of pounds on awards. Annette Rawstrone finds out why.
You may find it easier to associate Investors in People with a city firm of well-heeled businessmen than a nursery. Yet some settings are dedicating considerable time and resou- rces to gaining this type of recognition for their people management skills. Others are going for awards demonstrating high standards relating to environment, business acumen, nutrition, and even healthy teeth, saying they can be a hit with parents, help nurseries to refresh their knowledge and training, and motivate staff.
One nursery to have achieved Investors in People is Schoolhouse Daycare, in Swansea. The nursery chain, which employs 96 staff, has gained the prestigious Gold standard twice, which requires the submission of no less than 126 separate pieces of evidence. Around a fifth of the workforce were interviewed over two days, with the whole process taking about a year.
Business development manager Stephanie Woods says the company went for the accreditation because it wants to be the 'best of the best', adding, 'We think people are our biggest asset. If we didn't have our staff we wouldn't have our seven nurseries and we wouldn't have the children. We believe in recognising what the staff bring to the company.'
Among its other awards are the National Day Nurseries Association's (NDNA) e-Quality Counts hallmark, to demonstrate the quality of childcare practice, and the Disney Institute Business Excellence for delivering quality customer service.
Having won the contract for the DVLA's workplace nursery, Ms Woods thinks accreditations help when tendering for new business, as well as encouraging growth. A raft of other awards, including Designed to Smile from the Welsh Government, have led to the creation of an awards page on the chain's website - though Schoolhouse didn't publicise its extensive haul until about two years ago.
Gail Smith, manager at Clockwork Day Nursery, says, 'Accreditations are a way of keeping fresh in areas where advice changes quickly. They set us apart and, as a bonus, help us get coverage in local newspapers which is valuable free marketing.'
The Ashton-under-Lyne nursery is another to set store by its human resources, also gaining an Investors in People accreditation, at the Standard level. 'It is a big tool for recruitment,' she says. 'It shows commitment to our staff - borne out by retention being high - and helps with appraisals, training and evaluation. A percentage of the staff team are interviewed for the award and can share their aspirations, which is motivational.'
Ofsted says it doesn't take award results into account when it comes to inspections. But achieving them demonstrates a commitment to improvement that is ongoing, over and above the Ofsted visit, says Stella Ziolkowski, director of quality and workforce development at the NDNA.
How does a nursery go about choosing an award? At Schoolhouse, once a year, the management question what they want to achieve collectively and whether there is a scheme that will support this goal. Managers are also asked what they want to work towards individually. 'We research the accreditations and ask whether it suits our business, mission, standards and values. We look at the work that has to be put in and think through what we will gain from it,' says Ms Woods.
Some settings have distinct priorities. Pauline Scott of Lullaby Lane (see box) feels that awards that focus on individuals could be divisive in a small setting such as hers, which has 10 staff members. 'We put the emphasis on those that are team-orientated,' she says. 'I also feel it is important to go for accreditations that the staff can share in the submission of, rather than just being completed by the owner or manager. Then everyone is delighted and shares in our success.'
Another factor is inevitably cost - fees for Investors in People vary depending on the size of business and location (Schoolhouse paid about £2,000) and prices for NDNA e-Quality Counts begin at £997. It is important to remember that to keep the accreditation it has to be updated and renewed annually.
But for those without a sizeable continuing professional development budget, there are other options. Some local authorities provide free schemes. Katrina Tutt, a childminder in Trinant, Caerphilly, has gained the Eco Early Years Award from Caerphilly County Borough Council. She took the award, which involved conducting an environmental audit, over two-and-a-half years, completing the paperwork after the children went home.
The idea is to encourage children's interest in the environment and an awareness of their impact on it, with activities including reducing waste by turning off lights, economical water use and recycling. She was also given face-to-face and phone support from a project co-ordinator.
'These schemes are worth so much to me because they provide training and help me to look at aspects of my provision afresh,' says Ms Tutt. 'The award enabled me to write an environmental policy, implement energy saving initiatives and introduce healthy food options.'
Bright Horizons' Martina Murphy says that it is important 'not to go for awards for awards' sake'. The comp- any's operations director for Ireland, Scotland and India says, 'The awards and accreditations that are important to us are those that are aligned to our culture and values, such as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents Gold Award, demonstrating our commitment to raising health and safety standards, and the Great Place to Work scheme, which supports our vision to be an excellent place for children that in turn needs to be a great place for staff.'
For her, the value of accreditations is in being able to assess staff achievements throughout the year and examine how the company has developed. 'They are part of a journey of continual improvement,' she says.
And, though it may seem contradictory, the awards themselves are not actually the goal. 'People shouldn't feel that once they have gained accreditation they have arrived at the end point,' says Ms Murphy. 'The merit of an accreditation is to continue striving to do better. If it is regarded as a quest to continue learning, then it is a valuable tool.'
For Sally Mayer, head of nurseries at The Co-operative Childcare, which operates 47 nurseries nationwide, awards are a chance to celebrate success as well as 'refine, reassess and reflect' on existing practice. She advises nurseries not to 'run before they can walk' and only work towards awards and accreditations when they are confident that they are ready.
'We tried to go for the NDNA accreditation about three years ago but had recently acquired a lot of nurseries, which all had different levels of quality,' she says. 'This put added pressure on the reflective practice and all the evidence that was needed to be submitted for each module.
'We realised it was too much, too early. Getting all the nurseries up to the same standard had to take precedence and now we feel confident that the time is right to revisit it again.' While she cautions that not winning sector awards is disappointing, even this is a learning opportunity - a chance to reflect on practice and learn from what the winner is doing.
Standalone nurseries may be put off by the amount of work involved in applying for awards and accreditations, but the initial effort can save time later. Clockwork Day Nursery's Investors in People is accompanied by the local authority Pathways to Quality in Tameside Gold Award, which aims to encourage reflective practice. The associated file was shown to Ofsted to demonstrate this. The company also jointly won the Team Development category at the Nursery World Awards last year. 'The nursery owners paid for ten of us to go to the awards ceremony in London, which was a fantastic reward for hard work.'
So what are you waiting for? Schoolhouse Daycare's Ms Woods advises interested settings to simply go for it, but warns: 'It can get addictive. You do one and then think, what else? We want to go for The Sunday Times 100 Best Small Companies to Work For next.'
CASE STUDY: LULLABY LANE NURSERY, GLASGOW
'Through our training company, we're often asking other businesses to invest in young people, so when we opened the nursery two years ago we felt it was also important to demonstrate our commitment,' says Lullaby Lane director Pauline Scott. 'By working towards Investors in Young People we show parents our commitment to quality staff and creating job opportunities for younger people and nurturing them as well as the children.
'It took about nine months to gain the award. We had to demonstrate how we work with young people - from our induction process and mentor scheme to having robust review processes and succession planning. Working towards the accreditation has helped us to focus on things from the perspective of a young person new into the profession and helped staff develop leadership and mentor skills.
'I like that the award is based on interviews with staff rather than just a tick-box exercise, which makes it more honest. In order to retain the award there is an annual review process and we have a development plan including involving young people in the marketing of the nursery and developing clear career pathways. We want to grow and this scheme is enabling us to invest in talent for our future.'
She also believes that gaining recognised national accreditations improves the perception of private daycare within the sector as a whole. 'We feel that accreditations add credibility to our business. Parents like them because it shows a commitment to the staff caring for their children,' she says. 'Accreditations can help to focus your business and implement new ideas and training.'
CASE STUDY: ABBEYWOOD TOTS DAY NURSERIES, BRISTOL
'We want to ensure that we give the best, hence the food awards. We've always produced a good standard of catering and when we started serving organic food I got in touch with the Soil Association for advice on local suppliers,' says Abbeywood Tots co-owner Mike Williams.
'The Food for Life Gold Award and Soil Association accreditation demonstrate to parents that we maintain high food standards - that the quality of food we serve to their children is of vital importance and that it is scrutinised.
'It costs about £1,000 a year, but I feel it is worth it. We're not just paying for the annual inspection or a certificate but for the support from certification officers who ensure that we're up to date with nutritional guidelines and give advice.
'We have to demonstrate that the food we serve is healthy, ethical and uses local ingredients as well as involving the parents and children in cooking and growing activities. It shows that we're passionate about our work.'
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