In recent weeks media attention has been firmly focused on Britain's nurseries. Few can have missed the BBC1 documentary 'Nurseries Undercover'
and the flurry of newspaper reports that followed it, criticising settings for poor staffing, bad hygiene and inappropriate behaviour.
The coverage will undoubtedly have affected parents. Many may be happy with the quality of care delivered by their nursery, but it is understandable that others will have concerns. Prospective nursery-users may now be nervous about making their choice, and current customers may need extra reassurance about the care their child is receiving. So how can nursery staff and managers clearly demonstrate that they are following good practice and delivering high-quality care?
Keep in touch
For Inez Murray, managing director of Four Seasons Nursery in Glasgow, the answer lies in communication. New parents are taken on an hour-long tour of the nursery where the Four Seasons ethos is clearly explained. The nursery also provides a welcome pack with information on the nursery routine, and health and safety and hygiene policies.
Inez communicates with parents through regular newsletters, a parents'
noticeboard, the nursery's own website and parents' evenings.
'Communication is vital,' Inez says. 'I make it clear to parents that I'm always at the end of the phone.'
Although noticeboards and websites are a good way of communicating with parents, it can be hard to ensure they receive all the information. Henry Evan James, who owns Chatterbox Nursery in Manchester, has a signing policy to make sure information gets through.
'Parents are often in a hurry and can miss notices that are pinned on a wall,' he says. 'At Chatterbox they must sign for every newsletter and memo, so we are certain they know the latest developments in the nursery.'
Even if your nursery has regular newsletters and parents' evenings, it might be useful to hold an extra event. Jean Evans, a former Ofsted inspector, says, 'A good nursery manager should realise that parents may now be feeling concerned. They could pre-empt this reaction by holding a special open evening to allay concerns. The nurseries featured in "Nurseries Undercover" had many young, inexperienced staff who were not properly mentored. By holding an open evening, managers can explain about employee training and describe their excellent mentoring systems and induction processes.'
Role models
Investment in staff is vital to provide high quality care within a nursery.
Early years consultant Ann Langston points out the importance of proper staff training and ensuring that experienced staff act as role models for new recruits. 'If people are well-trained they are also highly motivated,'
she says. 'If we train people and reward them properly, then the poor behaviour we saw on "Nurseries Undercover" would be an exception.'
Rosie Pressland is the principal of Pocklington Montessori School in Yorkshire, which has 92 staff and 350 children. The staff complete first aid, food and hygiene courses, and they are included in decision-making at regular staff meetings. Rosie believes this fosters a sense of ownership among her employees.
'The culture of staff empowerment is paramount to the growth of the nursery,' says Rosie. 'It would be a terrible arrogance for me not to realise that 92 staff have a lot to contribute. They come up with great ideas, and there is a bottle of bubbly each month for the person who has the best one.'
Staff turnover at Pocklington is just 0.5 per cent, which is testament to the importance of creating a good working environment. If staff are well trained and feel valued, the care they offer will be of a far higher standard.
Open house
If your nursery has an open-door policy, it is a good idea to remind parents that they are welcome to pay unannounced visits at any time. One of the nurseries filmed undercover for the TVprogramme operated a 'visitor policy', and staff altered their behaviour when visitors arrived in the setting. By allowing freedom of access, nurseries can reassure parents that they have nothing to hide. At Chatterbox Nursery, issuing each parent with a key-card for the nursery entrance facilitates free access.
Some nurseries have turned to CCTV as an extension of their open-door policy. As well as allowing nursery managers to look in on several playrooms at once, parents can log on via the internet to watch their children.
George Bathurst, managing director of Teletoddler, believes this can be enormously reassuring for parents. 'Worry and guilt are common feelings among nursery parents, and CCTV can allay some of these fears,' he says.
Kinder Castle Nursery in Huddersfield installed Teletoddler cameras in January. Managing partner Rachel Wright says they have been enormously successful with staff and parents alike. 'Cameras are a great way of demonstrating high-quality care. Lots of parents who saw the documentary said they had no concerns about Kinder Castle because they can see what's happening every single day.'
Extra credit
CCTV cameras may not suit every setting, however, so nurseries need to find other ways to prove they are delivering a standard of care over and above the required national standards. Ann Langston encourages nurseries to work towards a quality assurance scheme.
Quality Counts is the accreditation scheme of the National Day Nurseries Association. It takes between six months and two years to complete. NDNA chief executive Rosemary Murphy says, 'When a nursery has completed the scheme, the culture of reflected practice will be firmly embedded. Quality Counts acts as a badge of honour that parents can use to identify nurseries committed to delivering high standards of care and early education for children.'
Whatever a nursery decides to do, it is important that staff are critical of the image that they convey and pro-active in constantly improving this image. Rosie Pressland believes that if excellence in childcare is at the centre of a nursery's ethos, bad practice such as that shown in 'Nurseries Undercover' will not happen. 'This ethos becomes reflected in the quality of care that is delivered to children and parents,' she says. 'If children are the nursery's vision, this is clear to every parent.'
Reassuring parents about quality of care
* Write a letter to parents addressing the issues raised in the TV programme, and hold an open evening to explain your nursery's high level of care and staff training.
* Let parents know that they can visit the nursery freely and ask questions of the staff team. Invite them to regular parents' days or evenings, where they can raise issues and make suggestions about improvements to the setting.
* Work towards a certified quality assurance scheme to demonstrate an attainment of quality over and above the national care standards.
Further information
* A list of endorsed Quality Assurance schemes can be obtained from SureStart. Call 0870 000 2288 or visit www.surestart.gov.uk.
