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Can i just ask if any other pack away settings have problems with staff setting up and putting away, we are beginning to get alot of friction due to some staff members arriving 5 mins before the children are due in due to dropping their children at school, then racing off dead on 3pm to pick their children up, which means the same people are setting up and packing away every day....the staff members that are doing the setting up and packing away are very unhappy that the others aren't staying, does anyone else have problems like this........

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do you know why the staff have become more resentful, has this been 'brewing' for a while? seems that you all need to sit down and have a chat as a staff group and sort this out. Although they are paid for the extra time, working conditions are often more important for staff morale.

We had a situation similar, but as school adjacent to setting, a couple of staff went over to collect (not official but as a favour) and brought staff children back to setting, was done on a sort of rota, so fair to everyone. Also this in done in the morning (staff start at 8.45 and we open at 9 for pre-school), staff on breakfast club duty walk the staff children over to school along with the breakfast club children to school (although currently only 2 or 3 children it affects), if there were more this would affect ratios.

Obviously, if children attend other schools (as is the case) they have to make other arrangements. When a staff member came to me last summer and asked if she could leave at 3 to collect her daughter from another school, although was sympathetic to her situation, had to say that she would have to sort something out, as hours were til 3.20.

if staff worked in a supermarket etc. they would have to get someone to collect their child....why should it be any different for early years settings?

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Was going to ask the same question, if they get paid and staff arriving later don't then why are they moaning...had a similar situation with a couple of staff moaning that it wasn't fair that they didn't have as much time as full time staff to observe/assess their key children through the week and that other staff earn more.....the others are full time not part time like them with at least twice as many key children as them, but the same non-contact time :/ (have both been offered extra hours in past and not wanted them)

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This has arisen in the past in our setting also....so we have a set up team of 3 who come in an hour before opening....have 40 minutes before the school run and then only one of them will take all the children to school. We now have a meeting every morning so the whole team is expected to be in 15 minutes before opening and this gives us time to complete setting up and for key persons to get out the resources they need to meet their children's needs.

 

It is a horrible existence though....setting up and packing away..As manager, I find myself doing a fair bit of it to be honest to support the team. Our village hall have now moved us out in terms of toys and resources to a storage container in the car park...quite a distance from the entrance to the hall....very helpful!!

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Yes, same here ... one member of staff in-particular who is great in all other ways just can't get got of bed in a morning.

I had thought about changing her contract to a later start, but then realised as none of us do this job for the money then we would all quite happily have 1/2 hr less pay and just turn up!

 

 

Our village hall have now moved us out in terms of toys and resources to a storage container in the car park...quite a distance from the entrance to the hall....very helpful!!

 

Same for us, ours are in a shed in the garden not much fun especially when pouring with rain :(

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Thanks for all your replies, i took over last year so i think this is an existing problem that is just getting worse, i suggested sharing taking the children to school, so maybe one staff member takes children to school and others come in and help set up and then they do this on a rota, but they were not happy with this, i feel i may have to get hard and tell them their contract states they need to be in at a certain time so they are going to have to make alternative arrangements.. i also have 3 staff saying they cannot work on the first day back after christmas due to an inset day.....just feel like screaming... Aaghhhhh!!! if people worked in a factory/supermarket they would just make alternative arrangements why dont they treat this job like a real job.... Aaghhhhh!! Sorry rant over...

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. i also have 3 staff saying they cannot work on the first day back after christmas due to an inset day.....just feel like screaming... Aaghhhhh!!! if people worked in a factory/supermarket they would just make alternative arrangements why dont they treat this job like a real job.... Aaghhhhh!! Sorry rant over...

 

This reminds me of when I worked in a 'work place' nursery. As well as staff's children we were open 'term-time' for the whole community - so also offered a fair number of 'school hours' for some job roles.

 

Shortlisting was done by myself, and Head of HR (of a non-childcare business) Any applicant that had put ANYTHING on application form that indicated they wanted the job as it fitted in with their children's school hours was put straight in bin! HR pointed out these would be staff that would expect us to work around them !!

 

I have to admit many [many] years later - I do tend to have this in the back of my mind when shortlisting.................however that said- lately we do not really seem to have that many to 'shortlist' anymore. :(

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Maybe the time has come to review contracts and remind them of their responsibilities to the setting, they want the jobs because they are 'convenient' but this is not the right reason and it is causing upset and bad feeling. Individual meetings seem the best way to progress - point out if they can't be in for the first day back they are in breach of contract and need not bother coming back at all unless they want to face a disciplinary. As for the putting out and packing up - draw up a rota - the first time a person doesn't arrive they again are in breach if it's part of their contracted hours. Sounds as if they are being allowed to 'write the rules' to suit and thats not good.

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What do the contracts say? Were some people employed on contracts with shorter hours to allow for school runs?

 

Is there anything you can do to make setting up/packing away easier? Maybe showing them that you are thinking about other ways to make things easier for them will help?

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What do the contracts say? Were some people employed on contracts with shorter hours to allow for school runs?

 

Is there anything you can do to make setting up/packing away easier? Maybe showing them that you are thinking about other ways to make things easier for them will help?

think you have a good point, going in with 'guns blazing' is just going to get their backs up straight away, discuss with them 'we have a problem here and need to work together to sort it' set out the situation in terms of being 'fair' to all staff and hopefully, they will see your point better ^_^

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Okay i can tell you what we do. We are also a term-time packaway setting. have two staff that take their children to school.

They come in at 8.00am with me and help put out for approximately 30 minutes. Remaining staff start at 8.30am. The two staff then do their school run around the corner and are back by 9.00am when we open.

Works well for us. Do have one/two of my 8.30 starters that occasionally sauter in a little late without an apology. i generally say traffic bad today, which gets a sorry ;) .

I do agree about the comments made about the fitting in with their family committments. I recently had a staff member that couldn't understand why on requesting a day off to help with a school trip [ keeps doing this], but only works three sessions a week, i had to point out that this would not be possible in the future. I gather she was extremely cross, thought she could just take it as holiday, but as a term time time setting the other staff pointed out that she wasn't infact entitled to any holiday.

After a little discussion with me i think she understands now.

I have to say i am probably one of the most accomadating Supervisors when it comes to Sports days, concerts, assemblies etc for their children, but their does come a time when you have to just say we unable to do it.

Trying to be fair to all is probably one of the hardest parts of our job.

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And I think it's the old 'give an inch and they'll take a mile' thing too...like you fredbear you try to accommodate assemblies, school presentations etc....where possible, but sometimes think you get seen as a bit of a pushover....and does cause upset with staff who don't yet have/or gone past (forget they were given it also) those kinds of parental guilt trips to deal with but when someone has 3 or 4 children it can seem the same person is forever wanting to go early/ turn up late for something.

 

Makes me realise how lucky we are to be in our own building....only took me 22 years !........ But now they moan about pushing the Hoover round :( I know which I'd rather do, really sympathise with all you still having to set up/pack away x

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