15 hours .. Providers working together
James Hempsall
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
There are circumstances where sessional providers and/or school nursery classes find it difficult to respond to deliver the 15 hours flexibly.
If sessions are full, then scope for change can at first appear limited; low numbers can make flexibility seem unsustainable, while premises or staffing limitations can also present barriers. Working with another provider may be a solution. This can be an opportunity for the PVI sector to support their maintained colleagues in achieving the flexibility that some families need for work/life balance.
Little Angels is a 96-place private day nursery in the grounds of East Tilbury Infant and Junior School in Thurrock. It provides full daycare throughout the day. The school's nursery class offers the 15-hour free entitlement in morning or afternoon sessions. So when school parents indicated they required an extended day and greater flexibility, there was a need to rethink services. The school and the nursery worked together and now, local parents can use the school nursery class and access childcare provided by Little Angels in one seamless arrangement.
The partnership has benefited not only families, but the school and the nursery too. However, this has come with numerous challenges. The flexibility offered by this agreement has resulted in a variety of place take-up patterns which all need managing.
The school is also able to attract families who may not only have used sessional care, while the nursery has gained income from the families who purchase additional childcare hours. Little Angels is now able to fill its daycare quotas but does not charge parents for the time children spend in the school; instead, the nursery fills these spaces with different children, providing more income.
Session times have changed, and the staffing structure has needed to incorporate more part-time/term-time staff members in response to the increase in children attending sessional care and term-time only.
Regular meetings between Little Angels and the school ensure good communication and coherence between both staff teams.
Effective transition arrangements ensure that children are settled and happy.
FURTHER INFORMATION
James Hempsall is director of training and research provider Hempsall's (www.hempsallconsultancies.co.uk.)
