Assigning Keyworkers

[HappyMaz]

This is a very interesting discussion: thank you for all the thought provoking posts.

 

I wondered if anyone had seen a letter in this month's Nursery Education about just this topic. The letter was asking if they should swap a child's keyworker because the child got on so much better with a co-worker rather than their existing key worker.

 

What do you think of the reply (from Stephanie Mathivet, the Curriculum and Standards Manager for the Pre-school Learning Alliance)?

 

"One of the benefits of learning to be a reflective practitioner is that we can question ourselves and our practice in order to develop and improve. You may find it helpful to discuss what it is that brings out negative feelings or judgements about this child. Developing insights into our hidden motivators enables us to move beyond what blocks us. This changes how we relate to a child who will inevitably respond positively to that. This is better than swapping key children."

 

Maz

[Andreamay]

which is the point i was trying to make when I have allocated children in the past they are just names but we are going to try allocating after the first week this term to see what happens.

[HappyMaz]

which is the point i was trying to make when I have allocated children in the past they are just names but we are going to try allocating after the first week this term to see what happens.

Except you did it in much friendlier tones, Andreamay! I wondered if it was just me but her response did seem a little judgemental and lecturing....

 

Maz

[Guest]

Hi there,

 

I have been working for the past year with one assistant 3 days per week( who was off sick at least one of those days every week) and 1 assistant who has changed regularly due to always being an agency member for staff. This has resulted in me being the main point of contact for the parents and generally the key worker for all of the children. This of course is not the best way to run a key worker system and hopefully the 2 assistant posts and my own will be made suitable in a new restructuring process which is underway. Then we will (if we all still work there) all know the children and parents so it will be easy to match up key workers to families.

Someone once told me, or I read somewhere, maybe here(!) to write down all the childrens names in your group or setting. What you usualy find is that you always forget someone and this is usually the child you have least bonded with. In my case I was actually able to say that I did not really like the child. This may seem harsh but actually it was a useful thing to do. It made me very aware of how I acted around this child. I tired very hard not to show that I did not like them and actually in the end we developed quite a good relationship. I found this a very useful tool which impacts on my practise and helps me to prevent showing bias toward or against particular children. Has anyone else used this tecnique?

[Beau]

Wendles, that is such a good idea.

 

We have only swapped children once at the playgroup and that is because both members of staff had really clicked much more with the other and consequently felt they knew them much better so would be better able to meet their needs. This became obvious at staff meetings when we were discussing individual children and we all had quite a laugh about it. However, I don't think swapping for negative reasons is a good idea.

[dublinbay]

A few years ago our manager insisted on us changing our key children each term so they would not become too reliant on us!!! Thankfully this has changed now and we are allocated our children before they start in relation to our sessions.

I get to see most of my keychildren at least twice a week, some I see 3 times a week but there are some children I only see in 1 of my sessions.

This is not ideal of course but its the only way we can work it out at the moment. As a keyperson we keep the child's records, take photos of achievements etc and blah blah. We do post-it observatioons of all the children every day. We also do termly ILP's and are responsible for colouring in the profile chart with pretty highlighting pens!!!

We do not have keyperson time in our sessions. We have contact with all parents and they know they can talk to any member of staff at any time. I know I can always refer them to my manager if the going gets tough!!

As Wolfie said before - you do whatever suits your setting, if it doesn't work then the option is always there to change it (however I would be wary of changing children around too much).

I know the children in my sessions very well and they come to me, along with other staff, in times of need, and not necessarily their keypersons.

[Guest]

Hi sylhet, welcome to the forum

Hi Rea

Thanks for the welcome, I hope I am doing this o.k but the first time was really terrifying(sad) isn't it?. There is some very interesting discussions going on and very thought provoking too, which is good. I may be able to work out how you all do the lovely add ons to your messages soon, watch this space!.

[Beau]

Hi Rea

Thanks for the welcome, I hope I am doing this o.k but the first time was really terrifying(sad) isn't it?. There is some very interesting discussions going on and very thought provoking too, which is good. I may be able to work out how you all do the lovely add ons to your messages soon, watch this space!.

 

Welcome from me too - I was terrified when I made my first message too but it does get easier!

[dublinbay]

Hello and welcome from me too Sylhet803.

Enjoy the site.

[beth1]

At the preschool I have just become manager, the staff are fairly new and are unsure of what do to with the key worker system. The deputy has 10 at the moment and the others have 2 or 3 or 4 depding upon day of week, experince etc.

 

We are trying to reasign keyworkers in to some form of group as they feel that their children/parent don't know who they are. During staff meeting we dissscued a few options, spliting into groups, being duel keyworkers so if ones off the other can take over i.e. holidays. I have to decide with my deputy (does the key worker list) a way forward as all feel that we are 'muddling' through at the moment. Oh what fun and joy I am going to have.

 

 

 

Beth