Analyst Team Reports

Increasing Professional Potential for Staff

Jim Van Horn, United States

There is a need to take into consideration the learning styles of professionals when introducing training programmes
Importance of new staff orientation — each new person receives 15 hours of 30-minute self-learning induction which is also Director facilitated
Staff induction equals less turnover — more cost effective
Home base training which is accessible by the web and, in addition, TV broadcasting
Training tools — video staff and show them
Believes that programs need to be designed for practitioners and that the focus needs to be on recognizing that people don’t all learn in the same way
Emergency preparedness curriculum/plan
Found that Directors didn’t orient their staff; consequently fairly high turnover in new staff
Orientation was successful — 70% of Directors indicate less turnover and that the training changed the way new staff related to children and other staff
Curriculum can be used in center at nap time (staff not on the clock). It did help. Not for credit. Research showed that the training impacted turnover, changed interactions between staff & children and between the staff & director.
Tip: University people are boring and do not attract child care staff. Go after people who have a reputation among their peers.
Ideas on valuing staff and increase staff retention through staff induction, appraisals together with staff, in-house coaching, internal progression monitoring, etc. (refer to info pack)
Color code an index — some learners may not know how to use an index

Beryl Carroll, United Kingdom

Increase professional development by induction, appraisals, in-house coaching, monitoring internal progression, continued professional training and development
Introduction of an European Childcare Qualification 0-7 years which is based on “reflective learning”
Staff appraisals — individual training plan based on appraisal
Learning logs to be used with each training session — how their practice would change after each workshop
Person also assessed on their learning log
3 levels of learning: foundation level, intermediate and advanced
5 to 6 workshops in each level

Jeroen Wilmink, The Netherlands

Learning is fun … children need to have a “twinkle in the eye”
Need for continued staff training and development — staff are the same as children — learning also needs to be fun
Clear exit routes for staff who are not a good “fit” to childcare
Four day training program with half day test
Learning and having fun and being proud of yourself
Designing what you want for your staff and then getting it
Open learning mind
Training is all about long term effects — training manifests itself into successful caregiving of children
Coach for starters:
- Starter: first few years
- Professional: after a few years
- Senior: coach for starters
Boundaries, rules, punishment, goodbye
Emphasized the structure be put in place to clarify the boundaries of responsibilities for the staff, the dos and don’ts and the rules
CC and financial are tied together
Parents have to find their own child care location, have to contract with the provider who then sends the parent the full bill. Parent goes to the tax department to get their allowance (this is a refund). She recommends this.
Construction: parent gets an allowance based on their income
Another difference: every employer has to pay for child care — starting in January 2007. Attractive for parents to bring to child care center. 0-12 years Maternity leave is short 10-12 weeks. Concern: How to deal with babies in child care centers. Convincing mothers that it is good to bring their babies to us.
Prosperous country — many people are working; integral part of their culture
This company has 900 staff members and they have an annual meeting

Jill Hadley, Australia

DVD “Making a Difference”
Students say what you teach is not what we see
Dad’s group for input and feedback
Teams of staff to set up group to look at possible changes or improvements
Take a photo of your environment
Need to focus on leadership
Staff Satisfaction Survey
Importance of consultation with parents
Good staff relationships with children inspire learning
Learning needs to be experiential — use of photography to offer objective views
12 steps to nappy changing chart — nappy changing is a learning experience more so than a routine
Children need “private places” and “social pockets”
There is a need to focus on Leadership in childcare training
The learning approach of self-focus examination in staff learning. The staff is encouraged to share the changes they like to see and also to form good relationships with parents. She also mentioned that the shareholder staff is more effective.

Prue Walsh (Provocateur):

Good things come out of bad if you let them
Staff feeling valued so that they can give back to the children in return
Staff are there for a commitment and if they aren’t get out
Need to ensure that the physical environment supports programming
Staff need to understand what is going on in their field and be advocates
A good playground is never really finished
All professional development of staff should relate directly to quality of care
Induction — allocating time for induction of new staff, outlining expectations. Time spent at start of employment will ensure a clear understanding of expectations.
Organization training developed for all new staff as part of induction
Importance of on-going training with follow-up. Training should be signed off by manager as completed with clear guidelines of implementing the skills/ideas developed.
Training and ongoing professional development essential for the provision of high quality care
Important to recognize that training be delivered in a variety of ways to allow for different learning styles
Orientation process should be part of any professional development and training of new staff
Self-learning, director-facilitated training: 15 hours; reduced turnover of new staff
TV broadcasts — good for more communities, reduces travel time, can be accessed in own time or can be live
Working together with the counties/state to develop courses that meet requirements of accredited training. Ensures training is transferable. Essential to link theory to practice.
Look for partnerships where they are available. Pooled resources likely to end up with higher quality of training.
Physical environments must support professional development
Learning must be fun