parental demand for holiday provision is high (see Viewpoint on page 3) and many after-school clubs will be taking on extra staff at this time of year to cover the summer holidays. For six weeks or more, their doors will be open from 8am-6pm. This can present quite a challenge, not so much in finding staff - as many students are looking for paid work that is fun and active and working with children gives an added boost to their CVs, particularly if they are undertaking a childcare course - but in ensuring that the holiday team works well together.
To ensure a successful summer holiday scheme the staff need to feel supported and able to work together. When a team works well all will benefit, including the children, parents and carers, as well as the staff.
Good team working
So what are the essential ingredients for good team working?
* Good clear information and communication about job roles, planning, health and safety, policies and procedures * Time to share and understand common aims, understand the purpose of the work and how to meet children's needs * Opportunities for getting to know the team and who to go to for support * Clear understanding of roles, responsibilities and tasks * Clear guidelines on procedures on how to deal with particular situations such as complaints, accidents, unwell children and difficult behaviour * Confidence and comfort in knowing that support mechanisms are in place * Acknowledgment of strengths and weaknesses * Respect for each other's views, family background, beliefs and needs * Feeling part of the process by being encouraged to assist with ideas, suggestions and planning - staff will feel more valued if they feel they have contributed to the work of the holiday club.
Poor team working... oh dear, let's see what happens
If your team does not work well then this will lead to unresolved issues, conflict and breakdown in communication. Team members will feel uncomfortable and form cliques. This can lead to staff being absent and unreliable, which means that the children will suffer from inadequate play opportunities and be denied positive play experiences. As a result, children will be bored and possibly disruptive, which can then lead to accidents.
But the benefits... well, then you will reap rewards!
Good team working will result in happy children and parents, fewer accidents, fewer complaints and a decrease in difficult or challenging behaviour. Staff will feel confident and supported by the rest of the team.
They will be willing to take on more responsibility, offer ideas and contribute positively to the work of a team. Parents will go away happy and confident that they have left their child in a responsible and safe play setting. They will tell others about their positive experience - what better way to get good free marketing!
Prepare well
Prior to the holiday starting and with all your new staff in place, plan a team-building session.This only needs to be for a few hours and you will find it invaluable for both new and existing staff as a way of getting you all off on the right foot. You could arrange to meet up at the play setting, at the local pub or at someone's house. Wherever you meet, make sure that you will not be disturbed and that refreshments are provided.
A team-building session could include:
* Introductions and time to get to know each other - this can be achieved by playing some silly or team-building games (see box) * Information on the playsetting - start and finish times, working rota, list of useful contact numbers, opportunity to explore what a playworker's role is, health and safety procedures, identify ways in which you can support each other, discuss resources, share activities and plan sessions.
Dealing with conflict
Some conflict is healthy as individuals will always have opposing views. It is important, however, to manage it effectively to make it positive for everyone. Solving conflict requires negotiation and communication skills with a recognition that all staff should be allowed to air their concerns and views. Conflict should not be allowed to drag on and should be dealt with promptly, otherwise more damage will be done as people fester on unresolved issues. It should be made clear to all staff that conflicts will affect the playsetting and children will pick up on unhappiness among staff. So get an agreement from everyone that any conflict will not disrupt the children or the play scheme. Deal with conflicts after the play sessions and resolve the issues promptly.
Recognised training
The introduction of the Daycare Standards requires staff to have relevant qualifications and appropriate experience for working with children in their leisure time. This means that all staff should attend a short training course to introduce them to playwork.
A number of short introductory courses are available, but check to see what is available in your area. These courses enable new staff who are working or intending to work with children aged 4-16 to recognise and extend their skills so they can work effectively with children, and develop good working practices with others. For example, the new 'Introducing Playwork'
developed by the SPRITO Playwork Unit is a 15-hour course and covers the following elements:
* recognising the value of play to children * supporting children and young people's play * contributing to the work of a team * contributing to the health and safety of the setting * helping to protect children from abuse * contributing to the building of positive relationships with children and young people in the setting
Students must work with children and complete a reflective practice sheet.
Satisfactory completion of the training will be accepted as evidence by OFSTED that holiday scheme staff have been adequately briefed. It is an introduction to working with children and can be used towards a Level 2 qualification.
Other suitable courses include: * Take Five for Play - Developed by the South West Centre For Playwork Education & Training. A 10-hour course with lots of practical activities and games * Time to Play - Developed by Brighton & Hove EYDCP * Playwork Basics - Developed by Common Threads (tel: 07000 785215) To find out about courses available near you contact your local Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership or alternatively contact your regional Centrefor Playwork Education and Training (see the SPRITO website at www.playwork.org.uk for locations).
TEAMBUILDING GAMES
Any group game will help break down barriers. Here are a few suggestions: Build a tower
Split your staff into small groups of three or four. Provide them with a number of resources to build a tower (provide exactly the same resources for each group). Now give the group about 20 minutes to build a tower collaboratively, encouraging them to be as creative as possible, or to see who can build the highest tower.
Knots
Everyone stands in a circle, shoulder to shoulder with closed eyes. Hold arms outstretched and move forward together towards the middle of the circle and wave your arms around to shuffle them.
Take another person's hand in each of your own, and when each person has two hands, then open eyes. Now without dropping hands try to untangle yourselves - the group must work together to try to untangle the knot.
Sheep Nanny
Depending on the size of your group, mark out a circle several metres in diameter. This is the pond. Choose one person to be mother; the rest of the players are her sheep. The mother calls her sheep in a loving voice 'Shee-ep Nanny! Shee-ep Nanny!'
The sheep follow her in a bunch, calling 'Ba-a-a-'. The mother turns quickly and tries to touch the sheep, and they run as fast as they can into the pond. Any sheep caught by the Sheep Nanny before reaching the pond must help the mother sheep to pull others out of the circle. The mother can put one foot, but not both, inside the circle as she pulls the sheep out. Each sheep pulled out must help the mother pull the others out, while the sheep inside the circle try to pull those outside back in again. The game ends when all the sheep are pulled out, or the mother and all the sheep pulled in!
