Guest Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Hi everyone, Thought I would bring you all up to date, although I dont crop up in many of the posts, I am an avid reader and without this place dont think I would half the practitioner that I am. Anyway my setting sent me on a management course, which was the most inspirational course I have been on in a long time and it led to me reflecting on my role and responsibilities as play leader. I took on the role in Feb 2007 and have worked tirelessly with a wonderful team ever since, we have had our ups and downs, I have said goodbye to two practitioners, one was dismissed and one left, which I found hard to deal with as a new leader, but, as I am passionate about early years and lets just say their practice was very old school. The team we have now is fantastic, we are all eager to learn and develop professionally, however we still have our ups and downs, I had to suspend a member of staff and also good friend amidst and allegation which was proved to be unfounded and she was fully reinstated after a week, that was my first indepth dealings with the safeguarding board and pulled on all my reserve as a leader. Last week I was doing an induction for six new children and throughly enjoyed talking about how children learn and develop and how now more than ever very young children have a voice in the provision they use, just as I am in full flow one of the children starting fitting. I directed all the children into our quite room and placed the child in the recovery position, my deputy called 999 and the first response crew was with us in 2minutes, child went to hospital and had another fit once their, I had to very politely ask our new parents and chidlren to leave and to the teams credit not one child in that day realised anything was happening, they happily tucked into their cookded curry which they had pre pared that morning after the ambulance left the building. On Thursday 5th of novemember we sign our lease for the new building and will move in May. So back to my original point lol, at my appraisal last week I prepared a report for the comittee about me becoming supernumerary so I can continue to develop our team and plan for our continued improvement, I am finding I am learning so much as Uni and feel I would be better placed to disseminate to the team if I am taken out of the stafff ratio, we are also going to sit down with the children centre's manager and reception teacher and write a policy about how we will all work together and put inplace a transition programme, which at the moment is very patchy. I am really looking forward to all the possibilities the move will hold, such as setting up parent groups and working with other professionals etc, the team are exciting, one member of staff is starting her forest school training and another starts her foundation degree next sept. I am just starting to feel really overwhelmed about everything I need to be doing and feel without becoming supernumary I wont achieve what I feel I need to, to ensure the pre school moves forward. I currently have 10 key children of my own plus I oversee three other groups of ten. The committe is brilliant and if they can will enable me to become supernumerary, but I have made the decision to apply for a key person position if they cant make me supernumerary, as with my own family committments, study, maths GCSE plus my leadership role alongside key person role just feel something has to give, it would be a shame not to go to the school with the setting, but feel I have to prioritise my responsibilities, at the moment I feel like i am going to suffer from burnout. Do you think I am asking to much? Claire x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Wow you do sound like you have a huge amount on your plate! But you are also clearly a passionate, caring, thoughtful practitioner who wants the best for the setting and chiildren. Wish I could have you in my team. I get periods when I feel overhwealmed about my 'to do' list and can land up with sleepless nights and heart palpitations from panic about how I can fit it all in. I have learned (sometimes) to list the different things I am responsible for and what needs to be done to carry out those responsibilities. I then mark them as 'essential this week', 'soon' or ' a lovely idea when I can find time'. I find it really takes the pressure off. I wonder if an action plan of the tasks you would do should you be made supernumary would halp your case with the committee. They could then clearly see how your time would be used. Forgive me if you have already done this, but I have just gone chunttering on ... Gruffalo2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upsy Daisy Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Icertainly do not think that you are asking too much. If your request is turned down could you stay in post but delegate some of the tasks to other members of the staff and/or committee? You sound like you are doing an excellent job of managing and that doesn't have to stop if you can get others to take on some of the tasks. Could you still be counted in ratios without having key children? You clearly need to have a life to and that's hard enough while you are studying. Good luck. I hope you get this sorted out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Wow you do sound like you have a huge amount on your plate! Dont want to feel like I am moaning, I love my job and working with the children is the best part and being supernumary wouldnt change this, however it would enable me to do the things that we simply only skim the surface of, take the SEF for instance, I would love to use this tool as it was intended to be a tool for improvement, and involve everyone in the writing of it, but its simply not realistic in practice, so I am writing it on my own, then will share with everyone, however its never really complete and will need constant updating. I have a member of staff doing nvq level 3, she is a brilliant practitioner, but needs lots of support to be able to know what things like sustained shared thinking looks like in practice and how we can harness and facilitate it, also supporting children to resolve their own conflicts etc, this takes time to develop staff and pass on our knowledge, ok I know I can model these things and hopefully she will grasp what I am doing, but I would much rather be alongside her supporting her in her own practice etc. When ofsted came they did ask me when I do staff supervision and observations, and I was honest and said I do these in a very ad hoc way as I am also supporting my own key children and parents etc. I am sure if the committee can make me supernumary they will, I feel at present I have two jobs in one and am starting to feel slightly overwhelmed, also I thought the move to school would be so exciting, but I am really feeling a sense of being out of control with everything, when usually I love change etc Thanks for listening, its hard to put into words exactly what I am feeling, but will keep you posted on their decision and what my next move will be. To be honest the thought of just being a key person, seems a lovely idea, I do miss those days when I first started out many moons ago! Claire x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upsy Daisy Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 I'd bet my bottom dollar that if you became a key person again you would miss lots of the things you are doing now. The grass is always greener...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondie Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 what about becoming supernumery for a few days a week - would that help -and on the days with the children you could ask not to be a keyperson - you will be supporting someone elses key children - and also still keep in touch with the children - that is one of the reasons why i wont become supernumery - i want to be with the children and have my own key children but also have a day a week for paperwork and it is surprizing how much you can do if you are organised and have everything ready for that day /days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnyday Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Hi cupcake - wow you certainly are busy! I really like blondie's idea...... Good luck with it all sunnyday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmajess Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Hi cupcake, I haven't got anything very useful to say but I just wanted to say that you sound like a fantastic, passionate and exciting person to work with and the children with you are very lucky! It's great to hear someone working on extending their team's practie without belittling what they are already doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Lots of good ideas here. Asking to be completely supernumerary is quite something but as already said one day could be of incredible use. Also think very carefully about taking a step down from your lead role. It is a very difficult thing to do go backwards and may cause problems for your and the people you work with. Have you considered going part time to enable you other commitments to be fitted in? It may only have to be a temporary thing but may shift your work/life balance. Good luck/ We have all been there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynned55 Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 I think the problem is we all take on too much and don’t realise it's too much until it's too late. I am supernumerary for 2 days a week and I have no keychildren. To be honest it's the keyworking that was the biggest thing, how on earth you manage with the amount you have I don’t know. If you cannot go supernumerary (I am assuming it's money that would stop it) then why don’t you at least ask the other staff if they can take on your keyperson duties? It doesn't mean you spend less time with the children, but I find I really enjoy what time I do spend with them now. Whereas before I was constantly worrying about what I had to do next and/or juggling things around to fit it in- not that I don’t still do this!! Really how many schools have heads that teach in a classroom full time? I know that compared to schools we are much smaller for many of us we are also cleaners, secretaries, accountants etc. I think if you are not careful you are going to spread yourself too thinly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Thanks everyone, you've given me some ideas about what to do next. Your right lynne, its a huge amount of work just beingn a key person, although thats the most enjoyable part about the job, I love observing and assessing their learning, however at the moment its all starting to feel like to much, I like the idea of maybe not being supernumary, but not being a keyperson either, that way I can still spend lots of time with the children and support the team as well, havent heard from the committee yet about their decision, but will keep you all posted when I do. Claire x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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