Thoughts from other managers please.

[Guest]

WI hall here...had thought about joining them to get our point of view put forward but its the 82 yr old caretaker we have issues with! (great for her age and does it voluntarily for decades).Oh and the other users who do not hoover up after themselves. We have a child with peanut allergy so have to ensure all the biscuit crumbs left behind are hoovered before we even start setting up! Have complained numerous times about this but to no avail.

 

I do try and avoid the caretaker but last time I nearly lost it when she came whilst we were tidying up and asked why on earth there were chalk drawings outside the front door (Diwali rangoli patterns) and that she and other groups using the hall wouldn't like them and we must ensure that they are washed away...oh and didn't I realise that it wasn't christmas anymore and why were the children still using glitter .....the devil in me said we always have glitter out (which we do) but that the children love sprinkling it on the floor as fairy dust (she wasn't amused!). I have said to her that we actually spend most of our time scraping the playdough, gloop out of the carpet so a few specks of glitter was nothing really..her face was a picture... the last pre-school that was based there never did messy play because of her. She then comes and inspects my inside storage shelves telling me that I will have to empty them out so that she can clean behind them...errrr no! I dont think so!! They are clean and I dont want her messing with my stuff.

I then have to fight to ensure that we have space to store equipment for a child with disabilities as we cant fit it into the shed., not allowed to plant outside. Again we are the main hirers of the hall and when the last pre-school closed they very nearly went under because of it. Would love to move.

[Fredbear]

Oh Marley I am so sympathetic to your woes. Do others not remember being children themselves, making mud pies,, splashing in puddles. Why are so many people so against any form of mess/ dirt.

We are not allowed sand indoors and glitter is frowned upon even though we leave the hall in a better state than all the other users. Just think that you have to hold your ground, nod politely, and then get it all out the next day.:)

[louby loo]

Oh Marley I am so sympathetic to your woes. Do others not remember being children themselves, making mud pies.

 

 

I really thing this could be it, my poor husband didn't get to do anything like that - and when I tell him things my brother and I got up to he goes goggle eye'd ... and I'm not sure he really believes me..

[Mouseketeer]

With you on this zigzag, over the (many) years my job had evolved into being out of ratio (unless covering illness), doing everything a committee is supposed to do, on top of that other things have been put on us ....payroll, pensions, living wage, supervisions, appraisals, caf, taf, cp meetings, SEF, planning to the 9th degree, funding estimates, funding actuals, funding adjustments, tracking cohorts, British values, trying to get it all in staffs heads let alone your own because God forbid they read anything in their own time, ensuring anyone and everyone except yourself is happy and supported in their work, I'm not Senco but with endless visitors for Sen children other people spend more time in my office than I do (an office I worked b****y hard for and took 20 yrs to get), 2yr olds and behaviour issues mean I spend more and more time in the room, not needed in ratio but feel bad leaving others to get on with it and the whining that comes with it, free flow impacts greatly on this....and yes I do still love being with the children BUT that isn't my job anymore it's other people's so why don't they have the passion, enthusiasm and creativy anymore ......enough said

[lsp]

Well done Mouseketeer. I think you have just written a job description for lots of Managers currently working in small sessional settings. Sad, but true. So, what can we do to change things??????

[Mouseketeer]

I wish I knew ...just fed up with feeling anxious about what I haven't done all the time these days as I'm sure many of you are, on top of this as said on another thread I need to recruit 2 staff by the end of the month, I can be 2 people but not 3, and what have the committee done about this ...it's sod all again isn't it apart from my chair telling me 'not to worry' .....WHATTTTTTTTT lol

[Guest]

I wish I knew ...just fed up with feeling anxious about what I haven't done all the time these days as I'm sure many of you are, on top of this as said on another thread I need to recruit 2 staff by the end of the month, I can be 2 people but not 3, and what have the committee done about this ...it's sod all again isn't it apart from my chair telling me 'not to worry' .....WHATTTTTTTTT lol

I feel exactly the same....now been asked to mentor a manager who is not coping well at her setting...perhaps she can mentor me too?!

[Guest]

Not read all of the posts, but you're not alone!

 

II do everything except pay the wages and the SENCo - my deputy does that. Otherwise, I do all other admin, as well as being in ratios and key person to 5 children at the moment, but will increase as the year goes on. I tried to keep it low, but have had to take on more as the staff are all part time (1 or 2 days a week) and already have a lot to do. We can't afford to pay anyone else admin hours, so I am paid for 4 hours a week which I do at home and all the rest I do because I have no choice! Committee are a bit ineffective this year and even fundraising has been left to us so far.

 

Really, really *this* close to handing in my notice, as I just have too much going on at home to be dealing with it all and I don't enjoy going to work any more

[larnielass]

Reading through this post made me think that perhaps there is a special training course that these hall landlords attend. Perhaps it is mandatory. The certificate probably comes from the Awkward Squad.

[lashes2508]

here...had thought about joining them to get our point of view put forward but its the 82 yr old caretaker we have issues with! (great for her age and does it voluntarily for decades).Oh and the other users who do not hoover up after themselves. We have a child with peanut allergy so have to ensure all the biscuit crumbs left behind are hoovered before we even start setting up! Have complained numerous times about this but to no avail.

 

 

Believe me I understand your pain , our previous caretaker, treasurer was exactly the same ( God rest his soul) but we came to an understanding and I stood up to him which actually earned his respect , unfortunately many users in our village have been there since the beginning and find change hard but I just remind them that actually it's benefitting the children , causing no harm and if there are problems we can solve them.

 

They need to be reminded about the regulations you as child care providers have to abide by , gone are the old days and you need their support not there hinderance. Emphasise that you are paying rent , are regular hirers and if you are constantly met with restrictions , you may have to seek alternative accommodation which would have an effect on them and the community.