Nursery World - Put up or shut up

Tracey Knight, a reception class teacher (30 August), says that when the nursery nurse takes overall responsibility for planning and delivering the curriculum, and the welfare of the children and other staff, and deals with out-of-hours meetings and courses and writes reports, she will be entitled to a teacher's salary. Well, I already do all that and all the paperwork, together with the dreaded Ofsted inspections. My job? I'm a pre-school supervisor with four members of staff and over 30 children on the register. I don't get admin pay, I certainly don't get a teacher's salary because my pre-school would close if I did, and I don't have a secretary to do all the admissions like a school does. But I do this job because I enjoy it (most of the time), and after 15 years as a nursery nurse I have done everything a nursery nurse can do.

Well, I already do all that and all the paperwork, together with the dreaded Ofsted inspections. My job? I'm a pre-school supervisor with four members of staff and over 30 children on the register. I don't get admin pay, I certainly don't get a teacher's salary because my pre-school would close if I did, and I don't have a secretary to do all the admissions like a school does. But I do this job because I enjoy it (most of the time), and after 15 years as a nursery nurse I have done everything a nursery nurse can do.

I would advise fed-up nursery nurses to change their career direction. There are many different things they can do, from hospitals to nannying, to nurseries to supply work. Stop moaning and get on with it!

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included