Piplings Nursery - feedback request

[Mantra]

Hello

I'd be interested in hearing comments from people who have experience of Piplings Nursery please.

Thanks.

[hellosailor]

If you search the word piplings on here then several threads come up like this one xx

https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?29,1916973,2014878#msg-2014878

[Mantra]

Thank you.

[Hannaah james]

Hi everyone,

I am interested in sending my child to Piplings nursery, the elms, I?ve been seeing quite a few negative feedbacks about it and it?s quite concerning, could anyone enlighten me on why the have had negative experiences or just let me know your experiences with the nursery!

Thanks everyone x

[peckhamese]

We paid ?1,750 deposit (!) for a spot. We had to cancel 3 months before the start date and they returned ?0 (!!!). The worst part is that they are within their right because it says so on their T&Cs. So 2 pieces of advice for newbie, sleep-deprived parents like us:

1. Read the T&Cs. Do not rely on email clarifications from the nursery as they can be misleading.

2. Look for another nursery. Who wants to deal with the kind of people that keep ?1,750 they did not earn just because they can?

The whole story is long including an email sent at 9PM on a Friday where the nursery offered to return 50% only if we accepted on the spot: ?That offer requires acceptance tonight, after which we will no longer engage in dialogue on this matter and your full deposit will be retained in line with our terms and conditions?. When we asked for a full refund they took the offer off the table. Does this sound like what you?d expect from where you drop off your kids every day?

[peckhamese]

Hi, check out the other thread, I just posted my recent experience with them... not good.

https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?29,1950367,2038163#msg-2038163

[HelenAnne]

As an ex member of staff who has recently left, I can and will recommend Piplings based on my experiences.

Yes, I have seen many a comment about management and the admin side of things but I had no issues at all in my 3 years and 3 months working there.

It was a very positive experience for me in all aspects of the job.

I left for the first time in August 2017, and two months later, I was back.

I left for health reasons which was understood, but I also needed time to work out what I really wanted, which I couldn?t do while I was working there, I couldn?t think clearly or be objective.

I stayed for four months after I gave my notice instead of the required two, and also covered holidays in the two months I wasn?t full time working.

My health became an issue so much so, that I requested to change my working days from full time to three days a week, which was agreed and with the same hourly rate.

When I went back in November, I was informed that three days was fine and the hourly rate would be the same, which I was not expecting.

I didn?t want to go back as a senior, which was accepted, even though I did find that I was still being relied on for a lot of small things, which, to be fair is to be expected if you?ve been somewhere a fair amount of time.

Anyway, I returned in the November and when I did finally leave for good, I had switched to the housekeeping role, purely because I felt that being with the children was affecting my health with more migraines and being plagued by recent illnesses, all of which were dealt with very emphatically by day to day management and the other staff.

I felt that the housekeeping role was not for me, and did not see myself still doing it in six months time.

What I?m trying to say is, the owners gave me all that time and allowed me back on my own terms in a respect and I can?t think highly enough of them.

The person in daily charge now is absolutely fantastic and everything she does is for the best interest of the children in her care.

The staff they have there now are amazing and very child orientated, with a mixture of enriched cultures and wonderful experiences, both in life and childcare qualifications.

They are very supportive of each other and strive to bring out the best in themselves and those around them, this leads to a happy team which will then filter down to the children.

While I understand that I am speaking as a member of staff and not as a potential parent or an ex client, I do understand what children need from a nursery and Piplings provides that in spades.

Yes, it could be that the nursery doesn?t tick all the boxes for some parents, but that could be said for any nursery.

It?s not all about routes to and from home and work and which nursery has the best direct transport amenities.

It is also in a great location, right in Peckham Rye Park, right near a co-op and other great shops, which is great for if anything runs out unexpectedly.

I would urge anyone to give it a chance, I don?t stay at work places for that long, not to mention going back, if I don?t think it?s a great place to work every day.

I left because the role I had wasn?t for me.

It wasn?t because of anyone or the way I was treated, which was with the upmost respect and dignity from the owners.

I urge anyone to give the nursery a chance and if it?s not for you, then fine, but please don?t go on hearsay, go and see for yourself if you can and get the feel of the place, then an informed decision will be easier made.

[george74]

STAY WELL CLEAR off this nursery!!!!! We registered our little boy with them, only to find out several days later that we were expecting again. We foolishly thought such a reputable nursery, with an extensive ?waiting list? to get in, would be understanding. How silly were we...Just an arrogant owner referencing contract terms to us. Yes we lost the full deposit of ?1,400, but a close shave for us I think. Has to be better places to place your children in the area. We have since gone on to find that we are one of many families who have been treated the same way.......

[george74]

P.s. worth noting that this was 9 weeks before our little boy was due to stay with them.

[CLAU]

Definitely avoid Piplings!

Our child attended for a while and although there were constant issues with bad nappy rashes (they only routinely change nappies twice a day!), high staff turnover with no notification to parents of who was leaving / joining and lots of errors in the daily reports which made them redundant as weren?t accurate, the main issue was to accidentally discover that they didn?t have an ?onsite chef cooking organic food? (as we were told in the site visit in summer 2018) but were using pre-ready meals.

We complained about that and asked for an explanation and instead of an apology or any other form of reassurance, we received an email giving us notice of termination of a few weeks. This was highly devastating for us as a family as our child had built friends there and I was 8 months pregnant, which of course they knew about.

The ?management? which you will never see or speak to (everything is by email) is very defensive and rude and every response you?ll see is dismissive and just to protect themselves.

[tarafitness]

that is shocking :-(

[Helen2110]

.

[Piplings Nursery]

CLAU Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Definitely avoid Piplings!

>

> Our child attended for a while and although there

> were constant issues with bad nappy rashes (they

> only routinely change nappies twice a day!), high

> staff turnover with no notification to parents of

> who was leaving / joining and lots of errors in

> the daily reports which made them redundant as

> weren?t accurate, the main issue was to

> accidentally discover that they didn?t have an

> ?onsite chef cooking organic food? (as we were

> told in the site visit in summer 2018) but were

> using pre-ready meals.

>

> We complained about that and asked for an

> explanation and instead of an apology or any other

> form of reassurance, we received an email giving

> us notice of termination of a few weeks. This was

> highly devastating for us as a family as our child

> had built friends there and I was 8 months

> pregnant, which of course they knew about.

>

> The ?management? which you will never see or speak

> to (everything is by email) is very defensive and

> rude and every response you?ll see is dismissive

> and just to protect themselves.

Just for clarification, the poster knows why they were given notice and it was not to do with the questions they had asked about food. The meals were freshly cooked and provided by a very good, professional nursery catering company.

We do notify parents of staff who are leaving/joining in our newsletter. Nappies are changed as and when needed as well as the routine twice per day.

It's quite demoralising for staff to see posts like this when they work so hard for the children and parents. Piplings is a really happy place and we need to keep it full of people that share those values of trust and partnership that we hold in high regard.Please don't let this post put you off!We are happy to discuss any negative comments on here with you ourselves if you would like to ask about them!

[bonnierach]

.

[peckhamese]

[posted on wrong thread]

https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?29,2071818,2235525#msg-2235525

[newtose22]

I used to send my children there years ago and although things may have changed, unless the owners have I'd avoid it like the plague.