Staff Working In A Settting With Own Children/grandchildren?

[Guest]

Please can anyone help with a Policie to do with staff having their own children/grandchildren in a pre-school setting.

 

Have searched through the net but cant really find anything so any help would be greatly appreciated please?

 

Many thanks

[Upsy Daisy]

I guess it depends on what you want the policy to say. Do you want a policy that allows staff to care for close relatives or one which prevents them from doing so?

[Guest]

sorry i should of explained more lol

 

I am really looking for guidance on what other settings have in a policie as we have never had one before but now have a member of staff whose grandchild is in our setting.

[Gezabel]

sorry i should of explained more lol

 

I am really looking for guidance on what other settings have in a policie as we have never had one before but now have a member of staff whose grandchild is in our setting.

 

We don't have such a policy but do have staff children and grandchildren attending the setting. Sorry probably not much help but I wonder why a policy is needed or am I missing something?

[finleysmaid]

no policy for us either but the 'rules' are that the children are to be treated as any other child in the setting. the relative is not able to be their keyworker. the relative allows other members of staff to deal with behaviour issue without interference, the child is encouraged to comply with the general rules of the setting (eg calling the staff member by their work name)

perhaps there is the start of a policy there!

[Gezabel]

perhaps there is the start of a policy there!

 

Arrrgghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 

 

but sadly I agree!!!

[Guest]

no policy for us either but the 'rules' are that the children are to be treated as any other child in the setting. the relative is not able to be their keyworker. the relative allows other members of staff to deal with behaviour issue without interference, the child is encouraged to comply with the general rules of the setting (eg calling the staff member by their work name)

perhaps there is the start of a policy there!

 

Thanks for the tips! Maybe rules/guidelines instead of a policy as such? More paperwork with this i can see but I think the supervisor feels that something has to be put into place

[garrison]

Ours states that staff aren't permitted to work in the room where their child is and their child will be treated exactly the same as all others.

My children came to my setting and some staff found it difficult to discipline for fear of what I would say but on the whole it wasn't a problem - it is often harder for the staff mum - especially if other parents complain about their children - 3 of our mums have had 3 boys in setting and all of them were little rogues!!

On the other hand the girl children who have come to the setting were all angels - strange!

[sunnyday]

no policy for us either but the 'rules' are that the children are to be treated as any other child in the setting. the relative is not able to be their keyworker. the relative allows other members of staff to deal with behaviour issue without interference, the child is encouraged to comply with the general rules of the setting (eg calling the staff member by their work name)

perhaps there is the start of a policy there!

Agree with all of the above - have had all of my grandchildren attending my setting - we all live in the same village!

 

However, they call me nana - I really wouldn't have wanted them to start calling me anything else!

 

My deputy's grandaughter was also with us and her grandson will start next September - she will still be nanny! but I will be his Key Person!

[Fredbear]

Oh my surely commonsense should suffice in these circumstances. Yes to a different keyperson, yes to following pre-school rules the same as everyone else but making the child call their nana/ nanny by their name just think it's taking it a little too far, and as for a need for a policy for it yuk. It's just a personal view though.

[Inge]

need for a policy? may depend on size of the setting... some may need it others cope fine with guidelines.

 

sort out some simple guidelines for the staff member.. and how the other staff will cope with a child who may be difficult to begin with as they expect their relative to step in and help them... not saying they will. but have seen it.. a big tantrum to try and get the granny to give in and help them.. never heard such a scream go up once they realised Granny was walking away and taking no notice and not helping them get what they wanted...poor Granny was a but distraught but with support coped and walked away very well and the child did stop the behaviour, but needed all aware of how to deal with it.

 

If all staff are professional enough it should not be a problem.... set a few guidelines... let the child keep the name they know for the staff member and be ready for others to use it as well... lost count of the times I have been called mum... and work it out as you go along... this may help you make more guidelines for the future if you need it..

[Guest]

Ditto Bridger

we have had child and mother, child has called her mummy, because that is what she is after all

[garrison]

To add to my further comment - my auntie also works in my nursery and all the children still call her Aunty even though my children left 2 years ago! She loves it

[finleysmaid]

the comment about the naming issue actually came about because my daughter works for me!! the children got very confused with her calling me mum! also when my old supervisor and myself started we both had children in the setting so it became easier for them to call us by our first names at work...it also meant they knew when we were 'working' so to speak!! i have no problem with staff being called mum by their children...its just been different for us

[laura]

My daughter is currently at my setting and my mum is the manager too! When she answers the register to me she says 'yes mrs mummy'! so cute of her. She calls nanny - nanny!

My daughter is quite strong willed and I'm fine if the staff need to discipline her, although she'll search me out crying sometimes - but when i find out why she gets no consoling from me! Sometimes she doesn't come near me all session and I don't set eyes on her until lunch.

[HappyMaz]

I have had this on both sides of the fence - worked in the same setting as my children attended and had a staff member whose son attended our setting.

 

In both instances we had one big room so it was impossible for us to work in a different rooms. If my little boy was acting out, I would gesticulate to another staff member and go off in the other direction to let them deal with it as appropriate. I never wanted or needed to know the details and the incidents were forgotten by the time we both walked out of the door at the end of the session. From memory he called me mum all the time I was there. In the case of my staff member, he either called her mum or by her name, but it was entirely up to him and how he was feeling.

 

When Mrs Weasley came to work with us she always called me mum when speaking directly to me but if she was talking to the children about me she would use my name. The children didn't have a problem with that, and knowing she was my daughter was endlessly fascinating to them.

 

It can cause problems though, having a child's parent on the staff. A friend had to ask her boss to change her son's key person because in her heart she knew she was just the wrong person for the job. It made life more than a bit awkward whilst negotiations were ongoing but once her son had a new and more supportive key person everyone was happier. Except maybe the original key person but that's a whole new story.

 

There can often be tensions within the team, so I would always advise that a lot of thought is given when selecting a key person for the staff member's child. The last thing you want is for an already strained relationship between two staff members to be weakened by the fact that the parent doesn't respect the key person's practice or knowledge.