Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Orange Day Nursery gets 'inadequate' Ofsted rating
Any other Orange Day parents out there worrying what to do about the just published 'inadequate' Ofsted rating?
Their letter to all the parents about this says Eileen Rumble has been returned as Interim Manager but chatting at Harringay Market today i was told she's only back part time, does anyone know if thats the case?
That letter also said Eileen would be corresponding with all parents by the end of last week but we've had nothing yet, has anyone?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by GillianM on
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Just to add my bit - my son was at Orange for three years and we (and he!) loved it. The staff were all fantastic, environment lovely, and I felt well worth the extra £££. We were really sad to leave and I would recommend it to anyone.
The problem is of course, staff turnover, and whilst a lot of the staff have been there for a long time and there was consistency in that respect, it was unsettling to have so many changes in management. Eileen was clearly extremely capable but in her absences there woud be a succession of managers promoted from the childcare staff and at times it felt like there was a new manager every month. I think that having one full-time manager woud make a big difference and if this has been possible in the past with Eileen they should be able to find the cash to do it now.
I hope the managers are treated fairly and not scapegoated as Tamara says.....
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Permalink Reply by Mairi on
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I understand it's 'suspension pending investigation' - this is standard procedure, not a disciplinary, and does not necessarily last on their personnel record, only if they were found to have been negligent etc.
I have always had a problem with the changes in management there; parents/carers were usually informed just before or after the change and often not told why, then someone is promoted internally. Don't know what kind of selection procedure there has been. We can't make it tonight so I'll be putting this point in an email to Eileen.
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Permalink Reply by ant on
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As if all this wasn't enough my little Amelia suffered a head injury at Orange this morning! Shes ok, quite a deep cut above her nose, and i've brought her home to monitor her for the afternoon. I did get to meet Eileen though and she seems very good and competent.
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Permalink Reply by Tammy Palmer on
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Oh my goodness poor you - hope she is feeling better soon.
I have sent a very strongly worded e-mail to Eileen expressing disapointed in Ms Patel's absence at such a vital time and that it is she who needs to regain the trust and support of parents - I asked Eileen how she cna possibly hope ot answer the questions of parents on issues that she has not been here for - she will surely only be able to give 3rd hand info or a carefully scripted response from Ms Patel...
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I have also sent an email asking why we can't contact the director personally among other points, maybe all will be revealed at the meeting? on a positive, I did get a fairly quick email response from Eileen though, saying my concerns were important points that will be raised at the meeting and she will send me minutes. However she did call me Angela, which isn't my name, has never been my name, nor is it my name that my email pops up as, nor is the name that I signed my email with!! Just a personal thing I happen to find annoying but I'm sure i'll live....!
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I've received an email from Eileen, (very politely) refusing to pass on the director of Orange Day's email address, but assuring me that all correspondence is passed on. So we cannot enter into direct communication. I can find no contact details for Bavna Patel online. I find this quite strange and a little bit worrying that someone can own and run a nursery and have zero transparency, and refuse to be contacted directly. Especially as she is ducking the meeting following Ofsted's damning report. I'd like to know what's on Ms Patel's agenda that is more important than this.
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Permalink Reply by Ruben on
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The same as everybody here we took our son to ODN two years ago after careful research and we did not mind the premium price on the basis of very good care.
Two years on, the basis of it all stays the same, however as of lately things seemed to be sliding down the hill. Notifying food allergies several times for them not to be reflected in the care plan, uncertainty about key worker after some staff left, the room (Cherry) seeming noticeably more crowded since September, etc.
I guess that the ofsted report just formalises those things (and I am glad that children don't have free access to the playground, N8 is not Fairyland-on-thames).
My perception of where things go wrong is: July 2012: 59 children/27 staff. January 2013: 129 children/20 staff.
Vjollca made it a priority to replace agency staff, temps and part timers with fully trained f/t. I can hardly see as her fault that the director pushed for more places. It is very difficult to maintain company culture with such growth (without even considering staff turnover).
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The most annoying thing is that after seeing 5 managers in 2 years, I can recall Vjollca and Eileen as the only ones who signed every single email with their names. Most of the time I don't know who am I communicating to.
And the solution, instead of supporting the manager is to throw her to the lions and bring back Eileen who in 2 days a week will undo all the harm that Vjollca on more time was unable to? and who incidentally runs her own nursery so I am guessing her interests are not necessarily aligned with mine but in this case she is more of a mercenary showing her face so the director does not have to.
So my only thought is that the only interest of Bavna Patel is to take my money, not to care for my son. That's why she applied for more places without ensuring proper investment was in place. If anyone wants further proof: what are the building works going on in the playground? more space for babies? It will take a lot of proof to convince me otherwise and not bothering to show up (did she not meet twice weekly with the manager according to the report?) is not helping.
no, I'm not happy
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I also had a search for her online and only found a registered business address at 6 Turnpike Lane she is listed as Director along with two other people no contact details.
Perhaps we should ask about the building work - I am surprised we have had no contact saying what is going on there I seriously hope they are not taking away the outside space.
I also had no idea that the nursery had grown so vastly in a short space of time - we have only been there since Sept and our little ones area Pineapple room is not overly busy they have actually only just taken on a couple of new children we were the last ones that arrived before that- I don't really get to see much of the rest of the nursery as we are on the ground floor so I guess I had not really noticed how crowded other areas were. The staff in Pineapple are amazing but we have commented a couple of times seem understaffed. I really hope that they will not be blamed for any of this as I would hate to see any of them leave. What they need is better staff training, support, more staff and a Director who actually cares about what they do. I am simply baffled by all of this. I can't imagine a similar situation at my organisation where a Senior manager would not accept accountability and face those people impacted directly to answer their questions. One other question I am not actually that local so I have no idea where the meeting venue is - could anyone let me know?
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Hopefully I did this right:
Re staffing, this morning I left my kid in the Cherry room, already 5 or 6 children there and only one member of staff who incidentally is a temp brought in for the week. Don't get me wrong, she seems a great person, but dropping my kid off is a bit stressful for him and seeing a familiar face reassures him. Irene was not in, and with another familiar staff member suspended we had a bit of drama.
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It seems utterly pointless to call a meeting to seriously discuss how the nursery intends to move the situation on when the director, the person ultimately responsible for the company, shows utter disregard for her customers, and how badly she's misread the situation, by not attending. What a contemptible and cowardly decision. For instance, asking the reasonable question of how a part-time, interim manager can successfully address the situation would be laughable when the only person to put the question to is the interim manager. I think the meeting should be rescheduled to when the directors can attend. And, just throwing this out there, maybe late paying/refusal to pay fees might get her attention. It seems hitting in the pocket is the only way to get their attention. All they've shown so far is contempt, followed directly by an invoice.