: Stephy

Ladies i think you need to read all the postings on this topic and you will see i am proof that by trying to help or do something about the situations you are in both legitimatly and not will land you in trouble.

My life was made very difficult at times becuase i wrote a complaint letter to central office which ALL the nursery staff signed this was the proper official way of doing things(this was May last year)and we had a meeting with some representatives from central office who promised things would change........yeah right!!!!! having had minimal if any changes with in the nursery i decided to start this very topic we are writing on now to see if any other nurseries in the chain were experiencing problems as apparently it was only us moaning. and as you can see by the 22 pages of responses it wasnt just us.

When it was found on the internet by people higher up i was personallty spoken to about my attitude i explained yet again my problems and i was asked not to post on the site any more which i didnt for a while but things continued and i eventually left the nursery very unhappy in october.

I now work for an employer who respects me as a person and a member of staff and i am so much happier.

So i guess what i am saying is just be careful as i know if you start to kick up it wont just be taken lightly. By all means stand up for what you believe which is what i did but it might not be an easy ride. Good luck in whatever you decide to do and let me know how it goes. You can email me if you like
fatguts83@hotmail.com

leapfrog employees - 26-01-06 17:16

by: sexy gal

oh no

leapfrog employees - 31-01-06 11:20

by: sexy gal

oh stephy u wer such a brave girl if only i was like you,we hardly hav meetings but wen we do i forget what to say and we just sit there,in my nursery the girls who have been there for so long try to be in control but when we get a new manager they try to drive them out because they know that theyre not in control any more which i love,but thers obviously something wrong since so many people come and go.i have no qualifications and its so hard to find a job.

leapfrog employees - 01-02-06 13:20

by: Stephy

Sexy gal
its not about being brave for me it was about standing up for what you believe in.

When you have issues write them down i kept a little diary then at meetings i was able to look in it and see what it was that i had problems with, also if tyou feel you are not able to talk in meetings then ask to see your manager privatly or your ops manager, you will find someone to help you.

You say you arent qualified, can you not do NVQ? In college or nursery there are plenty or childcare jobs you just need experience not qualifications for, how much experience do you have?

Email me if you want to talk more about this
fatguts83@hotmail.com

keep your head up

leapfrog employees - 02-02-06 20:54

by: sexy gal

aah thanx stephy i have 2years experience but leapfrog will not allow assesors to come in to the nursery ,i dont want to do the nvq with leapfrog id prefer a college.

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