Being A Manager

[Guest]

Hi

I have decided it's a very lonely place being a Manager. There doesn't seem to be anybody to turn to, apart from the good old forum to have a moan at.

I only have 6 members of staff and 3 are leaving in July, i have manged to replace 1.

I had to speak to my supervisor on Friday now that has caused a bit of an atmosphere today. I have asked her many times to make sure she does the register as soon as they come in but she keeps leaving it and not getting it done till 15 minutes after the children are in. I have explained that if the fire alarm goes off we need to know who is on the premises but it seems to goin one ear and out the other!!!!I also keep catching her talking to the staff huddled in a corner for outside play when they should be watching the children. She is a supervisor i don't expect to have to keep reminding her off what we should be doing, these are only a couple of issues, there have been many over the last few weeks. Maybe i put it to strongly on friday but she keeps telling me to take a day off to catch up on the paperwork and i told her that i needed to know i could trust her to run things when i am away and at the moment i didn't think her mind was on the job. She told me she was tired!!!!! I'm now thinking i shouldn't off said this maybe this was a bit strong!!!!!! I also told her i needed her to make more off an effort as she is a supervisor and set an example to the other staff.

Why is it so lonely being a Manager. What would i do without the forum!!!!

Oh well, after a good nights sleep i'll go in and start a fresh tomorrow, hopefully it will all sort it self out!!!!

[Guest]

Poor you - your Supervisor should really be 'on the ball' without you having to remind her. Hope you have a good evening and a better day tomorrow.

[Guest tinkerbell]

You do need broad shoulders as I told our chief midday supervisor,who finds the lunch time staff chatting and not following her regime.I have developed them over the past 2 years as assistant head having to deliver messages from above etc.

keep smiling

Tinkerbellx

[hali]

i quite agree simcity at times it certainly can be....

[bubblejack]

Yes simcity I understand how you are feeling not had a brilliant day myself. Children are great wish I could say the same for parents.

If I find particular staff are not as" busy" as I think they could be I ask them to observe the children and mark it off on their profiles. I find that when children are outside they don't have the restraints of being indoors and they are so well behaved so staff can use their time observing and recording.

As for completing the register I have it near the door in view and each parent/carer signs their own child in and out.When every one has arrived I then sit the children together and a chosen child counts the children and i check it on the log in register.

Have a good evening and a better day tomorrow.

[Guest]

So, no doubt you will be doing a Fire drill tomorrow five minutes after opening then ( tongue in cheek)

 

Go on, I dare you to.

 

Peggy

[Guest]

That really did make me laugh out loud Peggy! I can picture it now!

[Guest]

Great idea Peggy, that did make me laugh!!!!!!

[Guest]

Ooh Peggy, that thought crossed my mind too!!! but you're brave enough to print it!!

[Guest]

Go on do it, give us all a laugh

[Rea]

I sometimes dod a fire drill without telling any staff it was going to happen, it certainly keeps them on their toes. One time they forgot to take the register outside with them.

As we're on about fire drills, do you all vary the times and days you do them so that all children are involved? I was at a nursery where the drill was always the same time of day and in 4 months I never did one and neither did the children who attended the same hours as I did.

[hali]

yes vary the times and days,...... go on you know you want to do it!!!!!!

[Andreamay]

I was going to say the same thing peggy,it is the only way to get a valid point accross! Id do it!

[Guest]

That should be quite funny! Would like to be fly on the wall for that one!

 

At one nursery I worked in, we had a fire drill. We all knew about it as the fire officer was very free and easy with her information, she was always getting told off by our manager for telling us the date, time etc of the fire drill.

 

Anyway, this particular day, the fire alarm goes off and we all evacuate the building to the assembly point which was around the corner from the nursery. I did a head count of all our children (pre-school) and checked them off against the register. All was fine. Suddenly there was a big panic from the toddler room staff, as they realised that one of their children was still inside the building.

 

They didn't notice this, however, until Mum arrived, saw us standing around the corner from the nursery and asked where her child was as she had come to collect her!

 

It sounds really far fetched, but believe me, this really happened. Our manager was absolutely furious and the toddler room staff got into a hefty amount of trouble that day.

[Guest]

Ooh but it can so easily happen - mine are really into making dens at the moment and I find them hiding in all sorts of places.

As for doing a fire drill well that might get the message across but perhaps the fall out might not be so good. Perhaps not the best way to communicate but might be good if you want the satisfaction of I told you so. Far better to perhaps do as someone else says and that is to devise a system for self registration when the come in, or have someone at the door marking them in, unless you have lots of parents who arrive late. Keep going - it's never easy.

Nikki

[Guest]

Thanks for all your replies

Our children actually self register using a post box and my supervisor is suppose to sit on the edge of the table where the names are and mark them in, but she keeps leaving the register and wandering off, then coming back to it later. Or she will open the door and let the children in then not assign anyone to the register. She says she forgets to deligate but a supervisor does need to deligate and assign tasks to other members of staff.

 

Oh well, better day today i hope!!!!!!!!!

[Guest]

Just a though Simcity, why not add the names of who is responsible for Register on your daily/weekly planning? It might help with the delegation and jog memories ?

[Guest]

Oh dear, all the fun the managers have! NOT!!!!!!!!

 

....so would you advise me against applying for the managers job (at my place) then , hee hee

 

Dawn

[Guest]

Certainly not seniornurseryofficier it is obviously a very rewarding job (do we have a tongue in cheek smilie?)

[bubblejack]

No don't let these comments put you off but don't expect other staff to be as dedicated as you are ALL THE TIME. If they are it is a bonus.

[Guest]

I sometimes dod a fire drill without telling any staff it was going to happen, it certainly keeps them on their toes. One time they forgot to take the register outside with them.

As we're on about fire drills, do you all vary the times and days you do them so that all children are involved? I was at a nursery where the drill was always the same time of day and in 4 months I never did one and neither did the children who attended the same hours as I did.

 

 

We vary the days and times, including lunchtimes. We also do one within a week of any new children or staff starting.

All our drills are unannounced, I also delegate the task of calling a drill to all members of staff. ie: On a Monday I'll tell one of the staff they have to call a fire drill that week, then even the supervisor is not prepared. We also 'pretend' the fore is in different areas of our building and use the appropriatte fire exit ( we have 3 different Fire exits), use the one that is furthest from the location of the 'pretend' fire.

 

The staff member calling the drill has to, blow a whistle ( 3 times - we have one in each room) call out "Fire in the Kitchen, it's only pretend" or "Fire in the store room, It's only pretend" - then point using full arm, to the exit door the children have to use saying "Line up at that door". Often the children are lined up even before the staff are aware of whats going on , they chant on the way "It's only pretend, it's only pretend"

 

We did one once when a member of staff was changing a nappy, as she knew it was a drill and not for real she continued but speeded up a bit. This provoked a discussion of what would she have done in a real situation.

We write a brief reflective report after each drill, concluding whether any issues arrising need to be bought up at the next staff meeting for staff who didn't attend the drill.

 

Peggy

[Guest]

Why is it so lonely being a Manager. What would i do without the forum!!!!

Oh well, after a good nights sleep i'll go in and start a fresh tomorrow, hopefully it will all sort it self out!!!!

 

It's my turn to moan now - having one of those weeks. How come you go in a fresh but things never do seem to sort themselves out??!! You try and turn the responsibility around onto staff, and let them take pride in thinking it is all their own idea, but you end up having to sort it yourself anyway???

 

Having said that, some team members are worth their weight in gold, and end up carrying others. What would we do without them??!!