Placing trust in staff to take ownership of their own rooms has proved successful in attracting and retaining staff at Under One Roof (U1R) Thanet, a 118-place nursery in Kent.
Owner Sophie Spurrier, a former teacher, admits it has been quite easy to recruit staff for the setting, even before it officially opened a year and a half ago.
She believes prospective employees are attracted to the setting’s supportive workplace culture where everyone helps out and gets stuck in, and the fact that staff are trusted to make decisions without having to get approval from her first.
‘Some of my older staff that have worked here for a year or so have said they’ve never known another nursery like it. They say they’ve never been allowed to do anything to their room and/or without permission from a manager in previous settings,’ she explains.
‘I’m like “it’s your room, put your stamp on it. It’s for you and your children.” As long as it’s following the ethos that I want and the overall vibe, then great.
‘Most of my staff have worked for me long enough now to know what I like and what I don’t like. In response they tell me that the autonomy at the nursery is really great here and they feel trusted and can do things without worrying aboutstepping on someone’s toes.
‘I’ve never known any different. This is how I wanted to run the nursery, how I always pictured it, and this is how I’ve always led my teams in schools. I’ve been quite shocked to hear of people’s experiences in different nurseries and how they haven’t been the same.’
Recruitment
Sophie says the recruitment crisis has not really impacted her nursery.
‘Even before we opened, when the nursery didn’t actually exist – it was a warehouse – we didn’t struggle for candidates, advertising solely on social media. At the time, I essentially just employed people on the basis it would be a nursery’, she explains.
When recruitment did get a little harder using social media alone, due to its limited reach, Sophie started using a job site. Then once the nursery was inspected by Ofsted and its report was published, she says recruitment improved.
‘Once we were inspected and received our Ofsted grade and report, recruitment improved slightly as we then had proof that we are a quality setting. Recruitment since then has been absolutely fine,’ she says.
The nursery owner says she generally gets more job applications for senior positions such as room leaders or a deputy manager.
‘When you place an ad for a Level 3 position, it’s really hard because on job sites you get people applying if they are a hairdresser or a dog walker who don’t have early years experience. So you have to really sift through applications,’ she explains.
However, Sophie, who employs 34 staff at the nursery, says overall she has been really lucky with her people. ‘They [staff] are really supportive of each other and I think that’s what makes us good to work for. Everyone gets stuck in, covering different rooms when needed.’
She recalls, ‘We had first-aid training the other week, and I sent eight of my staff, which I knew would be tight. I was working in the baby room. My manager was working in the one-year-old room, and we were just juggling lunchtimes.’
Sophie says she always asks staff if there is any training they think the whole nursery would benefit from or if someone would like to do a course to improve their own career. She says, ‘One staff member found a speech and language course online that was free, but takes place over two days during her working hours. I said if I can make it work with staffing then absolutely she can do it.
‘We do a lot of whole company training. We’ve just done the Thrive approach training for children’s wellbeing and mental health, which has been super-beneficial. It’s important to upskill the team and make staff feel like they’re still continuing in their professional journeys and developing individually.’
A personal connection
Sophie believes being approachable to staff by being present in the nursery’s rooms, rather than sat in the office all the time, is a big reason why people like working for her.
Because of this she says she has a personal connection with every employee. However, she admits it can be a ‘blessing and a curse’.
‘I like being present in the rooms, rather than just sat at my desk,’ she explains. ‘Staff tell me stuff as I walk through the room. They talk to me about what they did at the weekend and what’s going on in their lives. But I think it’s shot me in the foot a couple of times in the past, just because people have walked over me a little bit.
‘I think that’s one of the big reasons that people like working for me, is because I don’t feel like this big, scary boss that hides away in an office.’
She says as much as people say they have an open-door policy, her staff can actually talk to her whenever they need.
‘I think it is important to have regular touch bases with staff, even if it is just for them to say “I’ve had a tough day today” or “This situation frustrated me”. Working in childcare is hard, you can’t sugarcoat it, so to have that outlet that can help defuse any situations and we can consider what to do moving forward; automatically it makes staff feel listened to and that something is being done.’
According to Sophie, the nursery’s retention of staff is very high, which is helped by the fact that everyone works effectively as a team. ‘We’re a large nursery, but we all work as a team. There might be a day like today, for example, when I’ve got three members of staff that have gone to see their children perform at school at the same time and who work in the same room. That’s left us short in particular rooms so other staff have gone, “I’ll go down there for the morning.”
‘It’s just about being positive and being a team player,’ she says.
The nursery owner also places an importance on staff leaving their work at the door, and stops them from taking home any paperwork, such as observations.
‘When I was a teacher for so many years, we had so much paperwork and stuff to do outside of being with the children. Essentially that’s the main reason I left teaching, that’s the part I didn’t enjoy. I would be sitting at 10 o’clock at night doing work for the next day.
‘That’s not what I wanted when opening my own setting and for my staff. Even things like observations of the children, I do not allow myself or staff to do that at home.
‘I really want staff to know their job is from the hours that they’re in the nursery. I don’t want people taking stuff out of the building, because it’s hard enough to switch off as it is. When they get home, staff should be spending time with their family.’
As employees of the nursery, staff with children or younger relatives can also take advantage of unlimited free entry to the soft-play centre next door. The nursery has a deal with the soft play centre as they share the same directors.
Staff can also bring family members to the nursery’s children’s Christmas party.
Other perks include social activities outside the setting to give the opportunity for people to have downtime and bond outside of work, none of which are mandatory. ‘We try and do as many social things as possible, and try and make outings very varied to cover everyone’s tastes,’ Sophie says.
Trips and activities have included quizzes, pumpkin painting at Halloween and bingo. In the summer, one member of staff invited everyone to her house for a BBQ.
Case study: Tracey Sayer, nursery practitioner
Tracey started at the nursery last August after moving from another setting and previously working as a childminder.
She says a welcoming atmosphere and friendly team attracted her to the setting.
‘When I met Sophie, I found her really friendly and approachable. Walking around, I just got a nice vibe for the setting.
‘I was a childminder for 22 years, but stopped doing that when my children grew up. I decided I wanted to be part of a team instead of working solo.
‘If I ever have any problems, other team members help out. There is a lot of support at the nursery’, she explains.
