Piplings nursery - please would you be kind enough to share your experiences

[Jamesclaire]

Has anyone had any dealings with piplings nursery at the elms?

How was your experience ?

Did you have any dealings with Philip lee?

Experiences around financials ?

How was the customer care ?

Would love to hear any thoughts?

[B&G]

Following with interest. We went for a tour recently and I was quite unimpressed with a few things. Staff turnaround is very high (longest serving staff member has been there for 2 years) and, when I asked a question, was told to wait and ask the question again at the end as someone else might also want to know the answer too.

I didn't find the admissions emails very welcoming either ("Don't arrive late as we won't repeat what has been said. Don't arrive early else you'll have to wait outside - yes even if it is raining").

For ?1700pcm I expected a little courtesy!

[Jamesclaire]

Thanks for taking the time to share your insight and constructive feedback. I?ll PM you

[hammerman]

I've sent you a pm.

[newtose22]

I'll PM you

[CLAU]

Hello. I am highly interested in this post as we have been offered a space and I am trying to make my mind up as to accept it or not.

From experience, would you recommend the nursery for a 20 month old? Thanks

[goldilocks]

I think that the fact that nothing is discussed openly and that private messages are always sent is pretty telling - people are generally willing to post positive reviews openly.

Most complaints from people seem to be management related rather than day to day child care, so consider how much you can accept this?

[sweetgirl]

From my personal experience I would say go with your instincts!

Ofsted ratings are not always the best to go by.

Previous experience with ofsted officers showed there was a lot they didn't know about the providers staff, by this I mean staff weren't dbs checked & ofsted hadn't picked up on it until I told them!

This is not about piplings but advice to any childcare place you may choose.

The nursery I am referring to was eventually closed down & quite a few parents were upset with me & tried all sorts to reopen it. They even involved our local MP!

Bottom line is check it out yourself, talk to staff individually to see how they feel about the setting & their employment there..... That will tell you all you need to know!

[Elca20]

My eldest child went here, and I'm going elsewhere for my younger child. The caters are all lovely, but here's a very high turnover - four key workers over two years. This meant that ultimately, they didn't have a chance to get to know the kids, which really hampered their ability to help them progres, and ensure they feel secure. Sending a homemade birthday card with the wrong age was a highlight.

The lack of customer service from the management notes above is typical.

I think it is telling that in our year, there were only five children left by the time they would be leaving to go to reception - all the others had moved elsewhere. I'll happily answer any questions by pm.

[Tessie]

Just found this thread and very surprised to not see more positive comments about Piplings. There are other threads where the feedback is great but that may have been the older site in Forest Hill.

My son has attended two days a week since Jan this year and he's very happy at Piplings. We looked at around 7 nurseries and by far Piplings stood out to us. The staff are lovely and very professional, I know management run a tight ship - they are incredibly organised and also very picky about who they employ (a good thing in my opinion as I can see they have very high standards of expectation). This may explain why there has been a perceived high turn over of staff (from previous comments). We certainly have seen consistency in the 9 months our son has been there and I know staff retention is an issue across all of the nursery sector given feedback from other ones we have visited.

However, we are probably going to move him when he reaches 2 - not because we have any issues with the care he gets (in fact I'm really worried about moving him from where we know he's happy) but more the fact that we have had baby #2 sooner than planned and will need to put two in childcare 4 days a week each so are on waiting list of a more local, cheaper nursery that provides the 30 hours free childcare. (Piplings have yet to confirm to us if they will be offering the 30 hours yet)

Happy to answer any questions via PM.

[jacetrader]

Can anyone give me any advice or info on piplings.

[vjavor]

I would not recommend this nursery. I have just sent you a PM.

[kcollister]

Also interested in recent reviews of Piplings - grateful to hear any views. Thanks

[Jamesclaire]

I would not recommend this nursery!!!

[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]

I'd have to echo that. Several other nurseries around, I' avoid this one. More details on the other thread.

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