My experience at Wonderland Educare Sunningdale

Item: Wonderland Educare
Rating: 1
Author: Luzanne E

Just my experience at Sunningdale Wonderland Educare situated in Oak Creek Crescent: I enrolled my baby in the school’s baby class while 3 months pregnant due to the school being quite popular. As part of the enrolment process I received a tour of the school where the owner/headmaster assured me that the baby class contains only 10 babies – each having their own cot, with 3 teachers taking care of them. Initially this is the way it was and my baby was very happy at the school. When I picked her up this week I noted that there were 16 babies in the class with 12 cots. A teacher mentioned that some babies would move to a bigger class the moment space becomes available there. I emailed the headmaster with the following concerns and went to see her in her office to discuss my concerns: There were 4 babies in the class without cots that had to sleep in car seats or bouncy chairs The ratio of babies to teachers was no longer in line with what she sold to me while on the school tour. The ratio had gone from 3 babies:1teacher to 5-6 babies: 1 teacher. This was double what I had been told. No teacher could possibly have sufficient time to give any more care than just changing a nappy and giving food to a baby when she is responsible for 6 babies. A baby needs interaction and care as well at such a young age – mine is currently 6 months old. The fact that there was no place in the older class to move the babies that have reached the right age into immediately, indicated to me that the older class is also overcrowded. That I noticed a decline in my little one’s interactions when picking her up from school. Where she used to be chatty and interactive, she would just stare into space. When I picked her up after work from school I would stand in front of her and call her name and chat and wave at her and she would just stare straight ahead. This became a trend - as if she had been sitting in that bumbo chair all day without getting any interaction or attention. I suggested the following solutions to the headmaster: Not to accept any further students until their current overcrowding problem is resolved. The number of positions advertised at the open days/tours needed to be adhered to. To obtain additional help on a temporary basis until the numbers return to their normal/advertised level. To rather consider raising the school fees to cover any possible shortfalls they may have as opposed to overcrowding the class Consider constructing a second baby class with additional teachers and having two baby classes with smaller numbers each The headmaster responded that: An additional 2 cots would be bought and that within the next couple of weeks 2 kids would move to the next class. This means 14 babies and 14 cots. She would therefore end up on a ratio of 5 babies: 1 teacher which is within what the law requires - as the law allows a maximum of 6 babies per teacher. No second class will be considered. The additional cots will fit in the room and the teachers will deal with the number of babies. The problem with this: I made my choice of childcare based on a misrepresentation from the headmaster. Had she told me earlier that they plan on growing the class to 14 or 16 babies and still have only 3 teachers I would have chosen a different school or rather gotten a nanny to assist me that I could train and get to know properly whilst on maternity leave. The baby classroom is too small to effectively care for 14 or 16 babies. The cots are standing with their headrests against all the walls with the sides stacked next to each other like sardines in a can. Babies therefore have to be accessed from the foot end of the cot and the play area in the middle is significantly smaller due to this squeezing in of the cots. The fact that the headmaster believes that the maximum allowable limit by law should be the standard. The law is there to govern the worst case scenario that one would expect in a public facility to prevent neglect. A private school should do much better. The unwillingness of the headmaster to address the problem in any way other than buying more cots. No additional temporary help would be hired while waiting for the numbers to go back to a more reasonable level. No freeze on further intake. After having followed the correct procedure by first contacting the headmaster by email and going to see her in person I had no resolution from the school. I spoke to one or two of the other moms in the class (after following the school’s required process of mailing and meeting the headmaster) who also noted that the class had become really crowded and suggested that they also speak to the headmaster about it. Maybe if more parents spoke up about it, something would be done. In the entry form one completes when enrolling a child it states that the school has the right to cancel a child’s enrolment under 7 conditions, one of which is being bringing the school or principal’s name in disrepute. I got notice this morning that my 6 month old baby will no longer have a place in the school, as my talking to the other parents caused them to phone the headmaster and complain about the situation as well. I will be taking my daughter out of this baby class by the end of February. My view on the school: The teachers and facilities are great, but they are stretched far too thin. The headmaster is great at selling her school during school tours, but in my case this was not what was delivered. I found the headmaster’s approach in dealing with issues raised by parents leaving much to be desired.

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