Guest Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 Hi, I'm just applying for this post and wanted some advice. Currently teaching in reception in a primary school and this post requires me to work in children's centres. Very exciting and a new challenge but I was hoping someone could let me know what its like working in a children's centre as a teacher, in particular working as a multi-disiplinary team and how you work holistically with children and their families. Any comments would be gratefully appreciated. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 Hello Bishy, just wanted to welcome you to the forum following your first post. I am from preschool so can't help but Someone will be along soon, I am sure, with some useful advice. Have you tried doing a search in the meantime? Peggy p.s. Best of luck with your application Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 Oh thanks Peggy! Nice to be welcomed aboard. Its so hard getting your brain around applying for jobs when you've been working all day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 hi Bishy and welcome. I dont have any words of wisdom either not working in that area but there are some members who do! You could try a few PMs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marion Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 Hi and welcome from me too Our children's centre isn't due to open until next year so unable to offer any advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belle06 Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 Hi i work within a childrens Centre managing the daycare the biggest issue between a childrens centre and a traditional setting I have found is that we have a large turnaround of children due to creches and places offered for one off and short term training courses and respite care for families. As such our planning needs to be very flexible and easily altered at the last minute to take account of different children coming in. But this as you know can happen in any setting. we have excelent support and links with other agencies and have people coming in to do baby massage courses, behaviour strategies and an onsite dietician and nutritionalist. I could go on and on. But if there is any specific questions you need answering feel free to pm me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 Hi Bishy, just wanted to welcome you, I am at a preschool so not much help, just a warm welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 Hi Bishy! In our area the Support Teachers work across the board, maintained, non-maintained etc - is this so in yours? Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Wolfie Posted March 20, 2007 Share Posted March 20, 2007 Hi Bishy and welcome - I too work as a QTS attached to a children's centre - feel free to PM me with any questions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helen Posted March 20, 2007 Share Posted March 20, 2007 Hi Bishy, I worked for a year as the QTS in a Children's Centre (job-sharing with another QTS), and I loved it! Very different from being a class teacher or working in a pre-school because of the sheer variety of stuff going on. As the job was/is so new, I don't think that there is an established role yet; job descriptions are hazy because the nursery manager's role, I believe, is being squeezed out. It certainly was in my CC. In the end, the nursery manager was made redundant, the deputy post was divided into babyroom supervisor/FS room supervisor, and the CC employed an administrator to do all the invoices, ect that the nursery manager had previously done. I had a very steep learning curve getting to grips with observation/planning/recording within a full daycare facility where children came and went up to five times per day, where a large staff group did different shifts, and where there was little time (if any) for staff to get together and discuss things. That meant that things were pretty disjointed and it was difficult to keep everyone informed and updated. Added to that, the nursery had just failed its first Ofsted, staff morale was low, and most staff were very young and inexperienced. I think the most important and ultimately successful part of my role was to train the staff, and model best practice, so that they could grow professionally, and improve provision themselves. As the QTS, you can't do it all! You have to learn to lead others (that's what the EYPS is all about), so that you know the provision is the best it can be, even when you're not there. If you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them. Good luck with the application. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Wolfie Posted March 20, 2007 Share Posted March 20, 2007 I absolutely agree with everything Helen has said - she sums up my experience completely. I went on a course at Early Excellence in Huddersfield last week, run by Marion Dowling, on the Role of the Teacher in Children's Centres, and the one message that came out loud and clear is that every Children's Centre works very differently and every teacher employed has a different job description and role and everyone has different pay, hours and conditions! Some are employed on teachers' pay and conditions, some are on Soulbury, some support Children's Centres as only a tiny part of their overall job, some are seconded from schools for only half a day a week, etc.etc. I still haven't got a finalised job description and have brought home copies of other people's so that we can make a start on mine! I have been in a 0.5 post for about fifteen months and my role almost exclusively up until now has been to support the delivery of the Foundation Stage in the full daycare nursery on site. However, having been on this course, it is clear that some people's roles are far more extensive, involving work with 0-5s, not just 3-5s and also a lot of outreach work with parents and having a lot of input into various creches and workshops that are run in the centres. I certainly love the variety that the job brings and thoroughly enjoy working with, and learning from, professionals from other disciplines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 20, 2007 Share Posted March 20, 2007 hi I'm a QTS in a children's centre too - my official job title is community coordinator. Would love to hear from you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 Hi I am a manager and my QTS works with me for 1/2 day a week, the rest of the time she is the local primary schools foundation stage coordinator. We have been working together for a year now and sometimes we both still feel confused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hali Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 hello Bishy welcome aboard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 28, 2007 Share Posted March 28, 2007 Thanks everyone so much for your welcomes and words of wisdom. I findally finished my application form feeling pretty positive about it thanks to all your help. Closing date was Monday so I'm hoping I might hear this week. From what you say its sounds like an exciting and rewarding job so cross fingers I get to interview stage! Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Wolfie Posted March 28, 2007 Share Posted March 28, 2007 Good luck! ......and let us know how you get on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mundia Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 I have just successfully secured a short term secondment to a new Children's Centre (no building yet, just a hut!!) so Im sure Ill be asking for lots of tips. But I am interested to know from those of you more established in CC if you are having or had difficulty in recruiting the teachers? In my area, secondment s are being offered because they are having difficulty recruiting suitable teachers. Is this happening elsewhere? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Wolfie Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 I'm a teacher attached to a Children's Centre but I actually replied to an advert by an LEA nursery school in the area for a nursery teacher "with some outreach work involved" because the programme leader of the Centre was concerned that he wouldn't get any applicants if he advertised the job himself; I didn't find out what the job actually was until I went for interview! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 Good job you like it then wolfie!! Good luck with your new role, Mundia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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