Staffing arrangements' is one of the five overarching legal requirements grouped under the 'Suitable people' Framework for the EYFS (see box).
STAFFING ARRANGEMENTS
Links to:
- Every Child Matters Outcome: Helping to keep children safe;
- Former National Standards: 1 - Suitable Person; 2 - Organisation; 6 - Safety; and 14 - Documentation;
Overarching general requirement
Staffing arrangements must be organised to ensure safety and to meet the needs of the children
Specific legal requirements
Policies and procedures that need to be in place:
- Operational policy
- Operational issues
- All providers must meet the requirements for adult:child ratios set out in Appendix 2 (See Statutory Framework for the EYFS, pages 49-50).
- Providers must adjust ratios accordingly, and these must remain in place when practitioners are not working directly with children (breaks and planning).
- Group provision: Provider must make sure that there is a named deputy to deputise for the manager.
- Childminders providing overnight care must be within hearing distance (a monitor maybe used to achieve this). In addition, arrangements need to be in place in terms of how children are regularly checked during the night.
- Group provision: During overnight care the ratios are still to be applied and at least one member of staff should be awake at all times.
STATUTORY GUIDANCE
Policies and procedures that need to be in place:
- Sleeping babies/children policy and procedure
- Student and volunteer policy
- Committee members policy
Operational issues
- Children should be supervised at all times. Staff deployment needs to be organised to meet the individual needs of all children.
- When children are sleeping or resting, there are expectations that ratios continue to be adhered to. Adults need not be present in the room with the children. However, they should be available nearby on the premises - for instance, how lunch breaks are covered and the number of staff on the premises at lunch times.
- There should be an emergency plan to cover for staff absences and emergencies: re-grouping of children, re-organising rooms, and activities and re-deploying of other staff. Note: children should still have a level of consistent care and experiences
- If children attend a nursery or reception class longer than the normal school hours, recommended ratios outside this period are 1:8, with at least one member of staff with a level 3 and half of the other staff holding a level 2, as defined by the CWDC.
- Staff/volunteers/students who are under the age of 17 do not count towards the ratio and must be supervised at all times. It is the provider's discretion to allow individuals aged 17 and over (long-term placements) to be included in the ratio.
- Volunteers and committee members are given clear information and guidance on their roles and responsibilities.
- Consideration needs to be given to mixed aged groups in schools, maintaining consistency for children and ensuring their needs are met. See Practice Guidance for the EYFS (page 16 and 17).
Next month: Suitable premises, environment and equipment - Risk assessment and premises
- Laura Henry, managing director, Childcare Consultancy Ltd, info@childcareconsult.co.uk
WELFARE REQUIREMENTS
Suitable People
'Suitable People' is the second group of welfare requirements contained in the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (pages 29-32).
Each requirement is split into three sections:
1. The overarching general legal requirements - a general statement of requirements.
2. Specific legal requirements - which providers must comply with.
3. Statutory guidance - which providers should have regard to.
Parts of the requirements apply only to group provision, but these are clearly indicated.
CASE STUDY
At Charlie Caterpillars Day Nursery in Bloxwich, Walsall, nursery director Joanne Morgan says, 'We have an established staff team including a core of qualified nursery practitioners complemented with unqualified, experienced parents training towards qualification.
'Charlie Caterpillars is in its sixth year. When we first opened we naively employed a fully qualified team, as we had been led to believe that this was best practice. We have since discovered from experience that this is not necessarily the case, as the majority of staff we were able to recruit were newly qualified with limited experience. As our nursery has grown and the team have developed we have slowly introduced a core of parents who had a desire to enter the childcare profession. We have employed them on an unqualified salary and put them through NVQ training.'
This has proved extremely successful for Charlie Caterpillars and two of its unqualified parents have gained their qualifications and moved into management. 'The qualities these staff members bring to our team are invaluable; they have excellent time management skills, empathy and understanding for our parents and housekeeping skills, and support our younger qualified team members to develop the life skills essential in providing a quality childcare environment,' says Joanne.
'We have had to be very creative in the roles we offer to our unqualified members of the team, using job sharing and a split shift system alongside our full time staff. We are also continually building a team of bank staff who support us in covering holidays and sickness and our part time staff have the opportunity for overtime.
'The prime role of the nursery manager is to work alongside the team delivering training and supporting their professional development. Monthly staff meetings are used to drive the team forward, inputting knowledge and practical experiences. We believe in encouraging our team to use their initiative, we support their ideas and empower them with information and good working practices.
'As part of our quality assurance process, we commissioned a consultancy company to carry out a "mock inspection". This highlighted positive aspects of our operational policy and noted areas of improvement, such as working on our self evaluation process.'
Further information
- www.crb.gov.uk
- www.cwdcouncil.org.uk
- www.opsi.gov.uk
- www.teachernet.gov.uk/publications (download EYFS)
- www.everychildmatters.gov.uk
- www.ofsted.gov.uk
- www.dcsf.gov.uk
- www.dh.gov.uk.
