Ways to play

Childcare professionals today cannot rely on a qualification that may be several years old, but need to continue their professional development and take up-to-date short courses, as delegates to last October's Professional Nanny conference unanimously agreed. At the same time, many of the nanny jobs being offered are part-time and it can be difficult to find enough work to generate a full-time income. So when I talked to Kelly Petriello I realised that her career could provide a model for today's childcarer.

When Kelly was at school she was allocated a work experience placement in a day nursery and enjoyed it so much that she decided on childcare as a career choice. In 1995 she gained her NNEB from Peterborough Regional College.

Kelly says, 'It's hard to believe now, but nine years ago north Cambridgeshire was a rural area and, at the end of the course, some of the students were worried they wouldn't be able to find work with children. The nearest nanny jobs were in Cambridge 25 miles away down a busy, congested road. Luckily I was offered a job at The Owl and Pussycat, a local day nursery where I had been on placement as a student. This was a small nursery in a church hall, consisting of two rooms which took 30 children ranging in age from six weeks to the four-year-old pre-schoolers. There were five childcare staff, a cook and a manager. All the children were in the large room but the ones who needed to rest could do it in the other sleep room. As the hall was used for other functions in the evenings, all the equipment had to be set up in the morning and put away at the end of the day.

'Needless to say, it was easy for me to gain experience of the whole age range. When I had been there for a few months the nursery owners were allowed to use another room, so they decided to start an out-of-school club and I was asked if I would like to help with it. If you get an opportunity to learn a new skill, you should take it - so I found myself helping to get the club established.I was responsible for opening the premises in the mornings, walking the children to school and playgroup and collecting them in the evenings. I also planned and organised the activities for the children and even worked out their weekly bills. Soon I was able to add the title "out-of-school club co-ordinator" to my CV.

'The job was great. I loved the variety of moving from older to younger children and I was always busy. But after two years I decided to make a complete change. I moved to Silks Farm, a large purpose-built day nursery that takes 70 children rom six weeks to pre-school.There were separate rooms for each year group. I started as a nursery nurse and worked in all the rooms except the baby room. After two years I was promoted to senior nursery nurse and was in charge of two rooms with the children from two to three-and-a-half years old. I was responsible for showing visitors around the nursery and explaining how we work. I had to answer the phone and liaise with parents.

'At college we found we all were going into childcare because we loved working around children. However, at the nursery I learned that it is just as important to be able to deal sensitively with parents. If a child cries and clings to a mother as she is leaving, she will probably be upset for the rest of the day - while the child may be smiling two minutes after she has gone. It is essential to be able to reassure parents that their children are happy, and to be polite but assertive if you have to phone a parent at work to let them know their child is ill and needs to be taken home.

'As a room leader I had to work as part of a team but also had to be prepared to make myself unpopular, such as when I had to point out to another member of staff that she should do something differently. I think my interpersonal skills definitely improved during my time as a room leader.

'Ofsted lays down precise requirements for the skills that nursery children need to acquire, so besides organising all the activities we had to design lots of worksheets to help them understand colour, shape, number and the alphabet. It was interesting to be able to specialise in one age group. I stayed at Silks Farm for five years.

'Eventually I decided to move on and again look for something completely different. Instead of going to another nursery I went to a pre-school playgroup. I'm still at Benwick Butterflies pre-school playgroup as a playgroup leader.

'There are 12 children on average at each morning session, ranging in age from two-and-a-half to four. My job consists of setting up and packing away after each session, planning and running the sessions in accordance with the Foundation Stage and the national curriculum. I have to write letters to parents to inform them of the term's topics and complete the children's individual profiles.

'The playgroup sessions only take place in the mornings, so I had to find something to do in the afternoons to supplement my income. So I found a nanny job, looking after two girls aged five and six. I would collect them from school, take them to their after-school activities and then bring them home, prepare their meal, listen to their reading and help with homework.

In any spare time I organised games or activities for them. It was great to be involved with older children again, and this time, as there were only two I could do more things with them.

'I really enjoyed this experience of being a nanny. Unfortunately, when the parents no longer needed me I had to look for another afternoon job.

'Now I am a play assistant at Upwood School After-School Club, close to where I live. I work there from 3pm until 5.30pm during term time, and in the holidays I work at a holiday club in Doddington, another local village, which caters for children from five to 11 years old.

'Since my jobs are local I have time for a break at home between finishing at playgroup and starting at after-school club. I love the variety of the work. In the morning there is a lot of responsibility and I am in charge, whereas at the after-school club I am part of the team. My employers have also given me the chance to attend courses such as "Child Protection", "Top Tots", "No-Cook Cookbook" and "Footsteps to Music". And of course my paediatric first aid is kept up to date at all times.'

Helen Kewley adds: When students come to my agency I always ask if they have any plans for the future. Many of them say they would like eventually to own their own nursery. Although Kelly assures me that she is very happy with her life as it is, I feel that all the different experiences she has had have given her a lot of other relevant skills.

Although the nicest part of childcare is interacting with the children, Kelly is aware of the other vital aspects involved in setting up and running the playgroup sessions. As a senior nursery nurse she learned how to organise people. In all her jobs she had to deal with parents - reassuring them, dealing with queries or complaints, and sometimes telling them things they did not want to hear about their child's behaviour. When she ran the ou-of-school club, Kelly had to bill the parents for their fees. And now when she needs new equipment or stock at the playgroup, she has to approach the committee, so she is conscious of the costs of running a childcare facility and aware that it is a business. Furthermore, as both of the nurseries and the playgroup are regulated and inspected by Ofsted, she is constantly aware of its official requirements.

Not only has Kelly managed, in a rural area, to find two complementary childcare jobs, but she has continued her professional development and gained the necessary expertise to progress to managing or owning her own childcare business one day.

Helen Kewley is the owner of Nice Nannies Now in Huntingdon