supervision at her setting.
According to Eileen Gamble, this is training with a difference. 'I've done e-learning before but nothing like this,' she says.
She and her daughter Kirsty, one of two daughters with whom she runs Fairplay Day Nursery in Bradford, were among the first to undertake Sue Overton's Applied Practice (SOAP) training programme, which is designed to support managers and supervisors through the introduction and development of staff supervisions.
It uses 'drama-based learning' in the form of a soap opera set around a small day nursery called Snuggles. Course participants follow an online tutorial programme divided into five modules, which are based on video clips. This is then followed with a lively training session with Ms Overton.
Ms Gamble says the programme is accessible and user-friendly. 'We really got into the characters and identified with them. We ended up laughing and playing the clips to other staff in the nursery. The story is engaging and entertaining. The key issues of each clip are revisited with an expert panel and participants then reflect on the learning points. There are also print-outs and web links to extend learning.'
Ms Gamble says the programme made her evaluate her own practice. 'We have already started to make improvements on the back of it. It encourages managers to focus on all areas of nursery life - even down to something like mopping the floor, which can't be done properly just from being mentioned in a policy document.
'We are a family-run business and supervision is usually undertaken by me and my two daughters. However, since the training, we have come to realise that this might be quite daunting for some staff members and have changed our policy. We have now introduced another member of staff to get involved in the process.'
She adds, 'We are looking forward to showing the video clips to all our staff and cascading the training down.'
