and a 'very inexperienced team'.
Although I'm curious as to how this setting has managed to meet the national standards for under-eights daycare regarding staffing, I am even more curious as to why this manager (who was fresh from a management course) is now struggling with the problem of how to delegate. If the letter itself isn't enough to undermine the confidence of any parent, the fact that the reply doesn't even attempt to address the real issues here must surely do so.
What this manager very clearly needs is the immediate support of experienced staff to balance out her team, rather than advice about using phrases such as 'I wonder if ...' lest she appear too strident. As for sending them on management courses - surely they would need at least 12 months to get bedded in before even thinking about such a huge step.
And finally, if the suggestion to 'get a bubbly member of staff to organise press releases' is meant to be taken seriously, then what hope is there left? We are talking about the care and welfare of children here - not how best to get a fledgling PR company off the ground.
I am astonished at the lack of sensitivity by everyone concerned with this article, and especially Nursery World's failure to recognise its impact on any anxious parents.
Melissa Pilling Leeds
The editor replies: This nursery manager's letter portrays reality for many childcare settings given the current recruitment crisis and shortage of trained, experienced staff. It would surely be irresponsible to ignore this. However, Rosie Pressland aims to give some achievable ideas for delegation rather than wholesale changes that may be impossible to put through. Our intention is not to alarm parents, but to provide practical help for our readers, who are mainly professionals working with children.
