Dulwich nursery new management: advice needed

[samstopit]

Does anybody have any views on how the new management at Dulwich nursery (Sainsbury's car park) is going?

Have there been any staff turnover issues or any change in standards, better or worse?

Many thanks!

S

[lorraineliyanage]

Hi there, the new manager Shelley is really lovely and seems very settled in her role. One member of staff is leaving, I can't remember her name but she's from the main room, not the baby room where my daughter is. So far, it seems a pretty consistent standard to when the old manager Linda was there. Linda popped in yesterday to the xmas party to see how everyone is getting on.

[samstopit]

Thanks Lorraine!

That sounds promising.

My two will be in the main room. Does anybody else have any views on how it's going? My eldest was at Bojangles and went through lots of change due to staffing problems and then of course the nursery shut down! So I am quite keen to make sure they don't go through any of that again.

[lorraineliyanage]

I think it all seems very solid and reliable there so hopefully nothing will disrupt that. As they are part of the larger Bright Horizons childcare group, there shouldn't be any repeat of the Bojangles drama, fingers crossed. Maybe see you when your two start in the main room. My small one won't go up to the main room till Summer 2010.

[samstopit]

Thanks again Lorraine. It will be good to know somebody there. I'm due to go and see Shelley next week so that will help me to make my mind up. She sounded great on the phone.

[lorraineliyanage]

The communication with parents is really good. They write in a diary every day so you know what activities your children did each day, what food they ate, how much milk they drank etc. There's also a weekly memo emailed to the parents about the goings-on in the nursery, new activities & parent meetings. They feed them really well, nice healthy stuff all cooked in the nursery, plus they have lots of snacks - fruit, breadsticks, organic rice cakes. Whenever it's a birthday, there is a little party in the nursery and the cook makes a cake for all the kids and they give a present to your child.

My small one seems to spend quite a lot of time playing outside every day. The garden is small but it happily accommodates all the kids. It's great that the babies get to play with the older kids. My daughter also comes home with lots of paintings and arts and crafts stuff (quite skillful for a 1 year old, I'm sure there's lots of help with her paintings!). I guess in the older room they spend more time reading and writing.

[busymum]

My eldest goes to Dulwich Nursery and my youngest will be starting soon. It's a very good nursery, I rarely have much to moan about and the baby room is brilliant, obviously they get slightly less 121 attention when they go into the main room, potty training can be a little hit and miss! but really other than that it's great, everyone is lovely.

[samstopit]

Thank you busymum. Fingers crossed they will have something to offer us in the new year.

[wonderwoman]

I agree with what lorraineliyanage said, as the nursery is part of the Bright Horizon's groups there's less chances of the problems experienced at Bojangles. My eldest went to Bojangles so I can see the difference! Shelley seems to be settling in well and standards appear to be well maintained. She would be supported by Linda and Sarah who are the area managers. Obviously she would not be as experienced as Linda or Sarah but it will take time for her to take on board her role. She only started a few months ago. Staff movements are inevitable in the nursery/care industry and I think you'll find that in many places pay is not always great, so especially for younger staff members they will leave when greater career opportunities arise or if they go onto further education. Although the changes may concern me at times, my son who is there (he's 2 and in the Main room) is unphased by it. He is flourishing, loves the staff and friends, eats well, learns loads and is cared for really well by the staff who are really helpful and kind.