Nursery Issues

[Casperron]

Fuckkkk I just sent the email which was basically a well worded slap in the face to them, ended it with the fact I’ll be withdrawing my son immediately. I’m so nervous for the response

 

[Herehere]

Hi, have you thought about quitting nursery? I’m working from home and our nursery still wanted us to pay 100% of fees so we’ve quit, and asked for her to rejoin in September which they’ve agreed to. You could also see if this other nursery would have your child in the meantime/ short term. Also I would talk to student finances at the university, if you are on your own you may be entitled to support for childcare costs depending on your course. Also... I thought nurseries-can stay open to all legally, whether you are a keyworker or not, so I don’t think they can charge you if you are entitled to send your child to nursery. It’s their choice they are only accepting keyworkers and they shouldn’t be penalising those who aren’t. I could be wrong but I would be fuming

 

[Death2unicorns]

Your nursery sound absolutely awful, first of all they are allowed to be open to all children whether key workers parents or not, so they are taking your money and not giving your child a place when they could be, they are ripping you off, even if it’s only 50% it’s still 50% more then you should be paying, find another nursery, even if it is further away, and don’t give them a penny more, reply to their email with a link to the guidance about nursery settings being allowed open, and ask them if they have misunderstood the rules or if there is another reason your child isn’t allowed to go which they have failed to explain properly to you, and tell them you have cancelled the direct debit, the other things you had said sound awful as well - the rudeness and issues with the invoices, just try getting a place at the other nursery even if it is further away

 

[Tui]

Hang on - they are still taking your money yet not allowing your child to attend for over a month? I.e this is not anything to do with isolation or an outbreak but they have essentially closed themselves to your child for the foreseeable future but still take your fees? That is outrageous!!

i agree speak to your uni about this; they may have hardship funds or even their own childcare as I expect their own staff are considered key workers and they may be able to fight your corner. Your workload sounds huge - similar to what I was doing in medical school.... are you medicine/nursing/dentistry or similar??
Another thing I’d suggest is writing to your MP and asking them to intervene

 

[Herehere]

I’m glad some one had said the same thing, I would write back and say something along the lines of “the government has not asked nursery to close for non-keyworkers and therefore legally I am still entitled to a place within your setting, if you do not wish non keyworker children to attend then you have no right to be charging a fee and I will be requiring a full refund for the weeks not attended or my child is to continue attending the nursery.” You can ask where in your contract it says they can do this too, and yes write to your MP too.

 

[Blair-Waldorf]

That email is a load of shit - ALL private nurseries are open whether your a key worker or not

I am fuming for you, you must be up the wall - sending love

 

[Whatsallthis]

I would be querying the 50% fee. You’ve said it’s in the contract that you need to pay it if they have to close. But they haven’t had to close, they are still open so why should you have to pay if they have decided that your child can’t attend.

 

[Casperron]

I think I’m going to send him to a different nursery. I found one but it’s 22 min drive surely that’s too much? problem is I will have to give his current nursery a months notice

I found this document from the government to basically say nurseries should be open to everyone for their well-being and developmenthttps://assets.publishing.service.g...ly_years_providers__schools_and_colleges_.pdf

I do get financial help the childcare grant payment service pay 150£ a week I pay the rest £50
But that’s a problem in itself as I have to remind them 3 times a week to invoice payment on theee as I can’t do it myself it needs to come from the nursery, then I get slapped with late payment charges from the nursery!!

 

[Fannyisyouraunt]

I didn’t realise children were critical workers! Firstly what an appalling written email. Nursery settings are allowed to be open but it’s a companies choice how they operate at this time. Can’t you approach other nursery in your area?

 

[BettyCrocker]

I’m 5 weeks pregnant
But I’ll be having a c section so nursery is definitely off the cards for then as I won’t be able to drive for 6 weeks
no my partner works 9-5 but he’s not my sons dad, he helps me out whenever he can so I can do coursework I but always tell him not to as I feel bad


I’m hoping to finish this year then join in January intake rather than September

So in January, when your baby is 3 or 4 months old, where will they be going while your at Uni or on placements etc? You seem to have an awful lot on your plate to try and juggle here.

 

[Blonde123]

Can I just say good for you going to uni whilst having kids. Honestly it’s inspiring, well done you x

 

[Belulah]

no my partner works 9-5 but he’s not my sons dad, he helps me out whenever he can so I can do coursework I but always tell him not to as I feel bad

Tell him yes please! He’s offering because he loves you and you are going to have a family together!

 

[Randy77]

45 mins there and back pretty much plus the time inside collecting him. I’ll see how far it is when I go to visit. I’m due a baby in October and I’m worried how the baby will cope in the car for that long every day, but maybe my partner will be home from work at that tome

Utilise this time to listen to podcasts/listen to music, gather your thoughts, grab a coffee and have downtime. Not ideal, but use this time as a break. You deserve it.

I would move nurseries, you both will be happy.

 

[Casperron]

I didn’t realise children were critical workers! Firstly what an appalling written email. Nursery settings are allowed to be open but it’s a companies choice how they operate at this time. Can’t you approach other nursery in your area?

I found the email to be quite rude really. I wish I could but we live in a rural area. This nursery is the closest decent one and it’s a 15 min drive already.
I found another one online 25 minutes drive which I’ve thought about viewing. This is the best one locally in terms of care, the setting is really nice and cosy indoors then free flow to a great outdoor area. The meals are good as it’s connected to a school with a chef and they get all their meals. And I’m kept updated online with what he gets up to.
But generally the management and staff are quite rude to me at pick ups. I feel like sometimes I’m not assertive and just let them walk over me.

I am writing an email response if anyone has any suggestions what to write

 

[TriviaNewtonJohn]

Could you change to a different nursery? Early years are open for non critical workers in England at least I'm not sure where you are.

 

[MakeDamnSure]

Tbh it sounds like you have too much going on and you need to prioritise what’s important to you. Whether that be asking your uni to be more flexible for you or changing the nursery situation to suit better. I did a 25 minute journey to nursery with a newborn in the car and tbh it wasn’t ideal but it was fine.
Sounds like the nursery are just choosing to only open for key workers and I’m not sure if that’s allowed or not but it’s what they are choosing to do. The email was not worded very well and was a bit blunt but I also think they will have been receiving so many emails along the same lines so that’s probably why - not saying that that is right though by any means.
If I was in your position I would probably move nursery’s and tell them they can take the month that your child hasn’t been going for but you’ve still been paying as your notice period.

I think you really need to think about whether you can realistically carry on with Uni on a full time after this year especially with you being pregnant aswell. You will need to take time out for appointments, scans and obviously the birth and you don’t need any extra stress at the moment. Then once you have your second child it’s a whole different ball game to just having the one! Congratulations on your pregnancy and good luck with everything, I hope you can find a solution that is right for you.

 

[Death2unicorns]

You’re due a baby in October? it’s only feb so does that make you less than 4 weeks preg?

I’m myself due on 14th Oct and I’m 5 weeks preg, not sure what maths you are doing there!

 

[Casperron]

I’ve just been looking into part time degrees didn’t realise they were a thing! Hopefully my uni offers them

 

[SunshineDreamer]

You might want to look Here it’s the CMA advice about fees etc during lockdown. Do you have a contract with them? If they’ve been told to open but have decided against it they would be in breach of the contract. If so say to them you with to wave the notice period but will take no further action to recoup lost money (as I doubt they’d give any back). If you are going to leave anyway, you have nothing to lose.

 

[mochibean]

My uni is 2 days a week of lessons the rest is coursework, I don’t have placements, the baby will be with their grandparents for this short amount of time. I don’t get why it’s okay for the dad to leave the baby but not the mum

my uni year ends in May the rest is the summer so time outfor scans won’t be an issue

You'll be okay, my friend has 2 very young children and manages uni. It's doable, not easy but even with a new baby there's many who do it.
If you have some childcare on occasion that'll help you out massively, nothing wrong with leaving your baby for a little while. Your future and goals are still important.