Opinion: Editor's view
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Nursery managers have a new problem to contend with in the high-tech age.
It's hard to avoid constant references at the moment to Twitter, Facebook and Myspace, so it's very timely that there's a fascinating thread running on our online forum - www.nurseryworld.co.uk/forums - about nursery workers' use of social networking sites
There are two main problems for nursery managers employing often young, and sometimes a little naive, members of staff, for whom using Facebook is almost as natural as breathing!
One is that staff may make comments that are damaging to the setting, perhaps criticising the way a nursery runs - a problem regardless of whether such comments are malicious, ill-informed or even true, especially if confidential information is revealed.
The other is that staff and parents end up being 'friends' on Facebook et al. And this makes it impossible to maintain the friendly but professional relationship that should be standard between a child's parents and their nursery workers. It also means that staff can end up telling nursery parents - and the whole world - that they have a hangover and can't wait for the working day to end, for example. Not what any parent wanting and paying for the very best care for their child wishes to hear. Good communication with parents is vital, but too much information of the kind shared on Facebook does not inspire confidence.
Nursery managers who are techno-savvy enough to join social networking sites report, however, that it makes it very easy to detect who is calling in sick with a genuine illness and who is just sleeping off a heavy night out!
Should nurseries have a policy on social networking? Let us know on our forum!
