Staffing Philosophy

Our staff are selected very carefully, not only for their qualifications and experience but also for their love of children. We understand that continuity of care for the children is paramount and for that reason we are totally committed to promoting staff loyalty. There is nothing worse for a child's development at nursery than to experience constantly changing faces due to staff turnover. We have always followed an open door policy and consequently staff have unrestricted access to management at all times and similarly the Nursery Manager and Deputy have a hands on approach involving a good deal of time spent in the rooms working with staff.

Aims and Objectives for Staff

The overall aim of our staffing policy will be to establish an environment which promotes staff loyalty and commitment. By generally ensuring there is consistency in our staffing, children develop a sense of security and are able to relate to their key carers in the nursery. In order to promote high levels of staff loyalty within the nursery, we aim to achieve the following:

• To build an environment and reputation with which staff are proud to be associated.
• To pay a realistic and reviewed salary that will attract quality staff.
• To offer incentives for longer serving members such as additional holiday days, annual bonus and paid sick leave.
• To offer quality in house training such as NVQ and Apprenticeship schemes.
• To have regular appraisals by the manager and the proprietor.
• To enrol staff in associations such as the NDNA.
• To have regular staff meetings.
• To have a quality council on which key staff members will sit.
• To have clearly defined HR policies and procedures.
• To promote an environment of open and honest communication.
• To promote a team spirit through brand values.

 We continually survey our staff to find out what they perceive our aims and objectives to be and build these responses into our operating plan.

• A safe environment
• A place to learn through play and interaction.
• A setting in which parents and carers feel happy to leave their children.
• A supportive setting for parents and staff.
• A happy and friendly atmosphere.
• A high quality of care to all children within the nursery.
• Regular and up to date training for staff.
• Ensure staff are familiar with up to date standards such as the Early Years Foundation Stage.
• To have staff that are approachable for parents such that they feel they can discuss their children’s needs comfortably and confidently.
• We will ensure that each team member has a comprehensive training and appraisal programme, which is overseen by the Nursery Manager.
• By holding regular (every 4-6 weeks) staff meetings we will ensure that we maintain a close working relationship with staff.
• We conduct regular staff surveys about a range of subjects from pay and remuneration to working conditions and daily operations.
• To promote staff retention we regularly review pay and remuneration and conduct annual appraisals.

Qualifications and Ratios

The Ofsted national standards require the person in charge of a nursery and the deputy to have an appropriate level 3 / 4 qualification or qualified teacher status with specialism in the early years. In addition, at least half of the remaining staff must hold an appropriate level 2 qualification.

Here at the Wishing Tree over 75% of our staff hold a level 3 qualification in childcare (NVQ, Btech, CACHE, NNEB amongst others). A further 15% hold a level 2 qualification or are enrolled on a training course to study an NVQ in childcare. Our managers and deputy managers hold a level 4 qualification and we are currently sponsoring members of the team to pursue higher education such as a Foundation Degree or Early Years Professional status. To assist with this training, we are very fortunate to have two of our senior members of staff accredited as Childcare Assessors in the NVQ accreditation.

In terms of staff to child ratios the Ofsted requirement for nursery age children is as follows:

Our policy is to exceed these requirements, encouraging staff to develop their qualifications and to attend courses in areas such as special needs, equal opportunities and behaviour management. We expect all staff to obtain First Aid and food hygiene qualifications within six months of appointment, and to keep these up to date.