Teach Early Years - Issue 14.2

NURSERY MANAGEMENT either in the placement nursery or in a similar role within the sector. Nurseries should also look at the role of apprentices in their settings and use them to plan their future workforce. This doesn’t end with teenagers but apprentices of all ages, particularly those with experience in other sectors with transferable skills. Seek out mature employees who are new to the sector but have had their own families and understand the challenges that practitioners face supporting very young children. Consider how to frame your advertising to encourage local applicants – can they work favourable hours to give them a healthy work-life balance? Could you support their family commitments? The new evidence-based route should in theory support nurseries to meet their ratios, but it’s too new for us to give any insight into how effective it will be. It is certainly worth exploring, especially for those members of staff with good experience who, for whatever reason, have not achieved a Level 3 qualification. We also don’t know yet how effective the Best Start in Life financial incentives are in encouraging new people into the workforce, but we are keeping a close eye on this. If these schemes work, we need to see more investment so they can be widened to include applicants across the country. NDNA continues to develop training to support nurseries in upskilling their existing workforce, especially popular courses such as baby and toddler room leader courses, specifically designed with the expansion in mind. We offer this training in cost-effective bundles so nurseries can afford to train up their whole staff team. Take advantage of our fully funded Maths Champions programme open to all early years settings, a chance to upskill staff and boost confidence in their maths skills. Although there’s no simple solution to the staffing problem, there are many measures employers can take to attract and retain more people. Together, these can make a real difference. Visit ndna.org.uk 93% Nurseries that need more Level 3 staff SOURCE: NDNA STEPS TO SUCCESS How to attract and retain loyal employees… Invest in CPD – give your people a plan for future development with milestones and goals that are achievable and measurable. The Institute of Early Years Education can help – membership is free and includes a wide range of resources, activity ideas, CPD and support. Health and wellbeing – enabling staff to achieve a healthy work-life balance is crucial, as it will reduce absence through illness and stress and help them to enjoy being part of your team. The Anna Freud Centre has resources for supporting staff wellbeing: tinyurl.com/TEYafRW Look at your rota – could you deploy your staff more effectively? Think about whether you could give them more time away from the setting with longer days. What non-pay incentives can they benefit from? There are a number of employee discount schemes you could take advantage of that staff will really appreciate. This includes cheaper childcare in your setting. Blue Light Card – make sure your staff are aware of these offers as educators. Teachearlyyears.com 63