I became the manager of a nursery a few weeks after an early years advisory teacher was appointed. Starting a new job closely together has undoubtedly been beneficial to both of us. As manager, I have more experience and understanding in management and everything that that entails, and the teacher has a more in-depth knowledge of child development and the educational side of things.
We work well together, we recognise and acknowledge each other's skills and input to the setting, and neither of us sees the other as a threat - if anything, we use each other as sounding boards for various ideas.
At the end of the day we have the same aim in common and that is the children in our care, not to score points off each other. We see each other as equals, but with different skills and attributes to bring to the setting.
As Nikki says, 'Let's stop bickering and develop a mutual respect for each other's roles' because if we don't respect each other then how can we expect the children, staff and parents to do so?
* Jan Thorp, Wallingford, Oxford
