Have I Done The Right Thing?

[Guest]

HI

 

 

Okay, before i was made manager i used to work in the pre-school room, when i joined the pre-school room i brought about many positive changes and the room changed immensly . Parents commented and loved the changes.

When i was made manager i obviously had to leave working in the room, and two parents were concerned that i was leaving pre-school (these parents are good friends), sadly the person replacing me had very little experience of working with children, and the other member in there is currently training to level three, she has experience but not loads with pre-school.

I have become aware that pre-school has apparently slipped, and parent(s) are concerned, hence the reason this parent wants to talk to me.

 

Now i had planned to be in the pre-school room as much as possible, but being a manager has taken some adjusting to, and particularily when i am not wholly supported by my senior team. I have not been able to be in pre-school very often at all.

Today i spent the day in pre-school and it was lovely, many areas have been noted that need to change and i have chatted with the staff about the changes i am going to bring in.

 

My deputy has been in the office, (with a 'to do' list) and has been in her element, guess she feels she is getting some extra responsibility which she is. So office has survived without me in there LOL, and i am planning to go in pre-school two days a week (weds and thurs) which are our busy days.

 

Im just hoping that i am doing the right thing by coming out of the office to work in the room, i really hope it will allieviate the parents fears and anxieties.

 

I wonder if i have done the 'right' thing, what would others have done in my situation.

Maybe in retrospect this is a good step, because hopefully my Deputy will feel like she is having extra responsabilities and i will be able to get back to being hands on... just wonder if its acceptable for manager to only be in office three days a week, and two days in a room....

 

maybe im being over anxious, yet again LOL

 

Dawn

[Lucy P]

I haven't got time to answer properly at the mo, but i wholeheartedly agree with your decision

 

Had i / my manager done this prior to our recent Ofsted inspection, there would have been a less likely chance of us receiving an 'inadequate'

[belle06]

Hi

i think you have done totally the right thing you can not manage a setting without having your finger on the pulse and spending time on the nursery floor. As you said things have slipped in the pre school room sometimes this can be because the staff get on with things rather than liking to bother the manager in the office. I have recently had this problem and now break up my week so that I have time away from the office within the rooms as well as allowing me to pick up on potential problems before they escalate it is also nice to have that time with the children You may also find your deputy is more supportive and understanding of the pressures of your role after spending time in the office. I feel you have totally done the right thing and will reap the benefits.

[Guest]

I think your making the right decision i am currently in the same boat as you, i am new to my managers role and prior to that i ran the preschool room. The person who has taken over from me needs a lot of support and i have found myself in the room a lot, unfortunatly i dont have the support of my deputy and there is nobody to oversee the rest of the nursery while i am in the preschool room for long periods. however it is better to do this for the children and for the parents so yes Dawn if you can manage it with all your other duties do spend the time in there it is good we can be hands on as managers and help and support the staff.

[Guest]

Hi Dawn

I totally understand the situation you are in. I am in a position where I 'share' the manager's role with another person spending one week in the office and the following week with the children as a 'floater'. In theory this sounds the best of both worlds - keeping the contact with the chilldren and not having to be 'cooped' in the office all week. Think you need to be on the shop floor to keep an eye on things. I know my staff team are very resentful of my co-manager and come to me moaning about her for not pulling her weight when she is out in the room and also taking time off for doctor's appointments etc. etc. - she does take liberties all the time! I would welcome support from anyone in a similiar position because now I feel my staff morale is in decline as they see her getting away with things. I find it very difficult because we are on a joint footing but realise that I have got to say something for the good of the staff team - they rely on me and things can only get worse. I hate confrontations! cos she goes into defensive mode - any comments/support welcome, thanks

[Guest]

I also think you have done the right thing, because of reasons already said and you have given your deputy more responsibility and motivation as she appears to enjoy her 'to do list'.

 

I would however suggest that you use the time in the preschool room to develop the preschool room staffs skills so that in the future, if you need to, you can leave them to it, enable their autonomy of you.

 

Reflect on your changes to ensure they are still required at say termly intervals, also record these changes to show professional development of the setting, which is good for future Ofsted Inspections. Also try to develop parents trust of 'all' staff, enable them to value everyones work because this will strengthen the team spirit of the setting from the outside, if you know what I mean.

 

Good luck.

 

Peggy