Keeping Up To Date

[alis2son]

Hi,

 

I'm trying to do an overhaul of our monitoring system for ongoing professional development to ensure that staff are keeping up to date with current best practice etc.. and i was wondering... does anyone have any kind of questionaire that they use to make sure that staff have read their welfare requirements or any other basic info?

 

Thanks,

 

Ali

[Guest]

I do not use a questionairre but by questioning staff i get an idea if they know what is what. I do often look at mags or online and if i find something of interest i photocopy it for the staff.

 

You could devise a test your knowledge on which subject you maybe looking at. But i feel for us we do enough paperwork, We are just a small setting.

 

Appraisals help us decide together what training is needed

Peer obs help but to be honest just knowing my staff and not taking anything for granted or assuming that they know

[Guest]

I don't know how well my team would respond to a questionairre in their intrays, I circulate case reviews (like the nursery Z one) and other documents that I've dowloaded or come across.

 

Using staff training days as a refresher on the EYFS might be more productive, you could use a pop quiz type thing and discussion afterwards. There is no way of checking that they read everything really, just depends on their commitment and passion, I have some who take everything in and others who I know don't give things a second glance!!!

 

Everyone has to fill in a training cascade if they attend one day LA courses and feedback at team meetings, this way you know they have taken in what they have learnt!

[alis2son]

ok so a training cascade sounds like it might be just as useful when they have read other information that they are given? the problem i have is that the staff pick up good practice from the modelling they see from the room leaders, however when they are left to it themselves, it looks like they haven't actually understood the reasoning behind things.

We got a good from ofsted, but we know that its getting harder and to achieve an outstanding, and although i dont particularly want more paperwork, i feel that its actually relieving the pressure from me, to just be able to give something out, check the response it accurate, and then have something in their files as proof that they have read and understood... at present we have a signed declaration, but this doesnt show that we have taken any steps to ensure that staff understand, just that they say they do?

[Guest]

We still use them when practitioners have visited other settings or read larger documents that I've hit them with! I have a very small team of 5 so it's easy enough to track at the moment. Even so I have half that just get on and do it, including writing up action plans and implementing ideas and half who I have to chase and when it is produced isn't really of any significance!

 

I'm struggling to get team input on policy review this year due to opening longer hours and the FFE interfering with development days. I think I've decided to give everyone a cdrom to take away, they can then highlight, add notes etc. and then we can discuss at a staff meeting, I'll make amendments, get board agreement and then re-issue! It's at this point they will have to sign agreement, am considering asking for a signature on each policy.....

 

After this review though I've planned to review a few policies a month, hopefully this will stand more of a chance!!!