Guest Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 Well im going to announce the good news first, I've been asked to take over from the senior when she retires in July!! I'm looking forward to the challange that this poses, we are in a very small port-a-cabin, and space is tight, we have serious staffing issues to deal with, the usaul things when working in aplaygroup, My little rant is ---- I currently work part time in the school, and called into the PG after i'd finished today we have a nice enclosed outside space, but not one single resource was out, this was at 1pm, when i went in i casually say 'have you not played out today' to which they looked aghast and said 'NO!! It's to cold!' it was a balmy 6 on my car thermometer no rain perfect for playing out!!!! That little incident as just highlighted how much of an struggle im going to have on my hands come September by the way the senior was working this morning, I only called to collect some papers, the 3 staff wher all sat on there backsides, 1 texting, 1 colouring and the other looking out of the window!!!!!! The children were just running riot with no focus or stimulation... OH BOY what have i let myself in for.... I dont think im going to be too popular when i make the changes that are desprately needed.... If anyone has any words of advice i would be very grateful.. TA x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 Oh, mk5698 - what a challenge! I'd start small by mentioning, almost daily, that things will change from September. Perhaps drop little hints as to what and why!? That way it won't be too much of a shock to the staff And remember, every journey starts with a single step! Good Luck, Nona Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 Reminds me of my playgroup when I took it over two years ago. I made a lot of changes and the staff who didn't like them all left, leaving me with staff who actually wanted to be there for the children. They had previously had an Inadequate from Ofsted before I went there and two months after I started that was changed to Good - so that showed the staff I DID know what I was talking about!! We've had our ups and downs, but things are much better now! Congratulations on your promotion and good luck for the future! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 Well done on your promotion! Now that you've got a few months leading up to taking over this is the ideal time to start chipping away at the current attitudes. Easier said than done I know (oh boy do I know) but it's easier to pull than push. Just keep being positive and leading by example wrt engaging with the children. Also, when is your next Ofsted due and has your SEF been done? These two things can really concentrate the mind, especially if it's made clear the implications of an unsatisfactory grade. Managing change is very challenging but also very rewarding when you can see it working. Regular meetings are the key, along with providing a rationale for what you're doing (e.g. action points from the SEF - it's also useful to look at other local Ofsted inspection reports and use points from those too - both good and bad to compare with your own practice). You'll soon work out who'll work with you and for those don't want to - don't waste your time on them. It's harsh I know, but my matra is "manage them along with me, or manage them out". They'll keep arguing the toss but just carry on moving forward and showing how reasonable you are and they'll soon get tired of 'being left out'. They'll either join in or leave. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 Thanks for the words of wisdom, I have a pretty good idea who will be against the changes, 1 main contender will be the member of staff who is refusing to train at any level every time it's broached we get 'whats the point what am i going to learn, i've worked here for 15 years and i can do it standing on my head!!!' ask her anything to do with the EYFS and she has no clue and is of the opinion that it will soon be outdated and changed again..... I ask you... From half term I going to be working alongside the senior for an handover period... will have to bide my time till then but 'Look out im on the case' I just dont want to be too heavy handed and all the staff leave i thin 2 will defo stay but the other 2 im not sure about and then theres the leader who's retiring....but is possibly thinking about doing 2 days... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 (edited) aarrrggh I have the same problem.....I am sat in the office talking to a new parent about our policies and procedures...happily telling her the door is open all the time, how important we believe outdoor play is ...walk in to the room to show her around and the staff have closed the door! So I open it....all staff are saying 'its freezing' what I hate is that I have reiterated it sooo many times - the door stays open - and the staff are convincing the children that it is too cold, giving off negative vibes about going outside, wehn actually the room is so much easier to manage with some children in, some out! Then when the parent has left I return to the room where the door is closed......I talk to everyone at the meeting again about how we need to keep the door open and lots of moans and groans ensue...i go in today to find the heating turned up to 21 - I turn it down and then have to have another discussion with everyone about how the room is too hot....the temperature gauge is reading 19 - personally I think that is plenty hot enough and actually I would prefer it to be 17-18 to be comfortable for the children..... hope I made you feel better making you know you are not the only one....I am sure when I am not there the door is not always open....my cunninng plan is to make sure every child knows they can go outside by reiterating it to them....hopefully they will remind staff that they are allowed out in any weather! oh and CONGRATULATIONS......WE WILL BE WITH YOU EVERY STEP OF THE WAY Edited January 28, 2010 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rea Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 Congratulations on the new role. You'll be fine, small steps first, change what you can when you can. If the staff dont want to know ask them why not? Link everything you want to do to the EYFS and they cant argue (much!) Have you got a local EY worker who could come in and discuss with the staff the changes they will need to help with? It might be better than coming from you only. I've worked with people who text, chat, do the jigsaws and colouring in. They are a pain to the rest of the staff too, not just to the management, you might find you have more backing than you expect. Hope all goes well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 Just thought....sorry I ranted on your rant....it's like listening to someone and then telling them all about you...sorry...not very empathic of me...I apologise I guess I just wanted to empathise in a way that you would know you are in good company...I have made many changes since September in my new setting and am slowing down a bit...out of 7 staff members I have 5 on board and 2 not - guess that is what Rea is saying you can't please all of the people all of the time but we can certainly stand tall for what we believe to be the best provision and of course use the EYFS to back us up....sorry again.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 Congratulations on your promotion. I've found that leading by example works well in encouraging staff to free flow. Sometimes I think they are just worried about doing stuff differently to how it has always been done. The other day I went in as a parent volunteer, and said 'I'll open the door now so we can free flow, shall I?' Within minutes, about 80% of the children were outside with me! It's a bit of an ongoing struggle (it's fine when our leader is there, but when she's at college the others 'forget' to do freeflow) but it will come with time. The other thing to say is that you have to be prepared to be unpopular. Someone who used to work for us before we made all the changes now obviously hates my guts. She was in as bank staff the other day and she wouldn't even look me in the eye. She was making some comments about how we weren't doing things properly, but although that is a bit irritating you can't let it worry you. You have to have a very firm idea of how you want things to be, and stick to your guns if it doesn't happen. The texting while at work sounds worrying, if I were you I would instigate a no mobile phones policy on the basis of safeguarding. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hali Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 good luck - enjoy the challenge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 (edited) Hi thanks for the replies, readerrabbit we are due an ofsted this year, and the SEF is upto date, or it was in September, Can you tell me where i go to check it online and what info i need to access it? Had a long conversation with the chair and administator today with regards to change over etc, they are keen for me to get going i have told them i will probadly ruffle a few feathers as i want and need to make a lot of changes to bring inline with EYFS etc. and also if im doing the job i will give it 100% and do it properly. But do think it will highlight who really wants to be there for the children and not just for the convenience of it! One of the things i want to bring is more parental partnership, i've just done a questionaire as part of FDEY course work and it has highlighted that some parents dont even now who their child's key worker is. and the staff dont have a proper relationship either with the child or the family. ideally i want each memeber of staff to be responsible for planning activities (using plods) for their own key children and implementing them, ill timetable a couple of slots per week for them to carry them out, this should forge a relationship with the child and the key person.. (This is not going to go down well at all) do think this is a unreasonable request what do you all do? Edited January 29, 2010 by mk5698 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 Glad to hear that you've got the backing of your committee. To get online to your SEF you need to follow this link http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/Forms...oundation-Stage You'll need a code from Ofsted that will have been sent to your nominated person (it's called the Ofsted Security Token). You may also need a code to the government gateway too but you can just log on if prompted and it'll generate one for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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