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Good evening

 

I'm after some advice......

 

I have 2 members of staff who we put through the level 3 a year and a half ago. When they'd become qualified the deal was they'd be happy to deputise when the manager was off or training.

 

They have deputised and one of them even ran our summer club for 3 days. However they have told me tonight that they don't want to and wont deputise any longer.....this means I only have one member of staff who's part time that can step up.

 

Thing is when they took on the level 3 it was part of the deal......what to do?

 

Michelle

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Hello

 

They say even though they get deputising pay for doing it, it's not worth the responsibility. Mainly due to 2 children they find a handful (ones just 2 and his brothers just 3, not to bad just like a bull in a china shop) but we work one over ratio always and all pull together as a team so not left struggling in anyway.

 

But when they took on the level 3 pay it was part of the package :(

 

 

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Is there a contract?? Unless its written down as part of their job then I guess its just been 'goodwill'.

This is a hard one and i would suggest a proper meeting to discuss the issues properly. You probably would be better doing it with them separately in case one is trying to persuade the other one!!!

 

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Don't you have to have a named deputy anymore? We have the manager and deputy and two other staff. They are all L3 so all would be capable but I think its better for everyone if one is named.

Could you advertise the permenent position internally? It might help everyone to focus on what they really want to do long term.

The staff member who doesn't want to do it when certain children are in needs a chat, children behave in certain ways for a reason and as the adult its up to her to manage effectively. I think its a shocking thing to admit to frankley.

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I too would make the postion a permanant one and advertise internally, if no one wants the job then they may have to take less hours so you can have a permanant deputy.. I too thought you had to have a named person as deputy.. or two.. I always had 2 named and they shared the additional pay for doing the post..our level 3 had less pay than the deputy roles..

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If it were me I would first check the paperwork - what does the contract (and job description) say and is there anything in writing saying that the salary they were offered reflects the fact that they are expected to deputise when necessary.

 

I would call my Local Authority/ACAS for advice about how to proceed when a member of staff 'resigns' from a part of their job function but not from the setting itself.

 

I would then have a detailed meeting with each of them individually in order to find out what their difficulties are, so that I could get a clear idea of why they feel unable to carry on with this aspect of their job. I would explain that since it is a duty under the Welfare Requirements to have a named deputy able to take charge when necessary, I would need to recruit someone willing to do this job, and in this case it might be necessary to reduce their salary to a rate which reflects the fact that they are no longer deputies. As Inge pointed out, if it is necessary to recruit from outside the setting then it might be necessary to reduce their hours in order to make space in the team for someone who can perform the job function specified and necessary to continue to meet the setting's statutory duties.

 

If I were the staff member I might well feel uncomfortable or unconfident in managing a setting if I felt a lot of my time and energy was taken up with 'fire fighting' when dealing with sustained, regular inappropriate behaviour, or if the setting was struggling to effectively support children who had additional needs which could not easily be met from within the setting's resources. This being the case, I would happily give up my extra salary to 'go back' to being a practitioner who could rely on a Manager/Supervisor for support and guidance and be able to relinquish those responsibilities.

 

Having a Level 3 doesn't make us natural leaders, and I know I have struggled in the early days of my role because no-one gave me any training to lead and manage a setting with all that entails. At times I felt overwhelmed by my responsibilities just in keeping the setting running, and on some days the job was made more difficult by having to deal with very challenging children - especially as I felt I was being judged by my ability to manage everything.

 

I'm not saying that the OP's setting is unsupportive of its staff, but I'm saying that the issues underlying these two staff members' decisions might be more complex than just someone throwing their toys out of the pram.

 

Good luck with it Chellandrews: the manager's lot isn't always a happy one, is it? :(

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Thanks for your help everyone. Some useful thoughts.

 

Just to confirm I do have a named deputy, she works the opposite days to me. The problem arises when both myself and the deputy are training or on the odd occasion when something drastic happens leaving the setting with myself and deputy not on site.

 

 

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If it were me I would first check the paperwork - what does the contract (and job description) say and is there anything in writing saying that the salary they were offered reflects the fact that they are expected to deputise when necessary.

 

I would call my Local Authority/ACAS for advice about how to proceed when a member of staff 'resigns' from a part of their job function but not from the setting itself.

 

I would then have a detailed meeting with each of them individually in order to find out what their difficulties are, so that I could get a clear idea of why they feel unable to carry on with this aspect of their job. I would explain that since it is a duty under the Welfare Requirements to have a named deputy able to take charge when necessary, I would need to recruit someone willing to do this job, and in this case it might be necessary to reduce their salary to a rate which reflects the fact that they are no longer deputies. As Inge pointed out, if it is necessary to recruit from outside the setting then it might be necessary to reduce their hours in order to make space in the team for someone who can perform the job function specified and necessary to continue to meet the setting's statutory duties.

 

If I were the staff member I might well feel uncomfortable or unconfident in managing a setting if I felt a lot of my time and energy was taken up with 'fire fighting' when dealing with sustained, regular inappropriate behaviour, or if the setting was struggling to effectively support children who had additional needs which could not easily be met from within the setting's resources. This being the case, I would happily give up my extra salary to 'go back' to being a practitioner who could rely on a Manager/Supervisor for support and guidance and be able to relinquish those responsibilities.

 

Having a Level 3 doesn't make us natural leaders, and I know I have struggled in the early days of my role because no-one gave me any training to lead and manage a setting with all that entails. At times I felt overwhelmed by my responsibilities just in keeping the setting running, and on some days the job was made more difficult by having to deal with very challenging children - especially as I felt I was being judged by my ability to manage everything.

 

I'm not saying that the OP's setting is unsupportive of its staff, but I'm saying that the issues underlying these two staff members' decisions might be more complex than just someone throwing their toys out of the pram.

 

Good luck with it Chellandrews: the manager's lot isn't always a happy one, is it? :(

 

The managers roll is more challenging due to the internal staffing and committee issues than the children or the parents, or even ofsted for that matter.

 

3 years in and it's not getting easier!

 

 

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The managers roll is more challenging due to the internal staffing and committee issues than the children or the parents, or even ofsted for that matter.

I very nearly added something about the issues of managing staff, but thought that would take us off on another direction altogether! Certainly not the bit I miss about my job! :P

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Hmmm, just being awkward ( or just a bit thick....) but if the 'deputy' works opposite days to the manager, isn't she actually a part time manager? Taking sole control, even for a day, is scary for some practitioners....look at the Dispatches program...the manager was not on duty and was found not guilty, but other staff were.

 

I think staff need proper training to deputise, they need to be confident they can adress any issues and again.....being awkward, I'm not sure that someone who has only had there level 3 for maybe 18 months is experienced enough for that role. Imagine the manager was off sick for a few weeks, how confident would the new deputy be? Ofsted used to check managers suitability with a formal and quite intimidating interview, can we be sure we have put our new deputies through the same kind of checks?

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