Manager’s dilemma:
Despite trying to cut down on paperwork we find there is still a lot of it. Where should our priorities lie and is it reasonable to expect staff to take paperwork home with them?
Sian Nesbitt – Dizzy Ducks
‘Planning, observation and evaluation all require detailed paperwork. We are required to document children’s progress in the form of their Learning Journeys and we also provide parents with written "Daily Sheets" each day. The paperwork required is burdensome.
My staff tend to do the daily sheets at quieter times - for example when the children are sat down for a snack one of them may take some time to fill the sheets in. Planning and other paperwork tends to be done at sleep-times so that staff can concentrate fully on it.
In the lead-up to parents’ evenings, the pressure to ensure Learning Journeys are completed fully increases. Staff sometimes take these home with them as they find it easier to do when there are no children around. They claim time in lieu or overtime for this. While I’m sure that we would all prefer that they didn’t have to do this, it’s difficult to avoid.'
David Wright – Paint Pots Pre-School and Nursery
‘At Paint Pots we try to minimise paperwork for practitioners. Our guiding principle is only to produce written records that are necessary and purposeful.'
We thus ask ourselves who we are doing this for – children, parents, staff, Ofsted etc? Much of our "paperwork" has moved onto the computer, for example planning. The main requirement for records are children’s Learning Story and Special Book where we capture and celebrate significant achievements to share with each individual and their families. We aim for quality over quantity and value the role of photographs and video as an effective recording medium. In addition we track development progress and identify next steps as part of our assessment and planning cycle.
Staff are given time in their work hours to maintain records. Some individuals prefer to do this at home but it is not expected.
We work as a team to ensure an appropriate balance of workload. Our management team have the responsibility for ensuring records are completed and that staff are supported to achieve this.
Nathan Archer – Lincolnshire Montessori
‘Clearly paperwork, and the volume of it, is a contentious issue, and nurseries manage this very differently.
From my point of view, each member of our team is given an afternoon per week out of the base room to document assessments and planning. I think it is important that they have time and space away from contact with the children to write up Learning Stories and compile documentation of children's development. Similarly, where IEP targets have been set, the team needs time to complete records comprehensively and confidentially.
Over and above this, we would expect the daily paperwork of risk assessments and other routine documents to be completed during the working day.
Wherever possible we over-staff, particularly in our three-to-fives’ room, which is a large room. Managing free flow indoors and out and a wide range of activities needs more adults, and overstaffing also allows team members time out to complete paperwork.
In terms of data protection of this information, as well as staff members' wellbeing, we definitely wouldn't expect this kind of work to be undertaken at home. I am happy to stand up against onerous tracking and other superfluous systems to ensure the priority of adults’ time with children and maintain high staff morale.
That said, I have to agree with a post on the Nursery World forum who states "If early years was funded to reflect the real cost of providing the service without heavily depending on the goodwill of staff then this thread would not exist"'.
Carol Cooper – Coneygarth Farm Day Nursery
'There is so much to do these days for owners, managers and staff, so in our nurseries we try to keep the paperwork to a reasonable level. 
The majority of paperwork that needs to be completed is planning and the children’s development files. Some staff have additional paperwork to complete when there is a child with additional needs.
When staff are observing children this is not too onerous as the observations are made on post-it notes, and all staff complete these for any child. The more time consuming part is for the key person planning the next steps in learning and linking it to the EYFS.
Some staff manage to complete paper work in the setting when children are asleep and we arrange a rota to ensure the time is divided fairly; others may have to take the work home. Of course staff do not like doing paperwork at home but they do realise that it needs to be completed for the benefit of the child.
We don’t like the children’s developmental records to leave the nursery so we try and juggle time for staff to complete these. For example, the nursery apprentice is not always counted in the staff ratios , so she can be used to free other staff, and the manager will also step in to help.
Our manager would prefer to walk around the nursery and see staff spending time with the children, carrying out activities and helping them learn through play rather than seeing one member of staff in each room completing paperwork.
As owners we cannot financially afford to bring in additional staff for the paperwork to be completed. Most planning is completed in the setting although many staff do take planning home which we really appreciate. On the whole staff do understand that the paperwork is being done for the good of the children, they just struggle to understand why there is so much to be done and it is ever increasing.'
Round Table Members: Sian Nisbett, director/owner Dizzy Ducks, Essex; Nathan Archer, development manager, Lincolnshire Montessori, Lincolnshire; Carol Cooper, co- owner, Coneygarth Farm Day Nursery, South Yorkshire; David Wright, owner, Paint Pots Pre-School and Nursery, Southampton
