With the nights drawing in, spirits can take a bit of a nosedive at this time of year, and although the festive season brings some much-needed sparkle to our winter months, for some people the extra workload overshadows much of the joy.
With a large percentage of those working in early years settings having young children of their own, the financial costs of Christmas plus the never-ending to-do list of Christmas-related tasks can leave staff feeling withdrawn and listless. But the good news is that many nursery managers are providing Christmas-themed, spirit-boosting incentives to help get everyone into the festive mood.
Most nurseries hold a version of the Christmas party as a nice way to bring the workforce together at the end of the year, but with not everyone celebrating Christmas, events need to be tailored to include these individuals. It can be a good idea to ask staff to put suggestions for an outing or activity they would like to do in a box, so everyone can vote on the most popular choices.
Another idea some nurseries have found successful in the past is organising a winter forest walk, which has the benefit of being something you can easily extend to a wider group, inviting extended family and parents along to join in. Finish the walk with a hot chocolate or cup of tea and a chat.
Here, we talk to three nurseries about what they do to make Christmas inclusive and special for their staff.
LOVING THE GRINCH!
Anastasia Murphy is managing director of Portland Nurseries, which includes Holly Bank Nursery Huddersfield, winner of the Nursery World Health and Wellbeing Award in 2024. The Portland group provides a range of festive activities for both families and staff across its six nurseries.
Anastasia says, ‘Funnily enough, I have just today sent out the staff invites to our Annual Awards Evening. This is an event we hold every year for all our staff. We have a sit-down meal at a local hotel or function roomand present staff across our six sites with various awards, such as Educator of the Year, SEND Hero and Rising Star.
‘We also vary awards a bit to recognise special achievements. Last year we included a Team Award, which was won by our nursery cooks – really nice as they can sometimes get left out of things. The voting is done by managers and staff – we used to have parents vote too, but they tend to always vote for their key person.
‘At the beginning, we only held our award nights on milestone years, but we now budget for it each year as, overall, they’re completely worth it for staff morale and as another way to show our appreciation for the contribution staff make to our nurseries. The evening is also our way of giving staff something special for Christmas, and we make it inclusive for all by making it non-Christmas-themed and providing both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and vegetarian/vegan menu options.’
She adds that another popular occasion is a Christmas cinema day for older children and their parents. ‘We sent out a survey asking parents what film their children would like to see, and this year’s winner was The Grinch.
‘We hold the event on a weekend at a local cinema hired out for a private screening, with tickets costing £1 each – we subsidise the rest. We’ve even managed to get one of our managers to dress up as The Grinch! It’s just a lovely way to involve our parents in our Christmas celebrations.’
Portland Nurseries also has a Christmas party. Anastasia says, ‘There’s a Santa for children to visit and books as gifts. We’ll be holding it in a venue for both parents and children, so a lovely Christmas event.
‘When it comes to Christmas presents, our project lead organises a special Christmas bauble for each member of staff. Inside each bauble are lots of little slips of paper containing person-specific thank you messages contributed by colleagues. The decoration can be hung on a Christmas tree, or for those not celebrating Christmas, kept as a keepsake.
‘As managing director, I do buy our managers Christmas gifts, and parents often buy gifts for our teams too, which unless they’ve been given to a specific person, we put into a staff raffle. Also, individual nurseries are free to organise Secret Santas, etc. if they want to do so.’
‘A LOVELY ATMOSPHERE’
Dhanvanti Deshmukh is manager at Bessborough Nursery and Pre-school, part of the London Early Years Foundation (LEYF) group. LEYF nurseries offer a comprehensive package of staff incentives and activities.
Dhanvanti says, ‘At LEYF, we try to keep the feel-good factor going throughout the whole year. We value our staff and appreciate that working in early years is hard work. Providing support and encouragement in professional development is an important part of showing our appreciation, and we refer to all staff as “teachers” in recognition of the important role they play in children’s learning, development and early school experience.
‘We do like to organise some special activities at Christmas time, though, and these differ between our nurseries, depending on what staff like to do. Christmas parties are popular. Every team is given an allowance so everyone can celebrate the season together; also our tombola, which includes little gifts for staff, such as face masks and nail polish – or something like an extra 15 minutes break time for each staff member.
‘Secret Santa is always popular too, but not something you have to join in with – this is just for those who like to do it and, of course, we have staff members who don’t celebrate Christmas for religious reasons, and they are never made to feel they should be taking part.’
Dhanvanti reports that some parents buy staff gifts at Christmas. ‘Sometimes this is a little present and sometimes something like ordering us pizza during a staff meeting,’ she explains.
‘We also have a staff meal, with everyone voting on their preferred date for this on WhatsApp, so we can work out a day and time to suit everyone.
‘We really do manage to create a lovely Christmas atmosphere at LEYF, with our reception area being decorated at the beginning of November. It’s a real team effort with all staff teams and management each taking charge of one aspect of the decorating. During December, we also make our Santa’s grotto, with children being taken to see Santa.
‘A lot of the good Christmas spirit, though, comes from feeling appreciated throughout the whole year, and we hold lots of events year-round, such as our annual summer conference, where weall enjoy a day of fun, coming together to share learning and best practice.
‘Looking after and incentivising staff is a subject that’s very close to my heart. I strongly believe that if I look after my big people, my little people will be looked after too.
‘How you make people feel is so important, as what we do is so much about working with people, and as leader I truly value these relationships and aim to foster this feeling throughout the whole work family.’
CHRISTMAS SPIRIT
Faye O’Rourke is director and co-owner of Polka Dot Farm Nursery, a primarily outdoor setting in Billericay, Essex. Faye and business partner Sian Millar feel their extensive package of staff benefits, including £100 towards warm clothing on joining the team, plus a recognition of time needed by staff outside of work hours, plays a big part in making their staff feel appreciated.
Faye says, ‘Incentivising staff is something we have given a lotof thought to, and one of our conclusions has been that giving staff that bit extra time to deal with their lives outside work is one of the most appreciated incentives we provide. A lot of our staff have a million things to do at weekends – especially over Christmas – so we close the nursery from 23 December to 2 January, allowing everyone to spend time with family; everyone comes back buzzing and ready for the new year after having a good ten-day rest. This is also why we have our Christmas night out in November, so we’re not taking up more time in December, which is busy enough!
‘We do have a Secret Santa with a £15 limit, but we’ve stopped organising collections for birthdays and so on. We felt it was an extra pressure staff can do without.
‘We involve our parents in our celebrations and activities all year round, and at Christmas we have everyone come together for Christmas carols, which is lovely, and we also have a children’s entertainer, which is always lots of fun and really popular – but, of course, not all parents are able to come in and we’re very mindful of this, making sure there’s no pressure.
‘In the past I’ve personally been at a Christmas fête while on a Teams call – we can’t all take time off and we do try to take away some of that mum guilt. For this reason and also to take the pressure off staff, we are not having a nativity this year. But something we do at Christmas that is really popular with staff and parents is our Santa’s sleigh – a nice opportunity for parents and staff to take a Christmas photo of their children.’
Faye says that other celebrations at the nursery include a Christmas Jumper Day, a festive lunch for both staff and children, visits from Santa, and a Spin the Wheel Advent calendar, where throughout December each day a few lucky staff members have the chance to spin the wheel and win prizes.
‘While we aim to keep after-work activities to a minimum in December, we still wholeheartedly dive into the Christmas spirit while at work,’ Faye says. ‘Working in the childcare industry is truly a joy, and the holiday season is our perfect opportunity to embrace fun and festivities without encroaching on our team members’ personal time.’
Connect Childcare report on staff wellbeing
Connect Childcare’s new report, A Look into Early Years Staff Wellbeing, was carried out between 30 September and 18 October 2024 to explore the mental health, job satisfaction and support needs of early years professionals. The survey gathered responses from 287 participants, providing a current overview of wellbeing in early years settings.
Thirty-three per cent of respondents rated their mental wellbeing below five out of ten, indicating significant challenges. While the average rating was seven, a substantial 34 per cent reported scores between four and six, suggesting that many feel only moderately supported – although, despite the pressures, 78 per cent rated their job satisfaction as six or higher,
According to the survey, nearly half (49 per cent) of respondents believe their workplace lacks adequate mental health support, with an average rating of just 3.4 out of five.
Connect says respondents also reported mixed comfort levels when discussing mental health at work, with an average score of just 3.2. These scores seem to suggest there is still work to be done in cultivating a supportive workplace culture, although there were discrepancies between job roles indicated in these results, with early years practitioners reporting lower mental health ratings: 43 per cent scoring below five out of ten, compared with 27 per cent of nursery managers.
They also reported a higher incidence of taking time off for mental health concerns (38 per cent) compared with managers (24 per cent). The reasons behind these discrepancies could include many factors such as money worries or trouble settling their own children before coming to work, but they ultimately point to a need for further discussion around the subject of staff wellbeing and mental health.
Purnima Tanuku OBE, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA), says, ‘The results of this survey demonstrate that although the majority of staff are resilient and positive, there is a worryingly large number of practitioners who are struggling.
‘Many aspects of their job are impacting on their mental wellbeing and happiness. Although we know that this is a rewarding job, it’s also tough, with long hours often turning into overtime. NDNA has called for early years professionals to be recognised as dedicated educators and teachers, not babysitters. Society is now starting to understand the importance of a child’s first five years and we have campaigned hard to get this message across to decision-makers and the general public. The sector’s professional status must be on a par with school teachers, with the wages to match. This is why we have launched the Institute of Early Years Education to support professionals in the sector and to enhance their status, with better access to CPD as part of a professional community.
‘Unfortunately, although nurseries would love to reward their staff to the extent they deserve, they are caught within tight budgets, with delivery costs often higher than funding rates. Low pay has become more of an issue in recent years as the cost of living has been much higher and job satisfaction has been outweighed by family financial anxieties.
‘We know from our research that practitioners’ mental wellbeing can be impacted by inspections. We have been calling for regulatory frameworks to be fit for purpose and proportionate, not damaging and demoralising. We know nursery workers tend to be much-loved by the children they care for and parents. We hope that this special relationship along with a shift change within society will really help towards early years practitioners being happy, healthy and fulfilled.’
- Read the full report at: https://connectchildcare.com/a-look-into-early-years-staff-wellbeing
