Dennie
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Everything posted by Dennie
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I also wanted to add that our committee are looking to recruit a new manager and are finding it difficult to assess what level of pay they should offer for the role, which will also involve all the admin. Our setting is a community group, open 38 weeks a year, in line with the school terms. Many of the roles advertised are for day care settings open all year round, so it is difficult to compare like with like. Are there any members here with a similar dilemma? Many thanks and apologies for jumping on your topic Finleysmaid. The forum seems so quiet these days.
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Sorry to see there are no replies yet, so just adding my support. Our committee are also dealing with the same issue at the moment, while grappling with rising costs. Current level 3s will be below minimum wage come April so will need an increase, and we also need some recommendations for all staff from unqualified up to manager. We would value some suggestions if anyone is willing to share. I have asked similar questions via the forum in the past and I'm aware it is a recurring issue in our sector, as there is no formal pay structure.
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We use Capita for DBS staff checks. Only the manager, nominated person and committee member DBS checks go through the Ofsted nominated portal.
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If you use Tapestry there is a free webinar next Wednesday at 7pm which will address using Tapestry against the new EYFS framework.
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The parent has decided to keep the child off now anyway but I don't know if they are having them tested or just isolating. Sadly parents are choosing not to test and even when I phoned the helpline last week I was told as long as the child isolates that is fine. That isn't going to pick up true case numbers though.
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I've now been advised that unless there are any other Covid symptoms or anyone else in the household is unwell, if the child is well they should be allowed to return once the 48 hours are up. As there are so many different Covid symptoms I can't say that I feel particularly comfortable about this.
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I was wondering if anyone has had any Covid-19 cases which started with nausea and sickness. We had a staff member with this over Christmas and they ultimately tested positive. I'm now a bit concerned as we had to send a child home who was physically sick this week. Usually we would do the keep away for at least 48 hour advice, but with virus levels still high I'm wondering if we ought to be more cautious.
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Covid setting closure and SSP entitlement
Dennie replied to Greenfinch's topic in Early Years Setting Management
We have just been reimbursed straight into our bank account. It only took about a week for the payment to come through. -
Covid setting closure and SSP entitlement
Dennie replied to Greenfinch's topic in Early Years Setting Management
We paid a member of staff SSP from day one of the staff member's isolation due to her exposure to Covid-19. Our payroll lady says this SSP can also be claimed back. -
Well our attendance looks to be creeping up again and no one appears particularly concerned about the current situation. We have had to persuade one parent to keep their child at home. The parent reported a raised temperature but was going to bring the child in the following morning if they were 'better'.
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So if a setting only has funded children and doesn't qualify for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme as a result, presumably they will have no choice but to make staff redundant to avoid closure.
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Ratios and qualifications
Dennie replied to Emma Bailey_902595195's topic in Committee-run Provisions
I'm in a committee setting. As committee members are not usually employees I'm not sure they can be used in ratios. I would ask the Early Years Alliance for advice and clarification. I realise that there have been relaxations due to Covid-19 but would definitely check the latest legal requirements with a professional body. -
We also use Capita.
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Thank you for your thoughts everyone. I do feel that younger staff should not be penalised for being younger and agree with Finleysmaid that they might actually be more experienced. I think it is important for our committee to take all this on board in making future decisions. I do appreciate the feedback as I can take all of this back to the next meeting. Parent committees come and go annually and members certainly need support in addressing such a key issue.
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I do not deal with pay, but I'm asking on behalf of our committee. For level 2 and level 3 staff with exactly the same roles and responsibilities do you pay exactly the same rate to each level 2 and each level 3, or do you pay slightly less to workers under the age of 25 in line with the NLW and NMW bands? Currently we don't have any younger team members but the committee are considering what would be appropriate for any future appointments.
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Having dealt with both staff and volunteer DBS applications over the last few years I have only been able to accept a DBS on the update service if the employee was moving from the same type of paid role to the position we were giving the new employee. Ofsted need to match up the 'role', with the type of DBS so an enhanced volunteer DBS as a governor or committee member would not be accepted by Ofsted for a paid position. I agree that this makes the update service pointless when making some appointments. It would be much more useful if everything was 'under the same umbrella' but I guess this would not generate as much revenue.
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reception New user to Tapestry
Dennie replied to JoB's topic in Observation, Assessment and Planning
We went over to Tapestry when operating with reduced numbers of children early in the pandemic. We still have folders for children's work and anything 'physical' parents send in but everything else is on Tapestry now. It has been so useful now that parents are no longer entering the setting and helped our new families see how their children were settling in. We had been looking at moving over to Tapestry for some time and our staff really like it. I also think that it is a worthwhile investment and will save us a lot of money that would previously have been spent on printing. We no longer have to limit colour photos as they are online for parents to see in addition to videos. We are still learning about Tapestry, but we are all glad we now have it to support all that we do. It is encouraging to see parents commenting and adding their own photos and videos too, which can easily be entered into the journals if you want to. -
Good morning everyone. I am just seeking some advice and opinions. We have a new starter who is not attending this week. Dad has now emailed to say that they have visitors - his sister and family - and they will be staying with them all week. I know that the child is already in a household of 4 so I am concerned that family from another area of the UK or possibly overseas is now mixing and extending the social group. Of course, other families could be doing this as well, but in this case we are aware of it as dad has put it in writing. The rules keep changing and I am aware that we all need to keep updating policies and procedures. Can anyone offer any advice? Should the child be welcomed back next week or do we need to put more measures in place first before he returns. We have a duty of care to all our children. Also 2 members of staff have husbands who are vulnerable. One is not well enough to work and the other working from home so we do not want to put them at risk. I can see that further incidents like this will arise over the next few weeks if rules change again. I am wondering whether we should also consult our local authority for advice.
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Following up on this topic, we now have a child who developed a temperature of 39+ on Thursday evening and did not attend on Friday. I'm not sure if anyone else in the household has been displaying any symptoms as I did not take the call myself, so will need to follow up over the weekend. I assume we have no choice but to insist the child now isolates unless they are actually able to get a Covid test, which would allow them to return if it comes back negative. I'm thinking the chances of actually getting a test are pretty remote though!
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I like the suggestion of responsibility points. It's certainly something that could be put to the committee, especially since our senior level 3s have seen their earnings fall in comparison to the unqualified staff in recent years. Our pay scale really needs to be adapted so that experienced level 3s are rewarded for their ongoing commitment. In the last 3 years those staff under 25 or those on the minimum wage have at least seen their wages increase, but only because it is a legal requirement and a similar pay rise has not been passed on to the rest of the team as successive committees have worried about sustainability.
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We are a committee run setting and have asked the trustees to look at staff pay again, for the second time this year, especially as they will soon have to advertise for a new level 3 staff member. Level 3 pay has been pegged back so that unqualified staff are earning only a few pence less than level 3s due to the minimum wage increase in April. It literally is pence and this leaves little incentive for anyone taking on a level 3 role and additional responsibilities. Several years ago there was a hierarchy set up with pay for individual roles and levels. Since then other staff pay rises have not kept up with the rise in minimum wage. Can any committee settings suggest how they now research a realistic wage for level 3 and level 6 staff, deputy, manager, administrator, especially given the funding challenges we all face? Even many job advertisements merely say 'salary dependent on experience'. The last national survey was some years ago now so is no longer helpful. Does your local council offer any guidance? It would be good to share any advice at the next committee meeting.
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Many thanks. It sounds like a good use of space. We will have to investigate further.
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Thanks everyone for your advice. As staff we are fine and have fleeces. It is not the cold so much we are worrying about and our setting is warm with the heaters. We are more concerned about the current heaters spreading germs and especially Covid-19. It looks like many of you also have the same time of heaters as us so are having to cope with the same issues. Twinthinguk we would love to get one of those plastic door curtains and have been wondering about it for a while. Can I ask how you sourced yours? Can you buy any online?
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I was wondering what everyone will be doing about heating their buildings this autumn while we are dealing with Covid-19. We are in a small hut with only fan heaters, high on the wall, which encourage germs to circulate everywhere. We have no gas supplied to the hut. Does anyone have any knowledge of infra red heaters or any other form of heating we might use or how effective they are? We don't have much of a budget to devote to this, but with the weather getting colder we will need to sort something soon. I just wondered what everyone else was doing.
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Our separate toilet and basin seems to be working at the moment. We are cleaning in between children with a big clean at the end of the session. We have an orange bubble and blue bubble. We have marked the respective toilets and basins with an orange hand print and blue hand print so that everyone knows which area to use and are only allowing one bubble to access the area at a time. We have only got a third of our children in, so fortunately there isn't too much of a rush for the toilet. I am hoping all this will help us with planning for the new September intake, depending on what further guidance we get..
