Q: We have parents who drop off and collect their children while talking on their mobile phones, sometimes on work meetings. I find it rude, but it also makes it difficult to have a proper handover. How do other settings address this?
Leanne Blood, nursery manager, Brookdale Day Nursery
‘We have a policy that states if parents are collecting or dropping-off their child, they have to put their phone away.
‘On occasion I have to say: “Please can you put your phone away.” But that is getting more rare for us because we are quite hot on it. It is a safeguarding concern – people are coming into the building with a device with which they can potentially take photographs. Parents tend to keep phones in their pockets or in the car.
‘We tell parents about this policy as soon as they come to look around. There are signs everywhere saying “no mobiles”. When parents decide to join us, we send them our policies.
‘We have never had an incident where a parent has not followed these rules. If they did, we would respectfully ask them to leave the premises. At the end of the day, children's safeguarding is the most important thing. If they were on a work meeting, the same rule would apply.
‘Be strict and consistent. Parents should understand that the rules are there to safeguard their children as well as everybody else's.’
Michelle Kendall-McGuire, head of quality and early years education, Partou
‘Drop-off and collection times are such short yet important parts of the day. I suggest you establish expectations around this early with parents – ideally during settling-in sessions. At our nursery, when we do a show-around, parents have to leave their phones in the office. This sets clear expectations straight away.
‘Share your nursery policy with parents on the use of mobile phones in nursery. It is also important to explain to parents the importance of information sharing at drop-off and collection. Being distracted by phones will impact the quality of the handover both ways.
‘We obviously understand the demands of working parents and want to support them. But not assigning the time to focus on the child may actually increase the anxiety and stress levels for parents, children and the nursery team.
‘Over time, those expectations can start to slip. Signage around the nursery stating the rules is helpful. It can be intimidating for staff to ask parents to put phones away. But if you bring it back to the child's needs, and everyone is consistent, that can really empower staff. You have to foster a culture that everyone's focus is the child.
‘Some nurseries are lucky enough to have a parent room or safe space for parents to use. I would recommend that they ask parents to step into that space to finish their conversation. That is a supportive and positive message that says: I understand your call is important, here is a space for you to talk. At the same time as saying: I'll be here waiting to talk to you about your child.’
Natasha Baker, owner, Wibli Wobli Nursery
‘Having phones in the building is a safeguarding issue. We just do not let parents come in, unless it is something specific like a viewing or a settling-in session and the parents are worried. If they do enter we request they leave their phones in the office where they will be locked away safely.
‘For pick-up and drop-off, parents ring a doorbell when they arrive and stay in the corridor. We bring the children out to them.
‘Sometimes a parent might be on the phone in the corridor. But none of my staff have raised it as an issue that they are talking during handover. Usually a parent will put the phone down then.
‘Some parents are busy and might just take the child quickly. If they wanted to know all the details about the child's day, like what they had eaten, we have an app where we update them throughout the day. If the parent has any additional questions, they can ask us, but a lot of the information is on the app.
‘You might want to consider rethinking how you do your handover. Maybe you need to change your expectations around this activity? Of course you have to tailor it to your parents. Some do want to know what the child has done in nursery and talk to staff. Other parents see nursery as a service to look after their child while they are at work, and they are not interested in what they have done.
‘To make the parent sit and listen to something they do not want to listen to is not necessarily the right thing to do. Apps can be a good alternative if that is the case.’
