job roles of nursery nurse

job roles of nursery nurse

by: sunfly - 25-09-08 19:18

hi

i am about to undertake my research project for my degree -

i am interested in nursery nurse view of their job role, when i trained the focus was on care - now nursery nurses or is that early years practioners are expected to be educators as well with little or no training - yes i know that local aurthories have coures to offer but i am interested to know how you feel, one of my collegues has express concern that she feels totally inadequate to fulfil the roles now imposed on her - i would be interested in other views so i can consider if this is a worthwhile topic for my research

thanks

by: Rose

Having been in this job for over 10 years I'd say that the education part isnt that new. Years before the FS we had to work to the Desirable learning outcomes. It was the introduction of the childcare vouchers that meant we had to start proving we were 'educating' and Ofsted took over from the social services teams.

My personal thought is this - I am not a teacher, I dont hold QTS, but I am inspected by various bodies, not least of which is Ofsted, on my teaching abilities. I work with many young girls whose only experience is the setting they attend while they are training and who dont appear to want to do more than the little the NVQ system requires them to do.

I realise thats a very sweeping statement and obviously understand that individuals do care about their own professional development. But I would look rather at the amunt of NVQ's being pumped out rather than at the work we are being asked to do.

Hope your research goes well.

by: allie

Hi!

I work for a local education authority as a senior Early Years practitioner/key Person in a reception class. i plan with and work under the direction of the teacher. I'm responsible for the observation and FSP assesmment of my 12 children. I liase with a wide range of agencies e.g. Speech and language theripsts, Educational Psychologists, ethnic minority services etc. I am responsible for the writing of IEPs and termly reports, which i feed back to parents.

 While i love my job i feel that all the work, time , effort and commitment isn't reflected in my salary!

 Hope this helps!

by: Whirlwind

yes i quite agree, I too are a nursery nurse in an LEA I am expected to attend staff meetings, I do all my own planning and I also teach the 6 areas of learning, my workload is prettty much the same as the teacher who is working alongside me in a reception class, only difference is my salary is half.

by: shell

hiya all

i think that as hard as you all work and yes i agree that salaries could be alot better in all education but please spare a thought for us who work in private day nurseries. who are on min wage or a little more

i am head of toddler room in a private day nursery, i work 40 hours a week and constantly bring planning and other work that can b done at home such as display headings and laminating etc because there is just not enough time to do it during the day because we have up to 24 children in my room in one day to care for and we have children's profiles and obs to do. nearly every nite i am up till 10pm doing work. (unpaid)

and then i sit down and say why do i do this? i do it because i love my job and when i go to work i want to be able to play and listen to the children rather than sit in the corner doing things that could easliy be done at home.

and i know this happens in many nurseries so please spare a thought for us because we are not on salaries like those who work in schools. but we all do the same job dont we? just that we teach younger ones who may i say need more "hands on care" eg nappy changing, toilet training etc we prepare them for school and their parents trust us with their pride and joy. and yes i know that many teachers have worked hard and have been to uni but we have too.

by: shell

i ment to say we have worked hard too sorry

by: Millie

Hi Rose

Interested to hear your view about NVQ's in general - we have just changed our remit to getting level 2's out in 6 months and 3's in 9 months - we are finding that settings send the ladies/gents inorder to learn about childcare - but at the end of the day we are now just an assessment centre marking the knowledge and practice of the already experienced practitioner.

This is all under the guise of Train to Gain - but the government do not want the training=Teaching side, neither do the training companies that roll these NVQ's out.  We are also no longer able to advise students of best practice as it upsets setting Managers and then you are whisked off out of the setting in fear the college or training company lose their funding!!

So at the end of the day the Government have done precisely the opposite to what they wanted to achieve - an upskilled workforce, be it Nursery/Education, Daycare etc.,  There is no actual provider supporting the learning and teaching such as the NNEB used to deliver.  We now have a huge gap in this service.  I am losing faith in the total NVQ system and the Train to Gain option. - The only ones gaining are the government, the training providers (FE or Private).

I wonder how many NVQ qualified personnel, still feel unsure as to what they need to achieve as they have been rushed through the present system - or indeed if Assessors are finding these targets harder to achieve as we do.  I know of some providers who start candidates off well in advance of booking them in with TTG or the awarding body to cheat on showing that they have advanced their students through the system!

by: Laura Major

I am doing a teaching assistants NVQ and not enjoying it at all.  I have done many courses and hate the way NVQs are delivered and the repetitive units.  I've had two different tutors in the 1st three months and my fist assessment last Monday would have gone better if she'd have turned up! 

However I have also started a foundation Degree in Early Years Education with the Open University who also do the Certificate in Early Years Practise.  The course materials are excellent quality as the the tutors and support.  I feel this is going to equip me with the skills I need to work effectively in Early Years. I recommend studying with them to anyone.

by: Rose

Millie, I've thought for years that the only reason for the NVQ is to provide colleges/training providers with cash. The people I tend to work with are missing chunks of knowledge about theorists, child development and parental involvement. Somebody somewhere seems to have forgotten that the NVQ was never supposed to be a stand alone course. It was meant for people who had experience but no piece of paper to prove it. The NNEB and DPP which I know from my own experience contained all the underpinning knowledge needed, was more than just a folder of pre-set questions. We were taught what we needed to know and then asked to investigate how the theories worked in practice. A 6 month child study couldnt be rushed, parents had to be on board, staff had to understand what you were doing. Planning had to reflect the children you were working with, the aims and ethos of the setting and still be linked to the theorists and child development norms.

The NVQ system sets students up to fail, not on paper but in their every day practice.

An ex-collegue told me after completing her FD, that she was astonished at how little she knew after completing her L3 3 years ago.

But at least the Government can say they have L3's in all settings!

by: sunfly

thanks everyone for your comments on my original enquiry ... the point concerning NVQ's is very interesting and one I shall definately be following up for my research ..

I have recently had a new member of the team starting an NVQ 2 - although I feel she should go straight to 3 .. I am surprised that there are no lessons or lectures at all .. how is she supposed to pick up new knowledge .. is it all just about showing/providing eveidence of what you know now ... where is the training in that ... one argument is she can attend EYDCP courses ... and learning by self evaluation and professional development by identying what your needs are and then asking/reading up to fill in your gaps .. I personally feel so much more is gained by attending regular lessons not only from the lectures but also by discussion with the others in the group ...