Finding great staff!

[Guest Louise]

Hi,

I'm on a roll now with all these questions, so here's another one. How do you find high calibre staff who are truly interested in children's learning and development, and are willing to continually improve their knowledge and skills?

[Guest]

I would suggest you don't, and that the answer is to train them up yourself! This way you get staff who are more dedicated to the setting and gain emotional attachment.

[Guest Louise]

That's what we did this time, and I'm not sure if we've done the right thing! We seem to have got into the routine of pointing out (as gently as we can) spoken comments or behaviour from the untrained, inexperienced members of staff which we want to change, rather than pointing things out that the new staff are doing well. We've got into a downward spiral of critical appraisal

[SueFinanceManager]

Hi Becky

 

Although I agree that it is great to train staff up yourself as you suggest, surely by bringing in new and experienced staff they can help the setting to develop in different ways.

 

I know very little about 'Special education needs' stuff and so if a new member of staff came in with a great deal of knowledge in that area doesn't that help everyone to provide better care.

 

Also is it not unreasonable to assume that by doing all your own inhouse training it is concievable that you could perpetuate poor practise in some cases.

 

Sue

[Megan]

I think you've got a good point there, Sue. A new member of staff who is bright and energetic can breath a new lease of life into a well-established but, dare I say it, a bit dull, routine that's been unchanged for ages! There may well be differences of opinion, but as long as staff are encouraged to discuss all aspects of the nursery routine at staff meetings, then everyone should feel that their opinions matter, even if they don't always get their own way!

[SueFinanceManager]

Hi Meagan

 

Thanks for your reply. I take your point about people being allowed to put their ideas forward at staff meetings but do you think all settings have an open forum for staff to make their ideas known?

 

I am aware of settings where the manager writes all the weeks planning and therefore decides what the setting will do for the following week. If staff are not invited to contribute to the planning do you think they feel able to make suggestions about practise or are they 2 different things?

 

In my setting we all get involved in planning and during the planning meeting all areas of daily practise are discussed. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones.

 

Sue

[Megan]

Hi Sue,

You're absolutely right

All staff should be really be encouraged to share "ownership" of the setting, take responsibility for certain things, eg a curriculum area, or the sand/water area, and everyone should be involved in observation and assessments. Of course, this all has huge implications for staff wages, training, and so on. We all need to feel valued and to get job satisfaction don't we; money isn't everything

[Guest]

Hi All, New User here so please be gentle.

 

I'm in the process of setting up a new Nursery in South Wales and am attempting to find trained staff for the setting, however, I for one realise that the Nursery will only succeed if that staff are happy, motivated, enthusiastic and WANT to be there.

 

They need to feel valued and that every contribution is equally important. In other words its all about the TEAM. My managment meetings will encourage input and suggestions from all staff members, from trainees to the 'old-hands'. Regular and appropriate training and development courses are essential if motivation is to be maintained and well motivated staff are to be retained.

 

We want our Nursery to be a place where both children and staff want to come.

 

Is there any other way to work?

[Steve]

Hi Julian -

Welcome to the forum and thanks for saying hello! I had a quick look at your website - very elegant! Which one of the three bears are you?

 

Is that Newport near Fishguard by the way, or Newport near Cardiff. If it's the one near Fishguard you've made an old man very jealous - I love that part of the country!

 

Sounds like you've got the right attitude to building a good team. Hope it goes well, and let us know how you get on!

 

Steve.